大象传媒

1938
I met Stanley Vanner, my husband-to-be at a dance in 1938. I was wearing a light maroon-red, dress that had rows of looped tassels down its length. As we thanked each other for the dance; one of the loops had caught around a button on his jacket. We were hooked! It took ages to free the loop and by then we had arranged further meetings. Little did we know then that we would marry in the middle of a Battle?

1939-1940
In April 1939 Stan's younger brother, Albie decide to join the army and their mother asked Stan to go with him when he enlisted at the enlistment centre Albie underwent a thorough examination, was found unfit and not accepted. Instead, they enlisted Stan who was fit and well but had not intended to join the army at that time. He became a sapper in the Royal Engineers, served with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France, October 1939 to June 1940 and North Africa, December 1942 to June 1943, and was discharged from the army with shell shock in late 1943.
He was in France, in the area around Arras, Lille and Bethune, when the German Army swept through the Ardennes into France aiming to cut off the BEF before they reached the northern coast of France around Calais and Dunkirk. The British and French were pushed towards the coast and Stan, being a sapper, fought a rearguard action, laying mines on roads and bridges to delay the advancing Germans and allow as many soldiers as possible to escape. The evacuation at Dunkirk was going on and Stan was part of a small group heading for the coast with hardly any supplies and had to get food from French farmhouses. In fact one farmer told them they could have the farm as he and his family were leaving. Many farms were abandoned. There were hundreds of French families on the roads fleeing the Germans who were never far away. Laying mines to blow a bridge became impossible as the roads were clogged with the French on the move. They would try to get people off the bridge, shouting that they were going to blow it up and often saw some people signal to the Germans about the British.
One day one of Stan's mates went "reconnoitring" and returned with a van. He said that there was a boat leaving as soon as possible. They all climbed aboard the van and reached the boat not knowing where it was going. It landed in Scotland, after which he was sent to Aldershot for more training. Dunkirk lasted from May 27th to June 3rd/4th. Stan got home later in June, one of the last British troops to get out of France.

1940
One day a friend and I were on the London underground coming home from a night out when we saw lots of people held back by police stopping them going up the escalator on their way home. There had been a direct hit on the Bank Underground Station and they were bringing the wounded through on stretchers to safety. We were not able to get out so had to spend the night on the station. It was so crowded and the only place we could find to sleep was on the sloping area between the escalator steps. It was a very uncomfortable 鈥榖ed鈥�; we kept on sliding into a heap at the bottom. At daylight the police allowed us out and when we got home we found a few houses had been bombed. There had been heavy air raids during the night. We ran to see if we could help the people trapped in the cellars. We were handed a baby through the 'coal-hole' in the pavement, (cellars under houses extended under the pavement with access through a covered opening; coal was delivered through this hole).
The mother couldn't be found and my sister-in-law was ready to adopt the baby if its parents were not found alive. After a long time the mother was found, pulled from the cellar below the house. She was OK but very shaken and worried sick about her baby. When she saw that the baby was safe she was delighted and was comforted by her husband. They were all together again.

Wedding
Stan and I set our wedding day for 7th September 1940. Stan had returned safely from the beaches of Dunkirk after fighting a rear guard action, laying mines and demolishing anything that might aid the enemy. I spent ages searching for a dress, head dress and veil, as such things were difficult to find; and managed to find a pair of satin shoes for which I paid 12/6 (12 shillings and 6 pence = 62 and a half pence now). I also carried a bouquet of flowers. The dress was later borrowed by two relatives for their weddings and then later cut up and made into a christening dress for my baby daughter. Stan was able to borrow a Royal Engineers Dress Uniform and looked very smart. My brother Rod gave me away and we were married at Saint Peter's Church, Bethnal Green, East London.
After the service we had a reception with sandwiches and drinks in the church hall, by which time it was getting dark. Little did we know that our wedding night, 7th September 1940 was the night Hitler decided to begin the Blitz of London. The German bombers struck the docks that were only one and a half miles from Bethnal Green. The warehouses were full of inflammable goods and caused huge explosions and fires. Burning sugar from the Tate and Lyle factory was said to be running down the streets. As the docks blazed it lit up most of the East End of London and the residential areas were at risk. Rod went outside to have a cigarette.
"Put that bloody cigarette out!" an ARP warden shouted to him as he lit up,
"You're joking." Rod replied, pointing to the glow of the flames and noises coming from to docks. "You put that bloody lot out? How are they going to see me, with the docks lit up like that?"
Our wedding night and the next night were spent in an air raid shelter in the cellar of the house in Barnsbury, North London where I had been staying with my brother, Rod, and his wife, Lou. Many other people were using it too so there was no privacy. Stan's short leave was up and he had to return to the Army. What a honeymoon!

