大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War Website by Doreen Bennett on behalf of Ruth Dunstan (nee Jones), the author, and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

WAR DAMAGE (Repairs)

BLACKOUT

At the outbreak of war and having left school at 15 in 1937/8, I was employed as a shorthand typist at the County Library; which was then housed in a single storey building on the upper side of Old County Hall car park, Truro. One winter afternoon (when dark) I left the office for the main building across the car park area and managed to wander off my aimed course, becoming completely lost for some twenty minutes or so in the total blackout. This must have been what people endured in the old days when lost in the absolute dark, when describing the experience as being 鈥減iskey led鈥�. Very alarming 鈥� it was that dark everywhere in those times. I remember John Bennetts, Deputy Librarian, describing driving a car 鈥渇rom memory鈥� on a familiar road, since it was almost impossible to see anything as the headlights were almost completely blacked out except for a slit.

I then took a post in the typing pool at Falmouth Docks, producing specifications for 鈥渄egaussing鈥� visiting ships. 鈥淒egaussing鈥� was the application of encircling current- carrying conductors to neutralise the ship鈥檚 magnetism, a precaution against magnetic mines 鈥� this being a dictionary definition since I did not know, and never did, recall the technicalities.

Early in the war, Falmouth was for a time the most-bombed area in the country, the Docks being the prime target. Happily the harbour itself absorbed a number of bombs and mines but I remember being on duty when there was an unexploded bomb in No. 2 Dock, and other times when there were explosions, fire and damage. Happily we then had some defence from the 鈥淜oningklike Marine鈥� or Royal Dutch Navy, of which there were a few ships based here after escape from Holland. They put up a defence of which I recall the glowing tracer shells at night. The crews鈥� shore Headquarters was the Enys Estate at Penryn.

EUROPEAN REFUGESS

In 1940 the tide of European refugees increased enormously. There were our own troops from Dunkirk, French and Dutch etc. some in uniform (the Polish in their curious square-crowned caps), some others in uniform and others less well clad. The Docks were crowded with them and our own population gathered to assist and to offer food and shelter. The musical Radford Sisters, who had already done so much for the area to spread knowledge and love of music in the schools, were working at Gyllyngdune Gardens. These grounds were thrown open, by the Council, to allow troops to sleep under the famous verandas (now being restored), in the bandstand and on the grass.

The Nazi attack on Britain had now spread far and wide and I well remember dark nights when there was a visible erratic light from distant Plymouth, the bombs and searchlights and a palpable thump from explosions and artillery were all felt here.

At that time (if I may insert a personal note which will convey something of the times) I went out with a British Sergeant, who was later honoured for his cataloguing of the Library at the Royal Courts of Justice, and with a Dutch soldier, who could speak seven languages - including Latin 鈥� either fluently or adequately.
WAR DAMAGE: FIRST AID REPAIRS

My own real war work was to come at the end of 1940 when I joined Mr C Russell Corfield FRIBA, a very distinguished local architect, many of whose local houses have been listed for their fine quality. My own qualifications were only secretarial but with the young men of the practice away on war service the work devolved on Mr Corfield and me. I had to learn the elements of traditional building in a hurry for the firm was empanelled to serve with the Borough Surveyors of Falmouth and Penryn, Mr Harry Tresidder and Mr Harris respectively.

As stated, there had been a good deal of war damage (and sadly some fatalities) in Falmouth and Penryn from enemy aircraft.

National legislation required all property owners to take out war damage insurance for all necessary war damaged repairs of a permanent nature. However, First Aid repairs were dealt with wholesale as promptly as possible, after careful recording. Because of the pressure, and because I had then absorbed some working knowledge, I too was required to produce straightforward specifications on my own initiative. It kept us busy.

Local air raids damaged Falmouth鈥檚 Wesley Church, Lister Street and the Boscawen Hotel (by then the headquarters of the local Women鈥檚 Royal Navy). In fact Lister Street included several complete houses, including one which only came on the market as a clear site in 2002 which the estate agency sold for the owners in that year.

Penryn, with its fine period houses, suffered badly. We found many interesting items at risk. I remember a circular head carved door from the 17th century and a vertical passage, which could have been a remnant of either Reformation or smuggling days both in Bohill; the use of canvas or 鈥減oldavy鈥� (a type of sailcloth 鈥� a former Falmouth Packet Captain had a poldavy mill at Tremoughdale) used to line buildings instead of plaster and early house deeds from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Mr Corfield refused to condemn badly damaged properties, as someone less sensitive might have done, with the result that Penryn鈥檚 essential character was preserved for later effective restoration. It is a pity that progressive modern development has taken place here and there since then.

The actual First Aid Repairs were carried out under our direction by teams of those builders and others in the trade who were still available, being over age for war service. These were signed on from a wider area, notably Staverton Builders of Devon (founded by the Elmhirsts of Dartington; in Falmouth Messrs Eva & Bone, E H Moss, E Thomas, Angove & Son, Curtis & Son (Penryn) and Morris (plumbers).

