大象传媒

This story was submitted to the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War site by Wymondham Learning Centre on behalf of the author who fully understand the site's terms and conditions.

Waving to German pilots:

I recall returning home from Sunday school at Silfield Chapel with my friend, Beryl, when we were aware there was a 鈥榩lane flying very low. There were crosses on it so we knew it was a German 鈥榩lane. It was so low we could see the pilot so Beryl and I waved and the pilot waved back, he then flew off. We were very excited and could not wait to tell our parents. They were very cross with us and said, 鈥淵ou should not have done that 鈥� you are very lucky to be alive.鈥�

We were later told this 鈥榩lane had machine-gunned Pople Street, Wymondham.

Collecting newspaper:

During World War Two every one saved newspaper. At weekends my friend, Beryl, and I used to collect newspaper for the war effort, we had an old pram in which to collect it from the homes at Manor Farm and along Wattlefield Road. We would then take the paper up to the barn at Barber鈥檚 Yard. It used to be filled to the top with paper. We never knew what it was used for.

Old sheets:

At the beginning of the war we used to tear up old sheets and pillow cases to stick on the windows.

Fake chocolate:

We did not have many sweets during the war. On one occasion my mother鈥檚 oil lamp glass got broken and I was sent to buy a replacement glass at Ashwellthorpe. At the shop we were very excited at seeing chocolate on the front of the counter for which you needed no coupons. We bought two bars and ate them on the way home. I gave my mother the paper and she was shocked to see that we had eaten bars of chocolate laxative!

Bombs in Norwich:

We lived at Manor Farm Cottages, Silfield. We could see the lights from the bombing of Norwich. The whole sky was lit up 鈥� it was many times brighter than Norwich today with all its lights.

Sometimes we would sit on the window sill and watch and other times we would sleep through the raids on Norwich. Sometimes while I was sleeping through the raids my mother would be awake and would frequently look out of the window to check if there was a stray 鈥榩lane coming our way. We had no air-raid shelter.

I can remember three bombs in particular. The first one just missed the railway and landed near Spooner Row. There was an enormous crater where it landed and I got my bits of shrapnel from there, which I was very proud of. The second bomb was at Howletts Farm and landed at the side of the dairy and blew an apple tree down.

Fortunately no damage was done to houses.
Another bomb landed near Silfield Street on Mr and Mrs Bond鈥檚 land.

I remember a neighbour by the name of Myrtle Matthew and her aunt and granny used to go to what we called the monkey house to spend the night when there was an air raid. All the walls were reinforced with anything Mr Barber (grandfather) could find. There were even bed ends cemented into the walls to make them stronger.

Beryl鈥檚 dad was never very keen to get up, even when the bombs were falling. He used to say he would take his chance and stay in bed. At the time my brother and his wife lived with us. Beside their bed they would have a small case already packed in case they had to leave the house to go to the shelter. Inside their case were their insurance policies and first aid kit. Fortunately, at the last moment, my brother would always insist my dad got up to go outside.

Hethel Air Base:

Our village was close to Hethel, which was a very large American base. Jimmy Stewart was based there for part of the war.
We used to watch the 鈥榩lanes getting into formation before setting off on missions. We would count them out and count them back. On returning they would light flares if they had injured people on board and this would give them priority when it came to landing.

During the war we had double summer time.
Many trains brought bombs to Wymondham Station for the American bases. Some were taken to Tibenham and I can remember lying in bed at nights hearing the lorries taking the bombs to Hethel. The lorries would start to rumble at 6.30 pm and continue to 10 pm. They whizzed along the country lanes.

Many American troops used Wymondham Station. It seemed to be that there were as many American as British living in the area.

I remember just before D-Day great manoeuvres in the country lanes with lorries everywhere and camouflaged soldiers under bushes. They never spoke to us when on manoeuvres.

Food:

We had a large garden and we grew lots of vegetables. A favourite meal of mine was Woolton Pie. It had lots of vegetables and odd bits of meat and gravy. I thought it delicious.

The Ministry of Health used to give advice on nutrition and Granny Buggins used to talk on the wireless about recipes. We found these very helpful.

Listening to the wireless:

My brother in the Royal Army Service Corps was a driver of an ambulance in Italy and followed the 8th Army. I remember there used to be a special forces programme when the men in the armed forces would record a message which was sent to the people at home.

My mother had an official letter saying that Jimmy Long (my brother) would be on the wireless. We were so delighted but the trouble was we had no wireless, so we all went to a friend鈥檚 house. We waited as one serviceman after another gave their message. My mother got more and more anxious as it seemed Jimmy would not appear. Every time we moved Mum said 鈥淪hush!鈥� Right at the end of the programme my mother was so excited and fearful at hearing him. I remember him saying 鈥淗ello Mum.鈥�

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