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This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Katherine Kissane from WM CSV Action Desk on behalf of Mrs. E. Lawson, and has been added to the site with his permission. Mrs. E. Lawson fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions

Outside Alwick, Northumberland was a coalmine drift at Hampeth. In the few houses there, lived the miners and their families. In 1938, some of the minors decided to join the Territorial Army so they could have too weeks paid holiday, because in those days only religious holidays classed as holidays.

When the war broke out, they were the first to be called up and sent off to France, where John Lawson, (who later became my father-in-law), was captured at Saint Vallarie, and imprisoned for five years.

His wife was informed he was missing quite a while after he had been taken prisoner. Because of his territorial training, when landing in France, he was given sergeant status, which I think made his pay go up by one shilling.

His son who was sixteen years old at the time was serving his time as a colliery fitter. When he was seventeen, he and a friend decided to go to Newcastle recruiting centre with the idea of joining the Merchant Navy. When the recruiting officer heard they worked in the mines, he told them they could not enlist because mining had become a reserved occupation. The R.A.F. recruiting officer, seeing them in the corridor invited them into his office and signed them on. Son James then went out to serve in the R.A.F. in South Africa, Egypt and Italy.

When on embarkation leave, his mother had gone into a sanatorium suffering from TB. The sanatorium was in Wooler, and there were no means of transport to get there. Getting the odd lift from farmers, and walking, he was late arriving. The matron said he was too late for visiting hours. He explained he was on embarkation leave so he was allowed one hour. His mother died in 1941

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