The Gathering Storm - WW2

[Heedless Horseman]

Watching people preparing 'defences' against flood or storm on TV had me wondering about recollections... probably parental... of precautions against Air Raids in WW2... or similar.

'Chirton Grange', an old stone Farmhouse near North Shields, Tyneside, UK.
Grandfather protected the cupboard under the stairs with steel girders 'aquired' from a shipyard. They may have been there still in 60s... but I was too young to know.
Grandparents were not pleased that the iron railings along the drive were taken... but 'there was a War on'. Rather strange to wonder where that iron may have ended up.
WW2 had little effect on family due to ages.
A reservoir about 500 yards away took a hit from an 'Aerial Mine', but Ma said windows / tiles undamaged. It was a tough old house.
Ma's Rabbit Hutch got an incendiary stick. Grandfather's brother chucked water on it... which, of course, made things worse! Granda rescued 'Nooky' Rabbit!

An Uncle, on moving into a new farm near Ashington, found a 'Dud' AA shell lodged in loft... chucked it in the river!

I vaguely remember a relative living in a small semi in North Shields, had a 'hump' in the very small back plot... I wondered whether it might have been remains of an Anderson Shelter?

Working in the old Head Post Office building in Newcastle in 80s... still red Fire Buckets of sand in passages.

Does anyone still have remnants of WW2 protective measures? Or recollections?

[Steve J]

There was an old air raid shelter still in a back garden a few streets away from where I live, but was knocked down when the house was sold. A colleague still had one in his garden (underground) that then became a home for foxes and flooding, so he bricked it up.

My Mum said they had a German PoW working on a local farm (she was too young to actually remember this) and Dad said a German fighter crashed near to where they lived. That's all I know, other than one Grandad was in the Home Guard.

[Ithoriel]

When I was primary school age we lived in Rosyth and the people a couple of doors up had a concrete air raid shelter left over from the war. A short flight of steps lead down to the door, then there was a 10 - 12 foot long arched concrete room with an iron ladder at the end leading to the escape hatch. As childhood dens go it was quite spectacular. It served as a bunker, a submarine and a spaceship as circumstances required.

My oldest uncle sailed on the Murmansk convoys as a merchant seaman. Hats off to him!

My maternal grandfather was Foreman of Joiners at Rosyth Dockyard, he and his team dug bits of the Bismark's 15" shells out of the deck of the Prince of Wales and had the largest chunk mounted on a little plinth with a brass plaque saying what it was. Now in the Imperial War Museum, as far as I know.

Dad was a boy messenger running, well cycling,  messages between the Ack-Ack batteries around Rosyth Dockyard when not at school.

[fsn]

My oldest uncle sailed on the Murmansk convoys as a merchant seaman. Hats off to him!

Wonder if he knew my Grandad. He was on the Russian convoys. He said one night the ship in front got sunk, so his ship moved up. The next night the ship behind - the one that had taken his place when he moved up - got sunk.

"That ", he said "was the night I began to this it was personal." 

Must have been horrific, yet he never talked about it except in those terms.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

One Grandfather was secondary gunnery officer starboard side on Duke of York. An 11" shell from Scharnhorst passed under him. His battery fired 96 rounds and missed with every single one.
Other was a flight sergeant based at Duxford until 1941 but then refused to fly solo, then went onto Tiger Moth trainers then Iceland where he gave navigation instructions to arriving Anerican bombers.
One granny was an ambulance driver.
The other was Florey and Chain's secretary...
Great Aunt Kay was in MI6, she sent to Bahamas with a revolver in case Edward VIII caused trouble. She was also Pilby and Maclain's stationary clark, but she never told us that...

[Ithoriel]

My late MIL worked at Bletchley Park, she was horrified when it was declassified.

[T13A]

Hi

Being born in 1955 and growing up on a council estate in Fulham, London, I well remember playing in brick built WWII air raid shelters. Also a large area of wasteland in the north of the borough where a V2 had landed. I also have memories of riding on a number 11 bus through the centre of London and the City and seeing lots of 'bomb sites' that had still to be cleared and redeveloped well into the early 1960's.

My Dad was called up in May 1939 (something I think called the 'militia act' at the time) serving in 2nd Bn the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment 3rd Foot) and as part of the BEF sent to France. He was captured during the retreat to Dunkirk, spending the rest of the war in various 'Stalag's' in Germany and Poland. He was on the 'death march' across Poland and Germany and was eventually freed by Patton's 3rd Army. Although not mistreated by the Germans himself (although he barely weighed 6 stone when he was freed) he never forgave the Germans for the way they mistreated the Polish and Russian prisoners in adjoining POW camps. He said they frequently tried to pass some of the red cross parcels they received from the UK red cross to the Polish and Russian prisoners. My dad, second row, far right.


