Reserved Occupations

Dick Kerr's Ladies

My Dad, Bill Tomlinson, during the last war, worked as an aircraft fitter on Lancaster Bombers and, as he...

Wartime Miner

I worked at Dodworth Colliery during the war; I was a fitter, keeping the machinery going. The Yanks used...

Garden Hut Courtesy of U.S.ARMY

My father John Thomson was an L.N.E.R. railway Inspector in charge of rail freight movements off loaded...

An Unforgettable Night in Devonport Part 2

Our crew of four, Ted Crust, Ted Osborne, Ted Connet and me, Charles Harwood, did our best to quench the...

War in a factory

One night I wsas on duty when there were air raids very close at hand but I was never there at a...

Broken Biscuits

Biscuits, even broken biscuits, were a luxury in wartime... The owner was so grateful he gave us a bag of...

End of war wedding for aircraft fitters

Reg and I were both stationed in St. Athan, when we started to go out…and it wasn't all that...

A Tribute To The Factory Workers

This is my tribute to the factory workers who kept working in very difficult conditions during the war....

Reserved Occupation

I worked in the office at Williamsons in Lancaster as a Comptometer operator, it was a very clever...

Byker at War

My first direct memory was a Sunday in September when a lady and gentleman dressed in dark blue uniforms...

Sunderland Flying Boats

Although we did not meet until long after the war, my husband was a WOP in 228 squadron RAF, and flew in...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-1948 Part 3

As our period of training was coming to the end and the time came for me to be allotted to colliery in...

A Reluctant Conscript. 1944-48 Part 10

It was about this time that the Yorkshire lads began to ask me if I had ridden Dandy yet, my answer was...

Volunteer Gunners: Home Guard Rockets

When in action the battery fired 128 of these shells to a determined height and position with the general...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-48 Part 7

I had never seen the stables before and was surprised to see a long white-washed, brightly lit area with...

Wartime memories by Dorothy Roylance (nee Jeffrey)

Our town had its share of Air Raids and bombs, and we were soon able to distinguish between "our"...

Wartime Memories

My husband was on the railway and so was this Cockney and that's how we got all friendly... My husband...

My War Effort: Making Hydraulic Pumps for Aeroplanes.

On leaving I worked locally until I was 16 then volunteered to work at the Integral factory in Witney...

What Life was Like for Farmers in WW2: In Cumbria

This face was of an evacuee from London. It took a while for my grandma to accept what had happened, but...

A Reluctant Conscript 1944-48 Part 6

Every day air activity was evident, sights of troop carrying gliders being towed by Dakotas and other large...

My Father a Miner at Bentink Colliery

He worked at 4 different pits in the Alfreton area but Bentink was where he worked the longest and this was...

A Badge for Volunteering: A Miner Turned Down by the RAF

My brother Jack Allard was in the home guard, nearby we had a prisoner of war camp, one of the prisoners...

Not the Best Swap!

So my brother was a prisoner in Italy and we had Italian POW'S on the farm. If you had Italian...

A Teacher's Memories of WW2

In January 1940 I was evacuated with Stockbridge School to Glenlivet, Banffshire. Also I did fire watching...

My Father's Home War.

Cory, Dad used to shunt coal from the Barges coming down the Thames to the Coal yards... Food, as we all...

Happy Memories: Working in Entertainment and Theatre

I was in a reserved occupation - entertainment and theatre - but I volunteered for the forces. My name is...