大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer, Sue Hendrie, from CSV Action Desk on behalf of Roy B and has been added to the site with his permission. Roy B. fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Tractor boy nearly topples Granddad.

I was born in Taylor Road, Kings Heath and have lived in Birmingham all of my life.

My father was a policeman during the Second World War and was out and about much of the time. He had fought in the 1914/18 war and joined the police force some time in the 1930鈥檚.

I was 8 years old in 1940 when the bombing started and I was evacuated to Nottinghamshire. My brother, however, was only three and so stayed behind with my parents.

On the day I was evacuated I went to the railway station with my parents and they took me to Mansfield where we caught a bus to a little place called Teversal. There I went to live with a Mrs Thompson and her son but I don鈥檛 think she was very keen to receive me because I remember her saying, 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to have you because they said so.鈥� and that made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

I had to share a bedroom with the son who was about my age and I thought we鈥檇 get on well but we didn鈥檛. It was nice house but they didn鈥檛 really like me and I didn鈥檛 much like them. I was rather a naughty boy there because I used to bounce up and down on their settee and after a while Mrs Thompson said, 鈥淚 think we鈥檒l to have to let you go somewhere else.鈥� She must have written to the authorities asking for me to be moved because quite soon I moved down the road to the farm. I found life on the farm much more enjoyable. As far as I can remember I was treated quite well, kept busy and I didn鈥檛 play up so much.

Stanley Farm was about a mile or so down the road, and I lived there with the Woodall family. As well as Mrs Woodall there was Eddy the son who was about 19 years old, Joan the daughter and Granddad and while I was there Mrs Woodall had another son, David. Granddad was Mr or Mrs Woodall鈥檚 father and seemed to me to be about 90 years old, although he was probably only about 60, if that. Joan and the wife used to do the household chores like cooking and cleaning, while Eddy and Granddad did the farm work and I used to help. My parents visited me there a couple of times and they liked the people. They were kind and a nice family.

The Teversal area was very quiet. There were no aeroplanes or cars and only an occasional bus that used to go across the main road at the bottom. There were some bicycles, though I never went on one. We never went out socially because there was nowhere to go and too much work to do: looking after the pigs and the cows and there was a few sheep and plenty of chickens. I think I was pushed off to bed at about 8 o鈥檆lock.

It was quite a big farmhouse and had two staircases: the main stairs and the back stairs. I used the back stairs because the little bedroom I had to myself was at the top of those stairs.

Only the main room had a big fire in it and the rest were quite cold. The toilet was outside and was a wooden seat in a little hut on the other side of the yard, the bucket being emptied daily into the cesspool. If it was raining or anything, you got drowned before you got there. There wasn鈥檛 a bathroom so I used to sponge myself down at the washbasin and the water wasn鈥檛 very warm either!

Mrs Woodall used to make bread in the oven by the fire and the smell was gorgeous. We had bacon in the mornings because they kept their own pigs and would slaughter a pig or a cow occasionally and I would see it hanging up curing for about a fortnight before they started to use the meat. It didn鈥檛 bother me at that age seeing the animals slaughtered 鈥� it probably would now though! I think they made their own butter or cheese too. We had gorgeous food and enough of it.

I was evacuated at the end of summer and was away for autumn, winter and spring. It was particularly hard being on the farm for winter. I helped out with as many farm jobs as possible, like collecting the eggs.

I went around with Eddy quite a lot and we got on well. We used to go out shooting rabbits with a .22 rifle and sometimes he let me have a go at that. The rabbits were cooked for our dinner. We also went out rounding the cows up with the dogs, which was very interesting.

Granddad was the main person and I liked the old man. We got on well. He let me drive the tractor and help with the jobs around the farm and that was lovely as far as I was concerned. All hands were put to work getting the hay in but I was too young to do that and I couldn鈥檛 lift it anyway, it was too heavy, so they used to put me on the tractor and tell me to just ease it forward now and again so they could carry on with the harvest.

On one of these occasions I thought I could get between the gate and the gatepost at full speed with the tractor and trailer but forgot that Granddad was standing up with his pitchfork on the hay at the back as I set off with a sudden jerk, Granddad nearly fell off the top. I managed to get the tractor through the gate without touching it and stop the other end where I got a right telling off from Eddy and the farmer鈥檚 wife for nearly toppling Granddad off the hay trailer - I was only eight mind you!

I went to a local school while I was away and I detested it. They didn鈥檛 like me probably because they saw me as an interloper and I didn鈥檛 like them. Going to school, I used to walk by myself down the country lane and the other lads used to roll big stones down the road at me and I was frightened to death. Then when I got to school everyone was friendly as though nothing had happened. I didn鈥檛 like that. The only good thing I can remember about school is the little fire they had to keep it warm and that was nice when it was so cold outside.

Towards the end of 9 months, although I enjoyed life on the farm, I began to get a bit home sick and I decided I鈥檇 come home, so mum and dad came for me and we returned home from Mansfield by bus.

Even during my short stay I had picked up the local accent and would say things like, 鈥淵er cumin up road?鈥� and my parents would have to correct me with, 鈥淎re you coming up THE road?鈥�

I stayed with mum and dad living in King鈥檚 Heath for the rest of the war watching the planes go over and listening to the bombs dropping.

One Sunday morning about a year later I was in the back garden playing when I saw a plane come over and I thought, 鈥淗e鈥檚 low鈥�. I was very excited because it had got big black crosses on the wings and I waved at it not realising there was an airman at the back of it shooting. I ran to tell my parents what I鈥檇 seen and the next thing I knew, I was bundled under the table. I wanted to go back out to see the plane but they wouldn鈥檛 let me. I believe the plane didn鈥檛 do much damage but there were apparently two Spitfires high up in the sky waiting for him to come out of the built-up area and I was told later it was shot down somewhere near the more rural Maypole area.

I could tell when planes were coming over even before the sirens went because I have got very good hearing. I could hear the undulating engine noise from a great distance. I鈥檇 be doing my homework and I would hear a faint noise so I鈥檇 say, 鈥� The Germans are coming鈥� and would be told off. They鈥檇 say, 鈥淥f course they鈥檙e not. The sirens haven鈥檛 gone鈥� and I鈥檇 say 鈥淏ut they are. I can hear them coming鈥� and a bit later on (I don鈥檛 know how long) the sirens started and I鈥檇 say, 鈥淭here you are, I told you they鈥檙e coming鈥�. I could hear the enemy planes wherever they were, because the engines were desynchronised, not like ours, and they used to go 鈥榚ern, eern, eern鈥� - that sort of noise. Because I was so interested in planes I could recognise them as Messersmits, Heinkles, or whatever. After the war I joined the RAF and my interest in planes has continued.

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