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This story was submitted to the People’ War by a volunteer from The Chepstow Society on behalf of Nora Blandford and has been added to the site with her permission. Nora Blandford fully understands the site.s terms and conditions.

Home life.
Nora’s wedding was brought forward as her husband to be received his calling up papers a week before their planned wedding. When a bomb fell in the mud near the castle, the family she was visiting in Coleford Road hid with their heads under the table, but their bottoms sticking out as there was no room for them all to hide. Remembers seeing shrapnel near the present museum. When she was living in Alpha Road, some of the American soldiers used to use her home for some peace and quiet to write letters home and they used to bring her chicken joints and sweet corn.

Hospital memories.
She worked as a Sister at the Gwy House Hospital ( now the Museum ) during the war. The chairman of the hospital board was the late Major Francis The hospital treated the general public of Chepstow and the surrounding area, including any accidents to the workers at the shipyard on war work. Any wounded soldiers went to Newport. Can remember putting enamel basins on the patients’ heads during an air raid warning, as they did not have any protective head wear. Despite the war the hospital routine was adhered to as best they could, including a day once a week for the removal of tonsils; The theatre shook when a bomb fell on Beachley and the first “war victim “ was a patient who died due to the lack of a blood bank. Mrs. Blandford’s salary in 1943 was £90 per annum.
One of the men stationed at the racecourse committed suicide, as he was a catholic he was not allowed to be buried at the church, believes he is interred at the public cemetery. The army rehearsed their military funeral procedures in the hospital carpark.
The Spencer Thomas family, the steel people, opened their home at Shirenewton - - “Caepwcela “ ? as a maternity home for army wives.

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