大象传媒

This story has been written onto the 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War site by CSV Storygatherer Robin.D.Bailey on behalf of the author Michael Williams. They fully understand the terms and conditions of the site.

I have submitted this story on behalf of my late Mother, Dora Williams, who was the actual author. It is part of a little book she wrote entitled 鈥淢emories of a Cornish Countrywoman - Over 70 Years of Personal Recollections鈥�. Printed and published by me, Mike Williams at Redruth in
1998.

Dora, my Mother, was born on 1st April 1920 and spent a happy and carefree childhood along with her elder sister, Winifred Hilda, at Gonitor Farm, Ruan Lanihorne, which her Father, Francis James Penter, and Mother, Hilda Emily (nee Hawkins) ran as a mixed farm of some 80 acres.

Of course, when growing up, much else happened in her life during the years before the war.

She writes:-

War Years & Marriage:

How our lives changed with the outbreak of war! I remember hearing the announcement over the radio on that fateful morning, without actually realising all its implications and how it would affect our lives. My main concern was that Bert (Williams), my fianc茅, would be 鈥渃alled up鈥�. - Bert and I had first met through the Rival Blues Concert Party, where my sister, Winnie, also met her future husband, Bill Willcock.

So many new regulations came into our lives. No lights were allowed to be seen on buildings or through windows, no street lights, and car lights were dimmed and shaded downwards. It was horrible, and not unusual to hear the A.R.P. Wardens calling 鈥淧ut that light out鈥�. Even torches
had shades and all were ordered to be pointed downwards.

My Dad, joined Chacewater Home Guard, (Dad鈥檚 Army), and one evening while on duty, Mother, Bert and I heard an aeroplane overhead, then some tremendous thuds. This was our first experience of bombs - quite frightening! We lay on the floor of the wide passage of the bungalow, almost holding our breath. Suddenly, we were aware of footsteps on the gravel path outside, and this startled us even more. Fortunately, it turned out to be a neighbour, Charlie Harvey, coming off Home Guard duty to tell us Dad was safe. There had been some bombs dropped on the railway line at Tomperrow, near Threemilestone, and it was all quite scary for us.

It wasn鈥檛 long before everyone, even babies, were issued with gas masks and identity cards - horrible but necessary safeguards. Thank God, we never had cause to use them, though many thousands did.

Then came the issue of coupon books and rationing of so many things - petrol, food and clothes were the chief items. This in time led to quite a bit of black marketing, as you can imagine.

Then Bert received his final calling up papers for the army, so we decided to get married before he went away. It wasn鈥檛 easy buying clothes, but friends and relatives chipped in with a few coupons.

I managed to buy a white taffeta dress, with buttons down the bodice front, but otherwise quite plain, and also a veil and headdress. Two of my Cousins, Ethel and Mary Penter, now Thomas and Bowden, were to be bridesmaids, and we managed to buy two long gold taffeta dresses for them. As these dresses were too long, Mother shortened them, using the pieces that were cut off to make pretty muffs for the girls. On the day, each had a spray of carnations pinned across them. Bert looked smart in his new suit (coupons!), but not too comfortable, as his collar was rather tight.

So on the 15th October, 1940 we were married in Greenbottom Chapel. This chapel is now a dwelling house and chiropodist鈥檚 premises. Our reception was held back at The Gables, which was not the easiest to organise with all the rationing restrictions.

We had a nice iced cake which Bert鈥檚 Mother acquired, along with some savouries and a variety of goodies. Again, some of our friends had helped with coupons, and our own hens provided eggs for our sponges and other delights. In the end we had plenty for everyone!

It was raining in the morning, but cleared later, so we were able to have photos taken in the garden. After the reception we left by car for an unknown destination.

There was much merriment as we left, with the usual tincans and shoes rattling from the bumper. The car also sported a notice reading 鈥淗oneymoon Express - No Speed Limit - Petrol Coupons Welcome!鈥� Our friend, George Tyacke and male cousins had fixed the sign, but we soon took it off!

At this time there were severe air raids over Plymouth, and our parents were worried in case we were heading in that direction. Unknown to me, Bert had booked us into the Lockyer Hotel in Plymouth, and yes, there were two air raids that night. When the sirens went though, we decided not to leave our cosy bed for the air raid shelter - well, would you on the first night of your marriage? At least if a bomb had struck the hotel, we鈥檇 be together. Prior to retiring, we鈥檇 phone home to say we鈥檇 arrived 鈥渟omewhere鈥� and again in the morning, to say we were moving on to Torquay.

