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Wartime memories of Phyllis Hill
This story was submitted to the peoples war site by Peter Nicholas of Link into Learning, Cornwall County Council, it was recorded by the Stroke Association, St. Blazey, Cornwall, on behalf of Phyllis Hill and has been added to the site with her permission. The Mrs. Hill fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.
When war broke out, I was married and living in Fore Street, Polruan. My husband Bill was a little older than me and was not called up. He joined the Home Guard and spent many hours watching the sea and sky for signs of the enemy.
Until Kathryn was bom in 1944, I worked in a shop called Fowey Radio and took the job of a man who had been called up. I did secretarial work and various other jobs, including carrying accumulators and installing them in radios. I felt that I did not contribute much to the war because I wasn't out in the front lines firing a gun. I had my own gas mask but was never issued with one to use for Kathryn, my daughter, when she was born in 1944. I was worried about this but maybe there was not so much concern by then about a gas attack.
During the War, everyone had to put up with rationing and many recipes were created to help people to cook some more or less interesting meals. I remember making a cake using powdered egg (which I loved) a little sugar, flour and —— wait for it ——— liquid paraffin! This recipe made a lovely cake.
When the Americans came to Fowey they joined with local families because they missed home. They came across the river to Polruan and were entertained in the homes of the local people. Bill and I invited them to our home and I made little pastry cases which were filled with a tasty mix of sardines. These sardine tartlets were very popular and the Americans were most appreciative.
In our kitchen we had a metal table installed to use as a shelter, in case of air raids. Although we were well away from the larger cities there were still air raids as Fowey, on the opposite side of the River, was a small but important port. On the 19th July 1940 3 bombs fell on the village, one destroyed the school, fortunately there was no one inside at the time, the children had already gone home and the caretaker had not yet arrived. Another bomb fell across the river in Fowey close to Readymoney Cove .There was a Golf Links there at that time and one dropped on the course leaving a large hole. I suppose this made it a bit more interesting for the Golfers. Another attack came when a German Pilot returning from a raid, decided to machine gun all the way from the docks to the entrance of Fowey river. A rather nasty idea but no casualties thank goodness. Another unpleasant memory was when a German plane dropped a parachute with a mine attached . This happened during daylight hours . He dropped it just outside the harbour entrance and miraculously no boats were around at the time. I remember a tremendous bang as it exploded.
The passenger ferry from Polruan continued to ply across the river to Fowey but of course the petrol was rationed and had to be used carefully. One day, the ferryman, William Tomlyn, was approached by two soldiers for some fuel to go on a fishing trip. They persuaded him to give them petrol and a boat. Apparently they sailed all the way to France and on arriving there, they heard voices in a foreign language { surprise , surprise } and turned around and came home . Interesting tale, was there maybe more to it than that ? When it was discovered what had happened, the ferry was stopped and replaced by a rowing boat. Mr Tomlyn then had to work even harder to carry his passengers across the river, quite a punishment.
There was a spy living in Lostwithiel Street, it was his plan to set fire to Fowey and Polruan as there were several naval ships in the harbour. His plan was discovered and he did not have chance to do his deed!
My brother in law, David Fyfe, was in the Merchant Navy and he worked on the convoys to Russia . These were grim and difficult trips but essential to the War effort. On one convoy, his ship developed engine trouble on the way back to Scotland . They were left to sort out the problem while the rest of the ships chugged back to base . They managed to mend the engine and actually arrived back before the rest of the convoy! In Polruan the family had heard that he was in difficulties and were very relieved to hear that he was safely back. His ship was called the SS Stornest.

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