A taste of wartime Britain

194 Pages·2003·3.207 MB·English

by  Webley, Nicholas

A TASTE OF
WARTIME BRITAIN
edited byNICHOLAS WEBLEY
‘Wonderful’
DAVID CROFT, CO-WRITER AND PRODUCER OF ‘DAD'S ARMY’, BBC
Inside front cover
A TASTE OF
WARTIME BRITAIN
edited by
NICHOLAS WEBLEY
First published by Thorogood Publishing Ltd 2003
Reprinted 2004
Thorogood Publishing Ltd
10-12 Rivington Street
London EC2A 3DU
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Email: [email protected]
Web: www.thorogood.ws
© Nicholas Larner 2003
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of
the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,
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otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent
in any form of binding or cover other than in which it is
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No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting
or refraining from action as a result of any material in this
publication can be accepted by the author or publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from
the British Library.
ISBN 1 85418 213 7
Printed in India by Replika Press
Designed by Driftdesign
For Patricia MacMillan with love
PROTECTING THE
‘SALTWATER HIGHWAYS’
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER
All has been done to trace the owners of the various pieces of
material, eg, photographs, cuttings etc. The passage of time has not
made the task easy and in some cases impossible. If further infor-
mation and proof of ownership should be made available then
attribution will be given, or if requested the said material removed,
in any subsequent editions.
Foreword by David Croft
OBE
Co-writer and producer of BBC’s classic comedy series Dad’s Army
The book revives so many memories for me.
I was there. At the age of just 17 during the
evacuation I was a volunteer Billeting Officer
in Poole, Dorset. Life was full of laughs and
tears. Troubled housewives who had given
homes to evacuees from London came to us
with their problems and didn’t think it quite
right to ask someone so young for rubber
sheets for kids who wet the bed.
On my 18th birthday I watched the Battle of Britain from Primrose
Hill and witnessed the Spitfires and Hurricanes buzzing around the
Heinkels and Dorniers, cheering when the Nazis were shot down,
like present day 18 year olds watching a goal scored at football. Two
nights later I was knocked off my perch on the downstairs sofa as
the next door house took a direct hit.
As an Air Raid Warden I organised fire watching rotas, made a collec-
tion to buy a stirrup pump and helped worried old ladies into their
gas masks.
As an actor I went up to Bangor in North Wales where the BBC
Variety Department took over all the Church halls as studios to keep
the programmes going and commandeered every bed and break-
fast to house the actors, producers and musicians.
As a soldier I dodged the V1 bombs and as a young officer I was
blown out of bed by a supersonic V2 rocket which landed near Hyde
Park Corner. I heard it arrive after it exploded.
The wonderful true stories in A Taste of Wartime Britainbring all
the memories flooding back. Nicholas Webley has compiled a fine
book. Read it – and don’t let it all happen again.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful for the help of the following in the production of this
book, in particular those who gave me their stories for the ‘They Were
There’ pieces – I wasn’t, so it would have been a thin book without
them – their names are appended to the relevant contributions. I hope
they forgive me for taking up so much of their time over the years.
My gratitude to Angela, Catherine, Neill and all at Thorogood. My
thanks also to: Rob Blann at www.yourmemories.co.uk for ‘Monkhouse
in the doghouse’ and making me laugh out loud. David Croft OBE.
The United States National Archive cannot be thanked enough for
their tireless assistance, expertise and professionalism. Steven
Spielberg and all the people at DreamWorks for helping to bring this
book to the bookstands. HOLNET (www.holnet.org.uk) is a project
developed by the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists
with funding from the Sir John Cass Foundation and with material
provided by the Imperial War Museum. Their more than generous
assistance and generosity has been invaluable – in particular for that
on the section relating to the Blitz. Willard Reese and the 457th Bomb
Group for their invaluable help and for their tireless work in
recording the events of WW2. I recommend their site to any who
wish to know more: www.457thbombgroup.org. The George B.
Gosney photograph collection (courtesy of ‘Moofy’). To Wayne and
Darren Wilkins at www.homesweethomefront.co.uk – they deserve
a medal. To the website www.transdiffusion.org and Dafydd Hancock
in particular for his excellent contribution ‘Forces of Light’ copyright
Dafydd Hancock.
To the anonymous person who sent me a collection of photographs
and cuttings, that had been collected by his grandfather, to ‘put to
good use so no one forgets’. Thank you whoever you are and I hope
you get the chance to see the result of your grandfather’s foresight
– he was one heck of a collector – and your generosity.
To all who have taken the time to record their memories, in so many
forms, of WW2. I hope this book has done justice to your dedication.
To ‘Betty’ for bothering, all those years ago, to write down her recipes
and thoughts which set me on course to write this book.
WAR INSPIRED COMRADESHIP