World War 2

[janwhin]

A thought, might be worth pursuing. Would it be an idea to start up a thread which deals with our own families' WW2 experiences before we fall off our perches?

If we posted stories about where our fathers/grandfathers/uncles etc. served and a bit about who they were in civvie street, maybe a photo too. There could also be stories from the family experiences on the home front.

Now there's the one about my sister's budgie being killed by the Germans........

[hollydog]

Was that the famous Windsor Terrace attack? I believe a serviceman was wounded on the north side at the same time. There used to be bullet holes in the gable end at the bottom of queen st from that attack.
My grandads were an air raid warden and farmer respectively so not a lot of war stories except guarding the trees along the Warkworth road.

[janwhin]

Not the Windsor Terrace attack but the reverberations from the Radcliffe bomb. My mother and sisters spent most of the war at my grandparents on Albert Street (upstairs above the Co-op). When the air raid sirens went they would scuttle down to the cupboard under the stairs.

My sister's budgie was discovered to be dead on their return upstairs and she was told the Germans must have killed it, a sad story she replayed over the years. About ten years ago my cousin told her that the dog had actually killed the budgie

[Coquet]

Apparently there was a bunch of kids, including my mother, playing in some back alley that were strafed by that guy. I am under the impression it was the back of Newburgh Street, Ivy street side, but Ivy Street was not built then. I could be wrong about the location, she's not around to ask anymore.

Really did not like the look of amble that Luftwaffe pilot.

[Coquet]

(Not one of mine, but still sort of 'on topic' for this thread.)
Does anyone recognise this couple?
An Amble couple. I have his WW2 service paper, should really be passed to a close relative that is interested.
I remember the lady. Regular in the Wellwood on an afternoon in the early 90s!
I will explain more once I've had a go at scanning the other paper.

[janwhin]

Originally Posted by hollydog

My grandads were an air raid warden and farmer respectively so not a lot of war stories except guarding the trees along the Warkworth road.

Must be some tales from the ARP granddad and what did your farming granddad do about workers, or wasn't it a problem?

[janwhin]

Re the photograph, Coquet, do you know what that band is round the man's ankle?

[janwhin]

My granddad joined the ARP in 1941, he would have been 63. He lived at South Broomhill. My uncle went into the Police Reserve and another uncle was in the Home Guard, he lived at Chevington Drift. My dad and three uncles were in the army.

In one of my granddad's letters to my uncle in Libya ( undated but probably1941) he mentions that an order had come out that all men aged between 20 and 60, who had worked at least six months in the pits since 1935, had to register for pit work. Did this precede the use of Bevan Boys, do you think?

[corfuandy]

Originally Posted by Coquet

Apparently there was a bunch of kids, including my mother, playing in some back alley that were strafed by that guy. I am under the impression it was the back of Newburgh Street, Ivy street side, but Ivy Street was not built then. I could be wrong about the location, she's not around to ask anymore.

Really did not like the look of amble that Luftwaffe pilot.

Coquet , I was friends with John Spowart ( Gordon Villas ) when living in Amble as a boy . His mother, Margaret , ( nee Handyside ) often told us the tale of how she and her little sister were playing on the Little Shore and were strafed by that pilot . She wasn't too keen on the "Nazzies" ( many of her generation didn't pronounce the "t") as a result (!).

[Coquet]

Fascinating. All the locations could be correct, just a second or two burst on the machine guns and the bullets would be spread over hundreds of yards at the speed he would be going. Little Shore, Newburgh Street, Windsor Terrace, Bottom of Queen Street. Now there's a pattern.
You could speculate that Queen Street could be the first burst as he's approaching, then the rest with a deviation south, perhaps he noticed the Broomhill rail lines and goods yard.
I also recall being told he was low enough to see his face. I can imagine that being unsettling for the children to say the least. To see the face of someone trying to kill you.

[Coquet]

Originally Posted by janwhin

Re the photograph, Coquet, do you know what that band is round the man's ankle?

Not sure what that is. Could be a locker key if they are at a lido or somewhere like that. It looks like one of those professional holiday snaps taken in some resorts?
It is Lily / Lillian Jobson, lived Ackligton Road with her husband James, he served with the Fleet Air Arm RN WW2 on the escort carrier Ameer, and others.

[hollydog]

Originally Posted by Coquet

Apparently there was a bunch of kids, including my mother, playing in some back alley that were strafed by that guy. I am under the impression it was the back of Newburgh Street, Ivy street side, but Ivy Street was not built then. I could be wrong about the location, she's not around to ask anymore.

Really did not like the look of amble that Luftwaffe pilot.

Ivy street has an older section of houses at the church Windsor terrace end. The back alley of Newburgh st would have been open to the south further along in the Marine road direction

[Kaznjake]

My maternal grandfather from Radcliffe, Fred Scott was in the 8th army. Stationed in North Africa and I can recall him telling me tales of frying eggs on the bonnets of the tanks.
He narrowly missed injury but saw his best friend blown up which shadowed him the rest of his life.

[Coquet]

We should really produce a list of 'those who served' in WW2 for Amble and district. The information is not available from the official sources and won't be for many years. The info would have to come from the newspapers, honours lists, war memorial, and memory!

[Coquet]

Originally Posted by janwhin

My granddad joined the ARP in 1941, he would have been 63. He lived at South Broomhill. My uncle went into the Police Reserve and another uncle was in the Home Guard, he lived at Chevington Drift. My dad and three uncles were in the army.

In one of my granddad's letters to my uncle in Libya ( undated but probably1941) he mentions that an order had come out that all men aged between 20 and 60, who had worked at least six months in the pits since 1935, had to register for pit work. Did this precede the use of Bevan Boys, do you think?

I think some sort of voluntary system was tried at first, which must be the scheme your granddad is referring to. It was because of the failure of this that conscription into the mines was established.

[Coquet]

I noticed that George Skipper, ex-Amble, now Whitley Bay, is to get the Légion d’honneur.

http://www.northumberlandgazette.co....ward-1-7529384

The French did the same with the last handful of WW1 vets before they were gone (remember Harry Patch?)

[janwhin]

Originally Posted by Coquet

We should really produce a list of 'those who served' in WW2 for Amble and district. The information is not available from the official sources and won't be for many years. The info would have to come from the newspapers, honours lists, war memorial, and memory!

Good idea, Coquet, and hopefully a little bit of personal info to go with each one.

[Alan J.]

With reference to the Bevin Boys I think the miners who had no other choice but be in the pits seemed to get no recognition. My father was in his late 30's when war broke out and had to register with the over 35's, he gave a preference for the Navv but nothing came of it. He like many other long term miners were destined to remain working different shifts and having to give up nights and weekends to the home guard. The Bevin Boys eventually got recognised but not the local lads.

[janwhin]

I often think that the Bevin Boys got a lot of credit for doing such "terrible" work when, as you say, the regular pitmen just had to get on with it. I don't recall my dad ever believing that the work was enjoyable, it was the way it was. I seem to remember a condition of getting a pit house was that the sons had to follow into the pits.

My dad volunteered for action in 1940 to get out the pit and find some excitement along with his brother. He told my mother he was called up though

[Alan J.]

Interesting thing about the colliery houses Jan, my great grandmother had four sons when her husband died at the age of 35, as the sons were all still children she would have lost her house. Instead an option was to take in a lodger who worked at the pit, she did, eventually married him and had another two sons. So in the end all six were at the pit when they were old enough but the owners weren't willing to wait for them to grow up.