大象传媒

A Schoolboy鈥檚 War by Jack Russell

Background
In 1939, when I was 13 years old, I lived with my parents and younger brother (11) on Stourbridge Road, Halesowen. This was (and is) a busy main road from Birmingham to Stourbridge, with a cosmopolitan collection of houses ranging from small, but elegant villa type houses (professional people, civil servants) and a good number of 鈥渨orking people鈥檚 houses鈥�, no front garden and shared 鈥渇acilities鈥�. There were shops, several pubs, a chapel, factories and playing fields 鈥� few cars! We lived in a small house. Mother had a shop and father made cane furniture in a workshop in the garden. Everyone knew everybody and we all got on pretty well together. I went to the local grammar school, regularly to church and was a boy scout.

This environment served us well in the dark days of 1939/42; thereafter the war situation got better for 鈥渙ur side鈥�.

In particular, we were a community, pretty well fed, clothed and warm. The 鈥済rown ups鈥� set a good example 鈥� calm, optimistic and in control 鈥� intensely patriotic. The Great War had ended only 20 years before and many had experience of it. Not much bombing, but for example, my father took 鈥渢he Kings shilling鈥� with his pals in 1914 and spent 4 years in the trenches. Uncle Billy was wounded and gassed and taken prisoner. Men like these were not easily intimidated!

Specifics
1. Walking home from school one afternoon, I saw a Heinkel Bomber drop a bomb near Vincents Toffee Factory (Halesowen) probably thinking it was Longbridge. A concerned lady bundled me into an air raid shelter nearby. I learned recently it was shot down.
2. My maternal grandfather had retired to Bredon near Evesham. When down there one day, playing down the river, I saw a Junkers 87 dive bomber, siren wailing, drop a bomb on Bredon Hill 鈥� probably attacking a radar establishment.

3. We shared an Air Raid Shelter with the Prices, neighbours 鈥� 6 adults and 3 children. For several nights we saw Coventry, 30 miles away, burning. The sky seemed on fire.

4. We all wanted to be involved. I joined the A.T.C. (Air Training Corps) and fire watched at school.

I volunteered for the Royal Navy when I was 18 and after training was posted to Northern Ireland before joining a newly commissioned frigate destined for the Pacific. The 鈥楨uropean鈥� war had ended and mercifully the Pacific was over soon afterwards. We spent 1946 in the Mediterranean whose countries were chaotic after the war 鈥� I hope we helped straighten things out!
This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Sue Russell of the 大象传媒 on behalf of Mr Jack Russell and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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