大象传媒

The following extract from my Grandfathers memoirs; 鈥榃hat Have I Forgotten?鈥�, was submitted to the 大象传媒鈥檚 WW2 Peoples War website by Neil Simpkins, on behalf of Bimp Simpkins, and has been added to the site with his permission, and his full understanding of the sites terms and conditions:

This period is the most difficult to recall with certainty, especially chronologically. There was so much happening during those six years, much of which went unreported or was subject to rumour. Also, for most of us, it was a period of work and sleep. Grace and I were travelling to Swindon by train on the morning of Sunday 3rd of September 1939, the morning that war was declared on Germany. We were visiting our parents, my mum had a little cry at the news and later when we visited Grace鈥檚 mum, she was similarly affected. They of course had experienced war before in WW1, and I do not think many of us realised the seriousness of the situation. Many said, 鈥淚t鈥檒l be over by Christmas鈥�.

The first main problem encountered during the war was 鈥楤lackout鈥�. No street lighting was permitted, and as a result we walked into each other, lampposts, pillar-boxes and other such obstacles at night. The headlamps of motor vehicles and bicycles were shrouded with horizontally slotted covers. Torch batteries were soon in short supply and when a shop was rumoured to have received a supply a queue soon formed at its door. A big problem was the light that was emitted from house windows at night. It was not until the shops started to stock 鈥榖lackout鈥� material, a dense black cotton cloth, that things improved. One dreaded a knock on the door by the A.R.P. (Air Raid Precaution) Warden to inform you that light was showing from your windows. The night time 鈥榖lackout鈥� period was longer than the vehicle lighting up period I believe. Bonfires were not allowed in gardens or allotments. Men who were not called up for the forces had a choice, join the L.D.V. (Local Defence Volunteers, later the Home Guard) or an A.R.P. unit. I opted to become a street firewatcher in the A.R.P. This entailed wearing an A.R.P. armband and tin hat. Additionally we were also equipped with a whistle, bucket of water and a stirrup pump. When the air raid sirens sounded I with others patrolled Park Avenue on the lookout for incendiary bombs or worse. I chose the A.R.P. because the Home Guard was officered by Foremen, Supervisors, Charge hands and what have you from Westinghouse. Working the long hours that we did at Westinghouse meant that we saw more than enough of them. I鈥檓 afraid that my salute to them would not have reached military standards.

In 1940 Bristol was heavily bombed and from our house one could see the reflection of the fires in the sky. It was around this time that we had some of the reality of war brought home to us. It must have been an odd enemy plane, which may have spotted a light in Chippenham, and dropped a stick of five bombs. Luckily the first four fell in the back gardens of houses in Bristol Road, a few hundred yards northwest of our house, but the last one fell directly on the last house on the Folly crossroads, killing two people and injuring one. We had just gone upstairs to bed when a bright light appeared in the sky, which lit our bedroom even with the curtains closed. Grace and I heard the noise of the falling bombs and dived under the bed. Most of our windows were blown out and the roof lifted slightly. We were certainly fortunate in that the aircraft didn鈥檛 start releasing bombs sooner, as we were in a dead line with the fallen bombs. I know it was a Saturday night because most of Chippenham visited the area on the Sunday morning.

I think it was September time 1940 that Chippenham was informed that families from the Ramsgate and Margate area would be compulsorily billeted here. This was in view of the possible threat of the German forces invading that area of the country. I was doing a twelve-hour working shift pattern, two weeks on nights, and two weeks on days. One afternoon, Grace had gone to town and I was in bed asleep at the time as I was doing nights. Grace returned home to find a lady and two children on our doorstep. The billeting officer had left them there. When I awoke Grace and I explained that I was on nightshift and having two children playing in the house would disturb the few hours鈥� sleep that I was managing to get. She was an understanding person and she returned to the billeting office. The next evacuee placed upon us was a male whose wife and family were in other houses in Park Avenue. The chap was quite an idle individual he showed no interest in working at Westinghouse, which I inquired about on his behalf. The last straw was when we discovered that he was using our airing cupboard, in his bedroom, to keep his fish and chips warm. As a result we requested that he be removed. The alternative was to have R.A.F. personnel and their wives, so for a period we had to grin and bear having half of our house used by strangers. When the R.A.F. left we had a request from Westinghouse to lodge a worker transferred from the Marconi works at Chelmsford. What infuriated us at the time was that the larger households did not have evacuees billeted upon them, even those on the Bristol Road at the bottom of our gardens. When the chap from Marconi left the authorities informed Grace that she must go out to work. She was ordered to work at the Labour Exchange, as it was called then, she was able to do so for about six months, until her health deteriorated and she was excused.

The first non-British soldiers to be stationed in Chippenham during the war were Spanish. At the end of the Spanish civil war in April 1939 many of the anti Franco soldiers crossed into France. Some joined the French army and the French Foreign Legion. Others made their way to England where they joined the British army. Most were placed in the pioneer corps (what an insult to people of such high principles). I don鈥檛 know when they left, but they were still here when the Belgian soldiers arrived. This I remember, as most Saturday nights at the Co-op hall there was usually a punch up during or after the weekly dance. Several of them married Chippenham girls, and there are a few still in Chippenham.

