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RE: WARTIME EXPERIENCES

I set out some of my experiences below:

I am the eldest of 4 children and at the time War was declared my younger brother was not born.
My parents had moved from Prinsted (Near Emsworth) to Whyke Lane in Chichester in January 1939. Although I have a vague memory of some gas mask fitting at school possibly in late 1938 when I was in my first year at Southbourne School.
On the day war was declare my father had hired a car and taken the family and a friend of my mother’s for a drive and I remember someone stopping us and then going on to an army camp. Some time later my, other told us it was soldiers who stopped us to find out the latest position and after we stopped at the army camp we found out war was declared. Being 6 at the time and about to start my second full year at school the importance of that day had not registered.
Somewhen later I remember us being driven to Selsey because my parents wanted to see the bomb damage there.
Then around late 1940 my mother’s friend came to live with us because her husband was reported missing in action. Later he was reported as a prisoner of war and sometimes I wrote letters to him.
I do remember having lessons interrupted for day-time air raids and having to dash to the shelters. When I got to the Central Boys school in 1941 the talk was of having a blackboard in the shelters so lessons could continue. But those day-time air raids became less frequent from the next school year onwards.
Also around 1941 I joined the cubs and due to a change in family circumstances my mother could not afford to buy any part of the uniform and the cub-mistress managed to get most of it from others who had out grown theirs. The only missing item was the woggle. Knowing it could be a cord one I took a piece of string the elder son of our neighbour who was soon to go in the Navy asking if he could make one for me. He took the string and a few days later gave one that was his and hung the piece of string on a nail in the wall. Some months later Ken Tester died.
Night air raids seemed to go on for much longer and sometimes disturbed sleep happened more than once a night as we dashed to the street shelters. As we got older those shelters were also places to meet at times as well as hiding places for some of our games.
I can also remember the blast Walls that were erected about 18 inches from our front room window and used to make the room dark.
There was also the blackout to contend with and if torches were not used sparingly you had to find your way in the dark. The warming of the batteries in the oven for a while was used to extend their life - it did not always work.
I do remember going to look at two lots of bomb damage in Chichester - That in St Martins Street and how it changed our use of the Crooked ‘S’. The other was in Bridge Road. We were amazed at the peculiar effects of the blast effects. On both occasions they were claimed to be short cut diversions that boys made.
Whilst the American troops were around we used to try and collect the cigarette cards that came with cigarettes they smoked. Then for some time troops were placed around the Recreation Ground in New Park Road we did not know it was for D Day then to arrive at school (Central Boys) and find them all gone was a surprise. It was later we heard about D Day landings and advances through Europe. However during the time the troops were around that Recreation Ground we did have one scare in school when there was a sudden burst of a machine gun when we all dived under the desks. We never did know what really happened.
Then when the Liberator crashed into the back of the Electric Laundry I was walking down Whyke Lane with Bernard Price and we were almost home when we heard a loud thud behind us and windows shatter because of the vibrations. So we went back up the Lane and saw the roof of a bungalow (Babitone was its name) next to Tadd’s shop severely damaged and Mrs Weston the other side rather hysterical. We could not get much further. Later I learnt that Bernard Price’s father was injured, and later died. He had been working on his allotment. The wide furrow and dip seen for some time on both sides of the path was created by the Liberator. One other incident on the next day was hear how one of my class mates had visited his mother at the Laundry and helped to get her out. I think his surname was Norman.
That evening my mother took us all on the bus to Nutbourne to see her mother to assure her we were all OK. One temporary effect was for the 31 Bus to be routed round through Whyke Lane.
Some other things are -
We used milk bottle tops as a template to make pom-poms
We made ‘tanks’ out of cotton reels, a rubber band, one and a half matchsticks and a piece of candle.
One change for us was for milk to be delivered in bottles of differing sizes - half pint, one pint, one and a half pint and two pint sizes to suit the household quota.
Then, if I have got the timing right, a dimmed street lighting was used near the end of the war.

One family effect of D Day was that a few days before she was was discharged from a long stay in hospital so we saw her for the first time for many months. The children were not allowed to have family visitors. All we could do was find out from the office how she was.

The Shippams Social club in East walls was used by the Central Boys School for extra classrooms and school canteen.

Also evacuees were taught separately at that school - It seemed as though a whole school was moved for a while. A number of evacuees were not like because they seemed to be ‘know-alls’

Whilst at the Central Boys school we were often warned about picking up things because they might be enemy booby traps.
I did see one or two ‘Doodle-bugs’ (flying bombs) go over and we were thankful that their engine did not cut out in our vision.

One Saturday whilst I was about 10 I walked from Chichester to Nutbourne because I was afraid I would be turned off the bus due to travel restrictions. I had heard about it happening to someone entering Emsworth. It may have been a rumour I never knew. All I know is that I was assured that it would not have applied to me - never knew why? It was a distance of 6 miles from my home and the weather was dampish all the way. The imaginations of young boys!

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