1942-1944
Stan was involved in Operation Torch, part of the North African Campaign, and was in the First Army's landings at Bone Algeria in 1942. The troops were transported by ship from England, through the Channel, round Cape Finisterre in Brittany, south through the Bay of Biscay, through the Straits of Gibraltar to the Algerian coast. The journey was through some very dangerous waters, swarming with U boats and they were accommodated below the water line. They stood no chance if hit by a torpedo. Stan spoke of hearing torpedoes speeding through the water with a distinct whine. They could also hear when a ship was hit as the sound travelled well through the water, and as the ships went down the heavy armour could be heard falling down the ship's length while ammunition detonated. Thankfully he and his ship got through and reached Bone, Algeria. (now Annaba)
Stan fought with the first Army Group under Alexander, through Algeria and into Tunisia. He was involved in many battles including the battle of the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia. One battle involved his force taking a hill and passing it over to the Americans to hold. The news that they had lost it to the Germans was not well received, as the British had to retake the hill with more loss of life.
While this was going on I found out I was pregnant with our first child. I lived in a flat in the Buildings at Stepney Green. We got the flat, as Stan's Uncle was the caretaker of the building. When the air raids started, sirens would sound and the people from other flats would knock on each other's doors calling, "Air Raid!" to warn them and then run down the stairs to the shelters. A lot of people in the flats were Jewish and were very frightened as so many awful tales had been heard about Jews in Europe. I started to run with all the others but as I was pregnant I thought I was in real danger of being killed in the crush, so I stayed in my flat. I used to look out of the window and watch the "Dog Fights" in the sky - our fighters against the Germans - I felt safer doing that.
Stan described some of his life in the desert. Water was difficult to get and had to be conserved. It was used to make tea and if any left over re-used to wash and shave. Tea was precious to the troops and prized by the local nomadic people. One minute there was nothing to see but sand and dunes and the next there was an Arab, appearing as if by magic, asking for tea. The soldiers would trade things with the local people but found they were scoundrels and would cheat the troops. To pay them back, small containers of used tea leaves were topped with a small layer of new tea, which the troops then traded with the Arabs. The troops learned fast how to get their own back. At night it became very cold after the heat of the day and with no lights, very dark. The night sky though was wonderful and often a Scottish piper would begin to play a lament. It was quite eerie and on one occasion there was a single shot; the piper would stop playing; only for the pipes to begin again a minute or so later, when a new piper continued to play.
In spring 1943, I received a telegram from the War Office informing me that Stan was missing presumed killed in Tunisia. I was pregnant, with the baby due in August, and obviously shocked at this news. I learned later that one of his mates was missing after a patrol and he and two others went out to find him. As they were searching, his mates each side of him were blown up by mines. He was close to them and although physically uninjured he was shell shocked and wandered for miles before being picked up by a British patrol only a few miles from the German Lines.
My brother Rod was also in North Africa and one day came across a Royal Engineers unit. He asked a soldier if Stanley Vanner was with this unit only to be told by the soldier who pointed at a vehicle leaving the area,
鈥淒o you see that ambulance? Well he鈥檚 in there, you鈥檝e just missed him, mate鈥� Rod then learned what had happened to Stan and was so sorry he had just missed seeing him.
Initially Stan was treated behind the lines but eventually was shipped home in June 1943 for further treatment at the Maudesley Hospital, London. It was only at this point that I heard he was safe and in England.
While Stan was recovering in hospital, I was evacuated, for the birth of our daughter, to Wisbech in Cambridgeshire. As it was some time before she was born, I and another mum-to-be would wander round the local graveyard to look for names to give our babies. While I was away my husband's family found a flat for us in Marlborough Road, Forest Gate, a safer area than Stepney Green. The few items we had were put on a costermonger's barrow and pushed on foot from Stepney to our new home in Marlborough Road, Forest Gate by my Father in Law. He had to make 2 journeys, each about 10 miles there and back. That takes some doing and he was over 50!
Stan was discharged from the army in October 1943 and shortly afterwards joined me and our 4 week old baby in our new flat in Forest Gate. In early summer of 1944 the Doodlebugs started to come over. Doodlebugs or V1 rockets were pilot less, small planes that were aimed at London. They would fly with a distinctive low, engine sound, until the fuel ran out then would just fall from the sky onto whatever was below it. Many people were killed and the horror and fear made you pray it would fly over and land somewhere else, but you never really knew what would happen. If Doodlebugs came over Stan would be desperate to get somewhere safe. He suffered a lot because of his shell shock and had to fight the fear that returned whenever he heard the sound of the bombs. We would run down into the cellar below the house and I would lie over Helen, my baby, and would say to myself, "Please God don't let us die, Please God." begging God to keep us safe. He did.