For a short period Chippenham played host to Canadian and New Zealand soldiers, both in forestry detachments. The highlight of the New Zealanders鈥� stay was a demonstration they gave, at Chippenham football ground, of their dexterities with razor sharp axes on trees and logs. Their use of cross cut saws single handed without the saws whipping, was unbelievable.

The 1st Belgian armoured car squadron was billeted in Chippenham from December 1943 until March 1944. They left for Beccles on the east coast, and landed at Arromanches on 3rd August 1944. During their stay in Chippenham their football team played a game against a local side. I attended the game and chatted to two Belgian soldiers, and afterwards I invited them home. They visited us on several occasions and we wrote to the parents of driver Marcel Benoot, who with their three other children had been evacuated from Stene near Ostend to Sidcup in Kent. In September 1944, on a weekend visit to Feltham, we crossed London to visit the Benoots鈥�. It was a trip fraught with danger as it was the time of the 鈥榙oodlebugs鈥� (V2 rockets). On the way from Sidcup station, I enquired of a lady as to the Benoots鈥� address. By coincidence, she told me that a boy of that family had just passed us, we recalled him and met Raymond, Marcel鈥檚 brother. He took us to his home and family. Mrs Benoot had that morning received news that Marcel had been wounded. It turned out later that an 88mm shell from a German Tiger tank had killed him and his wireless operator instantly. We invited Raymond to spend Christmas with us, which he did. After their return home to Belgium we corresponded frequently, and Simpkins and Benoots have exchanged many visits and many 鈥榗heers鈥�, 鈥楽antee鈥檚鈥�, 鈥楶rozits鈥�, and 鈥楪ood healths鈥� over the years. (PHOTO 1)

Advance troops of the US army arrived in Chippenham just before Christmas in 1943, with the main force arriving on January 12th 1944 under General Woods. They were billeted in church halls, over Burtons (which was a billiard hall at the time), Nissan huts in Cocklebury and in wooden huts at the 鈥楩irs鈥� in Hungerdown Lane (later Chippenham United football ground). The skittle alleys of pubs and clubs were closely packed with them. There was also a hutted camp on the opposite side of 鈥楪reenways鈥� Hospital (demolished 1993) on Malmesbury Road. 鈥楪reenways鈥� was the headquarters of the 4th Armoured Division. (PHOTO 2) Their P.X. (our N.A.A.F.I.) was in the Neeld Hall, and their post office at the 鈥楩irs鈥�. In February 1944 they became part of the U.S. 3rd Army, under the command of General 鈥楤lood and Guts鈥� George Patton. Their total billeting area covered most of North Wiltshire. Their weekly takeaway rations, I must admit, made us a little envious, but they were very generous with them. They had an ample supply of razor blades, chewing gum, cigarettes, sweets and even bananas and oranges. Many young children hadn鈥檛 seen them before, and we had nearly forgotten them! The G.I.鈥檚, as they became known as, were well behaved; General Patton was a strict disciplinarian. The town鈥檚 folk soon began to invite them into their homes. The soldiers just wanted to occasionally get away from their billets and relax with a chat and compare notes. As a member of the West End Working Men鈥檚 Club I met several of them and frequently brought them home for a cup of tea.
At this stage of the war beer was in short supply, and a lot of discussion at work was devoted to which pub or club had any beer and when it would be open. The 鈥榊anks鈥� very often solved the problem by taking a truck to a brewery for supplies, even driving as far as London. One of the Yanks chief complaints regarding our beer was the warmth at which it was served in England. Many pubs had signs outside saying 鈥楻egulars Only鈥�. Beer glasses were similarly in short supply; you kept your eye on yours until you finally drank up. Jam-jars were called in to use at times.

Small children would follow the G.I.鈥檚 calling out 鈥淕ot any gum, chum?鈥� There was quite a sideline in Westinghouse turning out cigarette lighters for the Yanks, with English coins pressed into the ends of the petrol holder. Many corners were knocked off buildings in the narrow streets of Wiltshire towns and villages by the tanks and halftracks travelling to and from Salisbury Plain.

With as much secrecy as possible the U.S. troops left for Southampton and Weymouth on July 8th 1944, to embark for Utah Beach, France. They entered combat on the 17th July and soon sealed off the Cherbourg peninsula. Very few of us were able to say goodbye to them. Many in the 4th Armoured Division became casualties during the 鈥楤attle of the Bulge鈥�, and in relieving Bastogne. Most of this occurred over the 1944 Christmas period, which I recall as having a very heavy snow fall. The division became one of Patton鈥檚 main strike forces across France, Luxembourg, and Germany, eventually reaching Czechoslovakia in late April 1945. The route they took from England was approximately 1500 miles in total. They stood down in June 1945, after a spell as an occupying army, and returned directly to the States.

With Grace at home full time, after being excused from duties at the Labour Exchange, many things began to improve, war restrictions were being lifted slightly but rationing carried on. It was a great relief when the end of the war came in September 1945. The joy we felt was quickly muted when pictures began to appear of our, and other forces, who had been prisoners of the Japanese. It made me realise how lucky I had been to have stayed at home. We celebrated a little, doing the 鈥榟okey-kokey鈥� round and round the market place, but it was a fight to get a drink.

Something鈥檚 raised a smile during those war years. I remember seeing Fred Hemmings, of Westinghouse security/fire service, on duty outside the Westinghouse gate in full military uniform with a holstered revolver on his hip, within a few days of war being declared

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