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‘My War Years in Hull and East Yorkshire’

Thelma Howden
Springfields
Park Lane
Middleham
Leyburn
N. Yorks DL8 4QY

I was nineteen years old as the Second World War was declared. On reflection, I had just spent a summer holiday in a farmhouse on the East Coast of Yorkshire. It had been a lovely summer with warm days and evenings. I had just met a boyfriend in that area and we went for walks along the cliffs (that’s what you did in those far — off days). How many years would pass until once again, one could walk freely along those cliff tops overlooking the North Sea. Soon after the war was declared, they were cut off from the public with great coils of wire mesh (to stop the Germans from landing) and pill —boxes were built and manned by servicemen.

I lived in Kingston Upon Hull which was one of the cities that would be more vulnerable, being a busy port. Shelters were delivered to house — owners but until we were delivered one, my mother like many others was told to get under the stairs or the kitchen table on hearing the warning signal of an air raid. Really this was not such a good idea, as the gas meters were installed under the stairs and there was always the faint smell of gas!

After some time, we were given an Anderson shelter. This was installed at the bottom of our very long garden. I was always pleased we had an Anderson shelter, as I had also spent a few air raids in my auntie’s shelter. She had three very young children and he husband did his stint on fire watching at night time. She was nervous about being on her own, so I went there on those nights. I did not like the idea of being trapped — their shelter was all brick with a door that shut all light out. The Anderson had a half look-out door, which one covered with a blanket. At the worst time of bombing in Hull, we somehow managed to get an old single iron bedstead in our shelter and decided to sleep there, instead of waiting for the sirens alerting us to there being an air raid.

My first war-time job was to help evacuate children away from the Hull area. Small boys and girls with a label on their coats giving their name and age were put on coaches and sent into the country. Looking back, these children must have felt very frightened and their parents left wondering when they would be seeing them again.

My sister and I decided to join the local ambulance service. My mother was a widow, my father having died the previous year, and my brother was in the Merchant Navy. So we were on different shifts in order that one of us could be at home with her. We were taught to drive in about six easy lessons and then assigned to a depot (these were old warehouse buildings.) The night shift meant that we went in from 8.00 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. and so , depending on the raids we managed a few hours sleep on steel — framed bunk beds. After we had been there a few weeks, we decided to take our own army style blankets. The ones provided there were not too clean and we began to itch.

Companionship was a wonderful thing and somehow it never entered our heads on being called out that we were in danger. We would go to a site that had been hit and deal with the casualties, taking them to various centres. Though we had taken a first — aid course, we always had a more qualified first — aid man with us.

After a year or more, the powers in higher office decided that as I was the eldest, I could be re-directed, as my mother still had my sister at home. I think they had forgotten that she was on shift work. I decided to go to a training centre and so help the war effort by repairing guns. I really can’t think why as I was far from being mechanically minded, and had actually worked in a very exclusive gown shop pre — war. I had about three months at a training centre in Leeds. I was lucky regarding accommodation as I had a friend whose aunt and uncle lived in Leeds and were happy to take me as a paying guest.

It was shift work again and exceptionally boring. One seemed to spend hours filing little bits of metal. I expect they were parts to be fitted onto ac-ac guns. Night shifts were endless, and in fact I did start to smoke so that I could get the odd few minutes off the work- bench. Fortunately I decided that this was expensive and this was the first time I had a bit more cash to spend on what clothes one could get. It was also the first time I had been in a big city beyond Hull, and there was much more to do and see, even in war-time.
After 22 weeks of training, I was ready and so went back to Hull and was sent to Brigham and Cowan’s, a ship building and gun repairing company. This being war time, Merchant navy ships were fitted with ac-ac guns, and these had to be brought off the ships into the yard to be cleaned and checked over after every trip. The fitter that I had to help was very lame, having had a motor-cycle accident. I remember that he was the first person that I came in contact with who bought ‘The Daily Worker’.

I must say that although we worked with men who had been in a ship-yard from being apprentices, we never heard the language that is used today. I also remember that when going to help fitters on a ship that was berthed, we would go on a small rowing boat to the ship, climbing rope ladders to get aboard the ship whose guns needed cleaning.

I feel that I was very happy there until the end of the war, and it was time to move on. I applied for and was successful in obtaining a position as a receptionist at an optometrist in the city centre.

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