大象传媒

PART 2

Harry鈥檚 War Time Days:

鈥淎mongst other duties I carried out during the war was that of Special Constable. My usual time for duty was from 10.00 pm until 2.00 am and the first time I reported for duty at the Police Headquarters in St Mary鈥檚 Street, there were three other members there ready for anything that came along. Until we were called upon, there was little to be done and I was asked if I played Solo. I said I did and one of the members told me the stakes were 2/- solo, 2/6 misere and 2/6 abundance.
鈥榊ou can鈥檛 afford stakes like that,鈥� I said. 鈥榊ou鈥檒l lose 拢20 between now and two o鈥檆lock鈥�.
鈥業 shan鈥檛 lose 拢20,鈥� he boasted.
鈥榃ell, someone is going to lose 拢20 with stakes like that,鈥� I observed.

鈥業t鈥檚 only a game and I propose we have 1/2d solo, 1d misere and 1d abundance.鈥�
These stakes were immediately accepted by other members and they remained the accepted stakes until the end of the war. The member who had suggested the larger stakes rose from the table and refused to play at all. We got Mr. Wilson, the gaoler, to make up the four that night.

Those Solo sessions caused a lot of fun, and I remember vividly one night, Frank Kimberly was on my right, Fred Miles on my left and immediately facing me was Fred Clarke. It was the last call of that night and I called solo and played the Ace of Spades.
鈥楾hat鈥檚 one,鈥� I said.
鈥榃hat do you mean that鈥檚 one?鈥� asked Frank Kimberly.
鈥楢ce of Spades,鈥� I said.
鈥榊ou never played the Ace of Spades,鈥� said Frank.
Of course, I knew I had, but without that Ace I lost the game. As they were all getting over their excitement, knowing full well they had tricked me, I picked up the kitty, paid them all out 1/2d each and put the rest into my pocket.
鈥榃here鈥檚 my money gone?鈥� demanded Frank.
鈥業t鈥檚 gone with my Ace of Spades,鈥� I replied.
We finished that evening in gales of laughter. The next night, Frank was killed as he sat in the same place. How close it all was!

As a Special Constable, I was sometimes attached to the Bomb Disposal Unit. It was most interesting going about with these people whom I considered heroes, but who treated their job as normal routine. On one occasion there was an unexploded bomb in Gulson Road which had made a large hole in the centre of the road. Sergeant Stinchcombe and I went along and there was a bomb disposal man sitting on the edge of the hole with his legs dangling inside.
鈥楾here鈥檚 definitely a bomb down there, I can hear it ticking,鈥� he said unconcernedly.
Sergeant Stinchcombe asked, 鈥楬ow long have we got before it goes off?鈥�
鈥業 can鈥檛 tell you that,鈥� he replied. 鈥業t could be anytime.鈥�
Personally, I was thinking of moving off rather quickly and with self-preservation uppermost in mind, I suggested I should go and see if I could find a bottle or so of beer. This idea was hastily vetoed and I was told to clear all persons from property in the vicinity until after 5.00 pm that day. The bomb disposal man said he would put a wire on the bomb and if it did not go off before 5.00 pm, he would blow it up. About 4.45 the same afternoon, I was in my local club with five or six other men and I told them that a bomb would explode at 5.00 pm. They laughed and jeered at me and asked if I was in communication with the Home Office. I told them,
鈥業鈥檓 telling you that a bomb will go off at 5.00 pm and it will be near the centre of the town.鈥�
They all sat in the club watching the minutes ticking away. Dead on 5.00 pm there was an explosion. They all looked at me incredulously.
鈥楬ow did you know?鈥� 鈥榃ho told you?鈥� they plied me with questions but I just laughed and I never told them how I knew.

We were all strained to the limit in those days. After a day鈥檚 work, I was usually on duty as a Special from 10.00 pm until 2.00 am unless I was on special duties with the Bomb Disposal Unit. Some nights we would not be called out, but even if we were just passing the four hours by playing cards, it gave no-one any pleasure. No-one seemed to worry overmuch. There was a great spirit among people in those terrible days, which I cannot explain. I suppose it must be something to do with being British. When people are forced by circumstances, it seems to bring the best out of everyone.

