大象传媒

I was born Kathleen Stock on 23rd April 1923 at Prospect Road Old Whittington. I lived with my parents John Thomas and Elizabeth Ann Stock (nee Ward).

On leaving school I worked at Derbyshire's Drapery, a big shop on Whittington Moor as a shop assistant. It was a big shop and during war time I would go and do the buying with the bosses wife, travelling salesmen did not come to us then and we had to go to places such as Coventry and Leicester for supplies.

At weekends during the war friends and I would go to the Church Hall at old Whittington to the dance. It was here that I met Sidney Witham, I knew his sister, she was a friend of mine. Sidney used to smoke a pipe with no tobacco in it (all for the effect of course!)

Sidney and I began dating. At the time Sid was a welder but it was not long before he was called up. We kept our romance going by correspondence and I used to go and stay with Sid when I could, I remember staying at Somerset, London and Wales with him.

Because I was not a married woman, and worked in a shop the government kept trying to send me to various places to do war work, eventually they said I had to go to Leicester to work as a crane driver but then Sid and I decided to get married and did so on a 48 hour pass, Sid arrived at 2 o'clock in the morning and we were married at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. We got married in 1943 at Old Whittington Parish Church, I wore a pink dress and carried a white prayer book. We were also lucky enough to have a wedding cake, everyone got together and we had a bit of a do at my mums house, thanks to the black market, we even had a tin of spam!

Sid had to go back that same night, I was really upset and waved him off at the door as he made his way to the train station to return to duty.

I got to visit Sid not long after, I went down to London and stayed with a lady whose husband was also in the forces, she had a little boy. My dad went to the train station with me and my sister, Lillian, she was going to stay with friends for a week. We were catching the midnight train and all of the carriages were full, when we opened the last coach we saw it was full of men from the army and navy. We were worried that we couldn't get on the train but when the men saw it was two 'lasses' they made room for us and were happy to let us in. We said goodbye to our dad and had to spend the rest of the journey to London sat on my case in the corridor. I stayed with Sid for two months. Then he got moved to Wales so I went back home.

In Wales Sid and two other airmen were billeted with a Welsh couple and all they could speak was Welsh. Sid complained to his billeting officer who told him he had to play ball with the locals and be happy with what he got.

On Saturday the 6th August 1944 one of Sids crew, Joe Butler was getting married, Sid was coming home for the wedding. My son John was only six months old at the time and on the Friday before when I got a telegram delivered by Mr Kerry the Postman, I assumed it was from Sid to say that he could not make the train back for Joes wedding on Saturday. Joe Butler had been to stay with us the weekend before whilst on leave. When the telegram was handed to me I had my finger over the bit that said 'priority'. I was living with my mother at the time and when I opened up the blue envelope and read the word 'priority' and the words that followed, I fainted.

From Wing Commander D A Garner
Royal Air Force Station
Kirmington
Lincolnshire
dated 4th August 1944

Dear Mrs. Witham

May I be permitted to express my own and the squadrons sincere sympathy with you in the sad news concerning your husband Sergeant Sidney Witham.

The aircraft of which he was the Flight Engineer took off to attack Trossy St. Maximin Constructional Works, near Paris on the 3rd August 1944, and nothing further had been heard.

You may be aware that in quite a large percentage of cases aircrew reported missing are eventually reported prisoner of war, and I hope that this may give you some comfort in your anxiety.

Your husband was a most proficient Flight Engineer and his loss is deeply regretted by us all.

It is desired to explain that the request in the telegram notifying you of the casualty to your husband was included with the object of avoiding his chance of escape being prejudiced by undue publicity in case he was still at large. This is not to say that any further information about him is available but is a precaution adopted in the case of all personnel reported missing.

Your husband's effects have been collected and will be forwarded to you in due course through Air Ministry channels.

Once again please accept the deep sympathy of us all, and let us hope that we may soon have some good news of the safety of your husband.

Yours very sincerely,
Donald a Garner

Mrs. K. Witham
124, Prospect Road,
Old Whittington,
Chesterfirld,
Derbyshire.

My mother brought me to with smelling salts, I was devastated!

It transpired that I should have got the telegram Thursday afternoon just after he had been shot down but I had not received it until the Friday. So I had continued unaware of Sids fate for two days.

Life was unbearable, I did not want to see anyone and cried all of the time. One day my mum said that there were some ladies at the door, all five of the mums and sweethearts of the men that had been killed during the raid had come to visit me, including Joes fiancee whom he should have been married to by now. It was a very sad day.

I stayed in the house for a very long time, my life stood still without Sid, outside the weather was beautiful and mum kept on at me to take John out for a walk in the fresh air.

Eventually I gave in and put John in his pram and we went for a walk along the road.

On the opposite side of the road I saw an airman walking towards me, my heart leapt in my chest until I realised that it was Stanley Bennett, a local man who was home on leave. Once Stanley saw me he crossed over the road and went up a side street, people tended to avoid me because they did not know what to say to me.

Unfortunately Stanley never returned home after that visit, he was killed in action not long after I saw him......

One bank holiday monday my mum persuaded me to go up to Brierly Park at Old Whittington, they had games and decorated drays on for entertainment. She said "I will walk with you and we can take John, there will not be that many people there"

During the day we sat down on a bench for a rest. An old man came and sat down in between us and said "oh what a lovely lad and wheres his dad?" That just did me and I got the pram and just rushed home in a flood of tears, leaving my mother there.

The worst thing was just not knowing, it was an awful time. Everyday was painful it never got any easier. Everything reminded me of Sid.

One day, when the war had ended Sid's brother Ernest came to the house, "I just came to let you know that our Sids coming home he said, he was taken by the French Resistance and is OK. He phoned Waggs Coal Merchants to pass on the message". I felt absolutely wonderful! I could not believe that he was alright, my black cloud had lifted....

The day came for Sids return, we had bunting out on the street and everyone had turned out to see him. Ernest came indoors and said "come outside now because he is coming over Whittington Hills". But I could not bring myself to go out and look, with everyone being there I did not want to start crying in front of them so I waited indoors until he came in - Our honeymoon period finally began....

We stayed with my mum until the house next door number 122 Prospect Road became empty.
We moved into it and continued with our family. Eventually when my mum passed away, we knocked both houses into one and I lived there for 72 years until recently when Sid and I both moved into a bungalow.

See Sids story

'From the Lancaster Bombers to the French Resistance'

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