Obviously this insurance and repair arrangement applied all over the United Kingdom.

Concurrently with daytime duties I Joined the Air Raid Precautions Ambulance Service (ARP) and started to learn to drive on an Army-type ambulance. This, I recollect, I introduced to a granite gatepost at Burncoose Estate (then a Williams property but now a garden centre). There, on that occasion the wonderful Jean of the Bennetts sisters of Penryn, who was a cookery teacher at a Truro school, catered magically over the week-end training period for a host of hungry ARP volunteers.
At some part of the war (how I wish that I hade kept a diary and made sketches, photography being forbidden 鈥� but anyway no one had time for such things) I was fire watching at Pollard鈥檚 Garage in Dracaena Avenue (now ATS garage). Grey army blankets were issued for night duty but unfortunately more laundering was necessary. I developed scabies on my hands from this contact. However this was little enough compared with so many others鈥� experiences at that time.

THE DAY WAR BROKE OUT

鈥淭he Day War Broke Out鈥� (as a well known comedian of the time used to begin his patter), was a Sunday and we had been to church. We then heard Neville Chamberlain on the wireless announcing that he had challenged the German Government for reassurance but鈥︹�� 鈥渘o such undertaking has been received and we are now at war with Germany鈥�

We were then living in Dracaena Avenue, my parents having opened a grocery shop in the property next door to what is now the Esso Garage, near the crossroads. My father, a special constable, was then called out for, point duty at that spot for Army vehicles which had started to stream in. Not having had time to change, he was wearing his best suit, straw boater (then fashionable) and white gloves.

Soon after this he gave up the shop and sub Post Office (since rationing was threatened) and took a post as storekeeper at Falmouth Docks. We then moved to a charming little house in Arwenack Avenue from which, when air raids occurred, we would take shelter, with our neighbours, in the Albion Hotel鈥檚 large garage opposite.

Barrage balloons were startling early additions to the scene and soon the pointed pyramidal granite memorial to the Killigrew family, situated on the harbour front, had to be wrapped in balloon fabric, since the local balloons tended to come to grief on its point 鈥� it spent much of the rest of the war shrouded in blue.

The Falmouth Church Hall in New Street was opened as a canteen for the Services and we helped there in turn, serving all ranks and nationalities. There was a Searchlight Battalion camped at Trescobeas, whose members visited. The only thing was that so early in the war, they were not yet in possession of any searchlights. This was symptomatic of the state of 鈥減reparedness鈥� which had to be, and was, overcome as quickly as possible.

When I went out with the Sergeant we had to take his rifle too but, as far as I knew, no ammunition.

Apart from the church, there were occasional dances in the Polytechnic Hall, which had then declined into a very basic centre of entertainment, wit huge paintings of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck on the walls. After the war, great improvements were made and a theatre evolved 鈥� promoted and largely achieved by the late Oliver Price.

WARTIME FOOD AND CLOTHING

Wartime food was I think fairly manageable and the diet provided by Lord Woolton the Food Minister was generally regarded as pretty good. Dried eggs (from the USA) were palatable and useful within limits and there was a good tinned pork product (better than the later Spam) which made good pork pies. In Cornwall we were fortunate to have chicken, eggs and fish although these were in great demand and in short supply. There were regulations about killing pigs to ensure fairness. One made up meals with vegetables.

One thing which was plentiful was sugar 鈥� at half a pound a week 鈥� we just accumulated it and wished the same applied to butter (2 oz. per week). Milk was ample 鈥� Miss Betty Enys of Enys brought ours so we could make a little cream.

Clothing was also rationed. At an early stage in the war the women of my family each bought a coloured blanket and made a winter coat. These were a useful standby and washable. Clothing coupons were in very short supply and many adults鈥� garments were cut down for small children. This could still usefully be done and modern women could save so much and live so much more economically, if dress making, gardening and cooking were more widely practised 鈥� as then.

I did not meet my husband until well after the war and learned that after already serving and being wounded in France in WW1, he was a member of the Calcutta Scottish Territorial Regiment in India. During 1939 鈥� 45 he was a member of the Intelligence Corps in Falmouth. Duties included interviewing refugees arriving in the port (he had a gift for languages) and boarding ships in the bay, occasionally to do this. He also escorted various personnel to London.

The tragedies of the time came home. It was possible to casually meet a friend or acquaintance and hear there and then of a relative鈥檚 death on active service. This was experienced on one visit to the doctor, to learn that his son had just been killed on duty and again when a school friend鈥檚 brother was killed in Malta Harbour when an enemy bomb entered the ship鈥檚 funnel, also the loss of a trader鈥檚 son from Arwenack Street.

Such events remain vivid. This, then, was my wartime stint. Pictures from it are as clear today as they were then.

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