The Craven Arms in High Street, Coventry, is reputed to have had Dick Turpin the Highwayman stay there. A Mrs Ireland kept the Craven Arms during the war and she was marvellous. She coped magnificently with all the troubles of rationing, shortages and delays in beer deliveries. The pub used to remain open until 4.00 pm on Fridays and this was known as Farmer鈥檚 Day. The Special Constables used to meet Inspector Bonham there on Friday afternoons. These meetings were most valuable because without direct contact there would have been things he would have otherwise not heard about. It was very tough at that time, with most of the centre of Coventry in ruins. It was quite usual to see sewer rats running through the Smoke Room at the Craven Arms. One Friday, we had all met there as usual and just before 4.00 pm Inspector Bonham put on his bowler hat, which he always wore, and said,
鈥榃ell, I hope to see you all some time.鈥�
He walked out, and in his office in St Mary鈥檚 Street adjoining the Council House, he shot himself.
The horror, and his responsibilities were too much for him. He was a big man and a gentleman, and I think a brave one.

At the beginning of the war, I had some labour problems. Some of the factories in Coventry had introduced Sunday working with double pay and some of my more militant men thought it would be good idea to work on Sundays for double pay and have Mondays off, thereby getting seven days pay for six days work. I had a little card printed and put one in every wage packet. It read:
鈥楧on鈥檛 worry about what Hitler is going to do,
Talk about what our boys are doing,
And do a bit more yourself.鈥�
Not that it did me much good 鈥� they nearly went on strike!

I also had some trouble about the same time with the tea that was served to the men on the shop floor. A spokesman came to see me and complained about the charge that was being made. He told me that the Coventry Chain supplied tea at a halfpenny without sugar and a penny with sugar and our lads wanted the same benefits. I contacted the Works Manager at the Coventry Chain and he arranged for me to see their Canteen Manageress. She confirmed that they did indeed charge a halfpenny without sugar and a penny with sugar and she also showed me the cups in which it was supplied. I asked her if she would lend me some of the cups so I could give my lads exactly the same measure. She gave me the cups and also a signed note stating the prices charged. I went back to my factory and asked the men if they wanted the same conditions as the Chain. They said they did. I gave my tea lady instructions to supply exactly the same measure as the Chain, at their prices.

Next morning, the lads lined up for their tea holding their mugs and beakers, some of which could hold up to a pint of liquid, and the tea lady poured a measure of tea into each one. It hardly covered the bottom of some of the cups! The uproar from the men was such that I had to go down and see them,
鈥榃ell, you wanted tea exactly like the Chain and now you鈥檝e got it,鈥�
That almost caused a strike too!

Clapham and Dwyer were a comedy duo who used to perform at the Coventry Hippodrome. They were great friends of mine. One afternoon during the war, I had promised to go to St. Lawrence鈥檚 Church 鈥楥radle Roll鈥� to have a chat with the mothers and babies, so I said to George Clapham, 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 you come with me this afternoon? I鈥檓 going to see some lovely ladies.鈥�
鈥楲adies!鈥� he exclaimed 鈥榶es, I鈥檒l come.鈥�
I took him along to St Lawrence鈥檚 Church and I must admit that he did look a little puzzled when he was greeted by the Vicar, a couple of ministers, and some committee members, not to mention the thirty or so prams lined up outside. Inside, the mums were chatting away to each other. During those hard times, with their husbands away in the Forces, it was not often they could all get together for a social gathering. I introduced George Clapham to the Vicar and the two ministers and we all sat a table on the stage. Until now, George had had no idea he was expected to entertain the mothers and he whispered to me, 鈥榃hat have let me in for, Harry?鈥� He stood up to address the audience and surveyed the three clerical gentlemen sitting round him at the table.
鈥業 feel just like the boy on the burning deck,鈥� he said, 鈥機anons to the right of me, canons to the left of me鈥�.
It brought the house down. They laughed and applauded. In spite of the war and their loved ones being away, George Clapham brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people that day. He gave them half an hour of laughter and he was happy to do it because he was that sort of man.

About midway through the war, things were looking very bad and we were hearing about our boys being killed or posted missing every day.

One night, in our local club, Bill Palmer, who was a bank official and a first class man, was sitting by himself, hardly touching his drink. I knew he had recently lost his wife and he had just heard that his son was posted missing. I pretended that I had heard that his son was on the Spanish Trail. A glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. At least I had given him something to live for. I kept this up for months, and used to visit him at home to keep his spirits up. I always remember that he had two of the most ferocious geese as guards. They were better than any dog and I must admit I was terrified of them.