It was a very brief honeymoon, then back to work. Mother-in-law had by then bought the lease of Coffee Tavern in Alma Place (Redruth). Bert who had been studying quantity surveying, had given up this when his Father became ill, and took over his fruit and confectionery shop in Penryn Street. So there we were with Penryn Street shop, the Alma Place restaurant and the little grocery shop which Mother-in-law also owned and ran. As young women, we were now being called up or going into places like Bickford Smiths munitions factory. The obvious thing for me to do was to take over the grocery shop. This was in Fore Street and is now a Chinese takeaway. Adjoining it was Fore Street Methodist Church which was later burnt down, but is now Flower Pot car park.

Bert鈥檚 parents lived over and behind the shop and we lived with them temporarily, which proved convenient for all of us. At first after my marriage, I found it very strange after the quietness of country life; with the noise of the traffic going past, and from the nearby station, but I soon got used to it.

However, Bert鈥檚 calling up papers came within three and a half months of our wedding, and he left to join the Royal Ordnance Corps. He was stationed first at Priddy, Cheddar and then at Bovington in Dorset. He had one weekend leave, and then a few weeks later he arrived home
in the very early hours of the morning, on embarkation leave. Everything was very 鈥渉ush-hush鈥� ands we had no idea of his destination.

I remember my Great Uncle, Dick Waters of St. Agnes, saying to me 鈥淲atch the Mediterranean, especially Malta鈥�. Surprisingly, that is where Bert finally landed, after a horrendous voyage in convoy, at Valetta harbour. Little did we think that we would be apart for four and a half years - no leave from there!

How eagerly I watched for the post during those difficult days. At one time there was a shortage of writing paper on the island, but Bert wrote lovely letters when he could, hoping we鈥檇 be together before too long. When he was not able to write, he would send us a cable to re-assure us that he was safe.

When he arrived in Malta, the island had very little defence, with just three old Gladiator Bi-planes nicknamed 鈥淔aith鈥�, 鈥淗ope鈥� and 鈥淐harity鈥�.

It became increasingly difficult to get supplies through to them. Re-reading some of my books about Malta, it really is amazing that it survived the terrible attacks and battering it received. It is not surprising that King George VI awarded Malta the George Cross, hence it鈥檚 name of 鈥淕eorge Cross Island鈥�.

Bert served there all through the terrible siege - of course he could not write to us about the incidents due to censorship - but lots of it was in the papers. We at home thought rationing was tough, but at least we had food to ration.

While stationed at Malta, Bert met a sailor, Eric Holman, and a soldier, George Harris, who were both Redruth men. The three of them met quite regularly, and I often see George out shopping even now.

How thankful I, and the rest of the family were, that Bert was allowed to return to us, and was stationed at Charlebury near Oxford. I left Jenny Thomas, a former employee of ours, in charge of the shop, and I spent a brief holiday there with him.

Wartime Restrictions:

While Bert was away (in the Army), the business kept me quite busy, especially cutting out the coupons and dealing with people鈥檚 rations. The coupons had to be counted monthly, and returned to the Food Office in Chapel Street, where the army recruiting office now stands. This job was quite time consuming, and our future supply of goods depended on their return.

Most weekends I spent with my parents and friends at Greenbottom, attending services at the Methodist Chapel there. However, later on there were restricting orders for some areas nearby, as the American troops would be arriving in preparation for the D-Day landings in Normandy. Therefore, due to U.S. army trucks at the roadside, and tents in the field opposite for the coloured troops, I had to have special permission to visit my parents鈥� home, on the main road between Chacewater and Greenbottom.

Being very restricted in our food, the delicious smells of cooking wafting across the road was very mouth-watering! These troops were well behaved and nicely mannered. Some of them attended the local churches, enjoying especially the music and singing there. They told us, 鈥淥ne day you鈥檒l wake and find us gone鈥�, and this is just what happened.

My parents鈥� bungalow was very near the cross-roads, then known as 鈥淒angerous Crossing鈥�, with one road leading to Falmouth and the River Fall. One morning everything was very quiet, there was no singing or any voices from the camp, no smells of bacon, no trucks outside. Everyone had moved during the night. They were on their way to the coast, via the River Fall, to the invasion.