1944 -45
While we lived at Forest Gate I remember King George VI and Queen Elizabeth driving along Green Street at the end of our road. All the people rushed to wave to them as they passed. I also remember in the summer of 1944, lots of activity in Green Street, tanks being moved, lorries and troops on the roads. This turned out to be part of D-DAY. It was very difficult for Stan, being out of the action; he wanted to go back, land in France and "finish the job he started in 1939". At the end of the summer there was more action and I recall the sky turning black as wave after wave after wave of bombers and transport planes were flying eastwards. There were hundreds of aircraft and it seemed to go on for ages. This turned out to be part of 鈥淥peration Margaret Garden鈥� the name given to the capture of the bridge at Arnhem in Holland, known as "A Bridge Too Far".
I used to go to the cinema during the afternoons and take the baby. I could feed her and then she would sleep. The programmes were very good. We saw 2 films; advertisements and a live stage show, all for 9d (about 4p now). I remember once going with my sister, Lillian, and her daughter, Pam, who was about 2 years old. We had watched the stage show, the adverts and one film, and we were well into the main film. My baby had been fed and was sleeping but Pam was getting fidgety and Lillian, engrossed in the film, let Pam have a wander. She couldn't go far, could she?
As the film reached the climax where the characters were about to kiss, go off into the sunset and live happily ever after, there was an ear piercing sound. Pam had managed to get to the back of the cinema and, seeing a long, gentle slope down to the screen, she put her arms out like a bird and ran down the aisle, calling at the top of her voice, "WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE". Many hearts fluttered but not at the film. Lillian was very embarrassed and 'ushered' Pam out of the cinema missing the end of the film. It has always made the family laugh.

VE DAY 1945
It was difficult with a toddler to look after, to go to central London and celebrate VE day with the rest of London. In Forest Gate we had a street party in Marlborough Road, with all the neighbours contributing something for the party. Rations were still in place so it was not easy to make a big spread but everyone did their best. My sister-in-law came down from Birmingham to join the celebrations. I made a 鈥榗ostume鈥� of red, white and blue for my little girl, Helen, and sat her on a three wheeled tricycle that had also been draped in red, white and blue. The children paraded in their costumes for all to see. What a wonderful day; at last the war was over. But little did we know how long rationing would go on for.

The first Bananas
During the Battle of the Atlantic and the difficulties of shipping exotic fruits like bananas and oranges to Britain, we rarely if ever saw such delights. It was well after the end of the war that bananas began arriving in England, so you can imagine how quickly the news spread that the local green grocers had bananas for sale. I quickly rushed to the shop with the baby in the pram and got in the queue. Everyone was so excited at the thought of tasting bananas again after so long. We were told that we were only allowed two bananas each as they were still in short supply. Eventually I was served and stood outside the shop, took out one of the precious bananas, peeled the skin down a little way away and said to my daughter as I offered it to her, 鈥淟ook, Lynn, taste this, it鈥檚 lovely.鈥� She took a bite rather suspiciously and I waited for her to smile as she tasted it. But she just screwed up her little face and said 鈥淯rgh鈥�, and threw it out of the pram and onto the ground. I was stunned at her reaction and the queue of shoppers uttered a collective cry of horror. But, waste not want not, I picked up the rejected banana, put it in my bag and went home. The war had taught us not to waste food and I was not going to start now.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.