One day, months later, Bill came into club and with him was his son. I was so relieved to see him because I was getting worried about keeping up the pretence for so long. However, I am glad I did for I gave that man something to live for when he was in deep despair.

It soon became apparent that small tools, such as reamers, drills, taps and other machine shop equipment were becoming scarce. The Government decided to form an organisation whereby tools already lying in factory stores could be brought into better use. A meeting was called in Birmingham of the Machine Tool Trades and other organisations and the suggestion was made that Mutual Aid Groups should be formed to encourage engineers, or anyone else, to exchange such tools as they had available to cure bottlenecks throughout the engineering trade.

I was asked if I would accept the Chairmanship of the Coventry Branch to see if we could get the scheme off the ground. I appointed a working committee and obtained permission from Alfred Herbert鈥檚 to use one of their offices as a meeting place. Invitations to attend the first meeting were through personal contacts and public announcements. Quite a few people attended the first meeting, some out of curiosity more than anything else, although one or two of the big firms were not represented, feeling that, as they had well stocked stores, they could see no useful purpose in aiding those who had not had sufficient foresight to provide for their own requirements.

The first meeting went so well, with about 100 exchanges of tools and other machine shop equipment, that the next meeting was full to capacity and as many as 400 bottlenecks were dealt with in one morning.

At one of the later meetings, we had a representative from one of the large companies that had not previously taken part in this Mutual Aid Group. No doubt their own stores were still well stocked due to their foresight, but the reason they were at this meeting was because they wanted some form tools made for a special cutter. The shortest delivery period they could obtain was 52 weeks, so the Managing Director decided to test the efficiency of our group.

They were duly registered as members and a representative was present with a blueprint. It was no use going round the usual sources of supply because that had already been done. We had to show whether this was a mutual aid group or just an exchange of stocks.

鈥楬as anyone a bar of high-speed steel 4鈥� diameter by at least 6鈥� long? I asked. One member said he had and the representative from the company agreed to send him an order to cover the supply of the steel.

鈥楥an anyone drill and bore a hole through the steel?鈥� I queried. Someone else said they could and it was arranged to send the steel to the second member and a covering order from the large company.

鈥榃ho can do the relieving, milling and grinding?鈥� I asked.

Three members said they could, and it was given to one of them to carry out. The outcome was that the piece of steel was delivered to the company, a complete form cutter, machined, hardened and ground to their entire satisfaction, within three weeks. That was sufficient to show that big organisation that we were also a big organisation.

When the Marquis of Donegal and Colonel Sankey visited the Midlands to see the war effort at first hand, they were full of admiration for this method of supply. The Marquis wrote generously about us in his column in a Sunday paper. He was full of praise for the energy and enthusiasm that prevailed amongst the Mutual Aiders operating from Coventry.

After the Blitz in 1940, there were a number of elderly ladies who had lost their homes, and in some cases their families. These old people were housed in disused chapels and similar places, which were entirely unsuitable, but at least afforded shelter. The problem was so acute, that a few friends and I decided to look for some suitable place, which we could convert into a comfortable home where these elderly ladies could resume their lives under happier conditions. Eventually, we found a large house at Dunchurch, with several acres of ground. The property was purchased by my friends and myself, a committee was formed and soon 24 ladies were installed in a comfortable and well furnished home called the Sunset Homestead.

We invited the Duchess of Kent to open the premises, which she graciously did. She arrived together with her lady in waiting, and her charm and obvious pleasure brought great happiness not only to the residents, but also to all those privileged to be at the ceremony. We were all highly delighted when she expressed a wish to remain with us a little longer than planned. She asked her lady in waiting to contact her next engagement to say she would be a little late.

The Sunset Homestead operated satisfactorily for many years until my friends for various reasons were obliged to withdraw their support, and the Coventry Cathedral Christian Service Council bought the property in 1948. In 1951, they in turn sold it to Warwickshire County Council for continued use as an old people鈥檚 home.
While Harry was occupied with these events, I had started school in Leamington. Travelling became a problem. So we stayed with another family near the school. We bought a house in Leamington later, but my parents always intended to return to Coventry. It was not until 1944, however, when the air raids had finally ceased, that we returned to Coventry, buying a house in Styvechale Avenue.

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