大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by Barbara Collins-Newing and has been added to the website on behalf of
Mrs M E Boughton with her permission and she fully understands the site's terms and conditions".

At the outbreak of the Second World War Lyminge was invaded by troops - the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was the first to arrive in 1940. They occupied all the evacuated houses, erected ten camouflaged Nissen huts on Tayne Field and others around the Church Hall, which was used as one of the several dining halls. Troops came and went throughout the duration of the war with many undergoing what was, perhaps, their only training, in the countryside around Lyminge - tanks careering across fields, gardens and roads!

My husband continued his normal job, but at the same time helped to man the Observer Corp Post (on the ridge over Nash Hill). One night, towards the end of the war, he came home full of excitement and called us all out of bed to witness France lit up by tracer bullets and flares.

Lyminge did not escape unscathed. During one air raid two bombs fell in Shanty Gardens and others in North Lyminge. Fortunately, they did not cause too much damage as the ground was very wet (after a bout of typically English weather!) so the shock of the bombs was absorbed downwards rather than outwards. Land mines fell by the Observer Corp post and in Ottinge - dropped by a British aeroplane flown by a Polish crew!

Several doodlebugs found their way to the Lyminge area. The last landed in an orchard at Monks Horton. The poor old gardener suddenly found himself pelted with apples.

Not long before, one came straight over the Church and our house and hit the Chapel in Church Road. The blast demolished our scullery and severely damaged the rear of our house. Fortunately, none of us was harmed, but we had great difficulty in finding our clothes, which we always kept by our bedsides, and even more difficulty in getting down our encased staircase as rubble had piled up against the door at the bottom. Our house was condemned as unsafe, so we had to move in with relations. Obviously, this was a great shock to us all - not least to my gold wedding ring which turned white!!! Jokingly, I accused my husband of buying a cheap ring, but it regained its gold lustre about two months later.

The resilience of children ensured that they had some fun during the war. My younger son and his friends vied with each other for the best collection of cap badges, bullet cases, miscellaneous pieces of 'planes and tanks and other souvenirs. A favourite pastime was watching spotter 'planes take off and land at Green Elves (where the village hall now stands). Big Bertha was their champion. "She" was a huge gun mounted on rails which travelled up and down the Elham Valley railway line. The German Luftwaffe tried, but failed to destroy her. One Sunday afternoon they pulverised the railway track, but Big Bertha was safely ensconced in the tunnel at Etchinghill.

On hearing that the war was over (VE night) the youngsters of the village started a bonfire on Tayne Field. All sorts of burnable substances were gathered - including sundry pieces off the Nissen Huts! PC Ted Halliday was not amused by the revelry. He ordered that the fire should be out by 10.00 pm and held the oldest youngster present responsible for seeing that it was. As the pub emptied and the news spread that the war was over more and more people brought fuel for the fire and all indulged in much singing and dancing. Such was the power of PC Halliday that just before 10.00 pm the youngster held responsible for seeing that the fire was out dashed home and, much to his mother's surprise, went straight to bed. He dis not escape, however, as the policeman ensured that he had a good dose of "boxed ears" the following morning.

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