One of my grandfathers who I never met (he died in 1922) was in the army before the start of the First World War seving to begin with as a 'driver' (i.e. one of the limber horse riders) in the Royal Horse Artillery, fighting at Mons and going through the retreat and the 'race to the sea'. He fought through the rest of the war, finishing as a 'bombadier' and as far as I know was not wounded. I do wonder how many of the original BEF of 1914 made it through  to November 1918.


I have vague memories of my grandmother (born in 1897) telling me that her grandfather was a colour sergeant in the 52nd Foot (eventually becoming the Oxford and Bucks. Light Infantry) and fought in the Indian Mutiny.

Cheers Paul

 

[Ithoriel]

One of my grandfathers who I never met (he died in 1922) was in the army before the start of the First World War seving to begin with as a 'driver' (i.e. one of the limber horse riders) in the Royal Horse Artillery, fighting at Mons and going through the retreat and the 'race to the sea'. He fought through the rest of the war, finishing as a 'bombadier' and as far as I know was not wounded. I do wonder how many of the original BEF of 1914 made it through  to November 1918.

My paternal grandfather was  also in the RHA and was involved in looking after the horses. At Mons a shell burst buried him up to his neck in mud - head first!!


He was almost deaf as a result and invalided out.

[Westmarcher]

My wife's grandfather was gassed in WW1 resulting him in ill health for the remainder of his days. A few years after the war ended, her father (as a child) recalled waving to his father, and his dad waving back, being stretchered away to hospital, never to see him again.
My maternal grandmother lost 3 brothers in 1914, 1915 & 1916 (that brother, an officer in the Australian Army) respectively. How horrendous that must have been for her and her parents.

[Orcs]

My parents Anderson shelter was dug up, fixed to a concrete base and was our garden shed.  It was still there in 2010 when they dies, although it was no longer watertight.

Dad was in Bomb disposal, and downstairs in the Display cabinet I have a German incendury bomb (Diffused) and a no 17 A type fuse from  I think a 500Lb bomb.

[Heedless Horseman]

OK... WW1 recollections from Ma. Grandfather 'volunteered' so that a 'weaker' brother could stay back. Became driver on Water Carts in MGC as he had equine know how. Almost drowned in a canal but was fished out. At some point, had a horse/mule team killed under him, which 'affected' him thereafter.
Now, things blurry, but... Punched an Officer in a front line trench... story says Officer was forcing a recalcitrant, probably shell shocked, soldier to go over the top and Granda intervened. I think he was lucky to get FP1... could have been shot or Glasshoused. I regard the officer as being lenient.
Put on an MG gun team, he had a knee injury.. not a wound.. but was in some sort of 'hospital' tent (?) which was bombed. With a 'friend' a 'Jock McGillvray', he got another injured soldier out of the burning structure... but other soldier died.
Convalescing in UK... swinging the lead, as he did NOT want to go back... he threw away his crutches on Armistice day... but knee and a dislocated shoulder troubled him thereafter... and had a temper in drink.
Not a 'Hero' the way things are lauded now... think he would have got angry about that sort of thing... just a Bloke who did what He thought right. 'Troubled', thereafter, he 'found some Peace and  Happiness' when his little Grandson came along... have vague memories of that time.
RIP Granda... would have liked to have known you better.

[DecemDave]

Does anyone still have remnants of WW2 protective measures?

moving stories those.

Back to original question, we still have the original WW2 concrete block "tank trap/beach defences" opposite. One square block is on display, the rest buried and grassed over.  Big local debate about 15 years back when the Parish Council wanted to dig them all out and crush them at a cost of £squillions. Some had started to re-appear and they were worried about accidents.  In the end they just piled more topsoil on.  And there are still some old bunkers scattered along the coast and Downs.

[John Cook]

There was a small concrete covered air raid shelter at the bottom of our garden in Wandsworth.  It had four wooden bunk beds in it I remember.  Bomb-sites were still common in London in the 1950s and they were a playground for me and my mates.  There were dozens of 'prefabs' on Wandsworth Common into the early 1960s.  My grandfather was born in 1865, too old for WW1, he was with Civil Defence during WW2 and served through the London Blitz as an air raid warden.  I still have his certificate of thanks from the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, dated 27 November 1945, and his ARP marked whistle.