What anxious times those were, so sad for so many. Fred Lobb, my friend Phyllis鈥� husband, was among those who lost their lives. He was a fine young man, loved, respected and mourned by all who had known him.

During these years I was busy in the shop, and sometimes at Coffee Tavern during my lunch hour. I also helped at the Y.M.C.A. in Clinton Passage, and was on rota for fire-watching duty. This involved going to Ford House at the bottom of Ford Row, to stay all night in case of any incendiary incidents.

There were three other girls on my shift with me, and camp-beds, sand buckets and stirrup pumps were provided. An Air Raid Warden looked in at intervals to see that all was well. I鈥檝e often wondered how we would have coped had an incident occurred, but luckily we were never put to the test.

With rationing in force, it was not so easy to keep shop. Everyone had a ration book with coupons for various goods.

Several commodities were rationed to 2 oz. per coupon, per person, per week! Butter, margarine, lard, sugar and tea were among these items, so there was lots of grumbling - especially among the ladies!!

There had to be many substitutes used on baking day, and dried eggs didn鈥檛 really give the same results as fresh ones! Fruit was very scarce, there were no bananas, very little dried fruit and oranges only for children and pregnant ladies.

I had to count the exchanged, cut out coupons and sort them into commodities, and take them to the Food Office monthly. This was a very fiddly task, but necessary to allow us our next month鈥檚 supplies.

For most of the war, I had a young lady assistant called Jenny Thomas, who was one of a family of twelve children. I became quite well acquainted with her and her family, and later attended her wedding at Treleigh Church - her sweetheart was in the navy. The girls of the family had beautiful black wavy hair, which they dressed like Spanish senoritas. The lads were also very handsome with black hair too.

We had some Air Force personnel stationed near Portreath, and they lodged with a Mrs Hosking at Grambler Farm. Some of them were good cigarette customers and liked to chat a lot with us.

Malta was very much in the news through these years, and one wondered how the little island could stand the hammering that it was getting.

Many of the beautiful churches were severely damaged leaving rubble all over the place, but the spirit of the people - and I imagine the troops - was indomitable. I believe that it well deserved the George Cross that was later awarded to it.

I almost forgot to mention something I did during Bert鈥檚 time in Malta. Following a newspaper advertisement, I contacted the 大象传媒鈥檚 Forces Overseas Department, in the hope of broadcasting a message to Bert. What excitement when I heard that I had been one of those chosen! Marie鈥檚 mother, Bert鈥檚 Aunt Holly, offered to accompany me to Shepherds Bush. At the studio we were told we shouldn鈥檛 have turned up - they only read out the messages themselves. As we were there, they eventually let me read the message myself. Afterwards, we had tea with Ann Shelton and Ron Shiner, who were both very interested in our lives in Cornwall. I was told beforehand to say in my message that I was passing through London, and Bert said after, that he wondered what I was doing travelling around - but at least he heard me!

Time passed, and I kept busy with the shop work, the Y.M.C.A. and the fire-watching and canteen duties. I usually spent the weekend at Greenbottom, but how I missed my beloved Bert. During this time I bought some furniture in a sale, in anticipation of his return, and my Father-in-law stored it for us in a room above his fruit and confectionery shop in Penryn Street.

This shop was next to the Gem Cinema, formerly known as 鈥淒ruids Hall鈥�, built originally in 1859-60. It was used as a meeting place for Redruth Literary and Scientific Institution, but alas, after two fires and some changes of use, it is now a ruin.

Although I have never been very good with dates - and this does not improve with age - Bert was granted home leave after nearly four and a half years away at war. I knew roughly when he would arrive, but great was the excitement when his Aunt Everil - who had a telephone - received a call to say he鈥檇 be arriving at 9 o鈥檆lock.

Up to the station his Aunt Everil, his parents and I went, but anti-climax, no sign of Bert. Trains at this time were not at all reliable, so we thought he鈥檇 probably arrive next morning. I went to the station again before next day鈥檚 shop opening, but again, no Bert! So I started work. A little while into work later, one of my customers said, 鈥淵our husbands coming up the street!鈥�

It was a strange feeling, after being so long apart, but a very joyful reunion. I felt a feeling of thankfulness that Bert had survived the siege of Malta, and we could resume our lives together. He must have felt very flat with no one at the station to meet him, but glad to be home.

After the war we settled into family life and raised three sons, Michael, David and Frank.

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