I am 74 years old, but I well remember the start of W.W.II when I was 8 and lived in Falmouth. One of the town鈥檚 air raid sirens was just beyond the back wall of our garden and about 录 of a mile away there were Bofors A.A. and Lewis guns. Nights especially could be very noisy! At school we were told that when the siren sounded, we should open the lids of our wooden desks and put our heads inside. The little school overlooked the docks which were frequently bombed.
Even at an early age as a member of the St. John Ambulance Cadets, I was trained in fire-fighting and anti-gas warfare. When I was 11, I was chosen together with a girl called Mary Hill, to play the 2 leading parts in a Ministry of Information film about the Ambulance cadets. I think I must have been about 12 when filming actually started in and around Falmouth. The filming must have spread over many months and I was growing too quickly.
In 1943 Falmouth was almost overwhelmed with American troops. One encampment was in an old quarry and I was being filmed lying behind a low wall supposedly taking down a semaphore message. Unfortunately someone in the camp below spotted the camera pointing down at the scene. Suddenly gun-carrying American soldiers who wanted to destroy our precious film and arrest us all surrounded us. It took a lot of calm talking by our 鈥渃rew鈥 to convince them that we were not spies.
The finished film 鈥淐adets of the White Cross鈥 was given the official 鈥楶assed by the British Board of Censors鈥 and given a 鈥楿鈥 Certification; meaning for viewing by any age. The film was copied and after the War was used as part of the re-education programme for German children.
Incidentally, Mary went on to become a nurse. I served with the 12th Royal Lancers and became a teacher.
H. Trevor Carr
(Bushey Herts.)
Recommended story
Story with photo