War at home and the Home Guard

Harry Wardell, Grandfather.
Age 13 when war declared (1939), living in Darlington

With the fear of invasion and the expected bombing by the Germans, everyone was issued with a gas mask, a very basic item in a cardboard box which we had to carry everywhere at all times.

I remember bombs being dropped in Darlington, but only incendiaries to crate fires. The only high explosive I know about was one of our own ant-aircraft shells, not exploding in the air, but landing near my father’s shop, and leaving a great lump of shrapnel in the shop’s doorway.

Everyone could be called up for services in the armed forces when aged 18, but some people were in what they called “reserved occupations”. I was not called up, as I was an engineer, working on the production of railways and landing barges for D-Day.

About that time there was a shortage of miners, all mature men having been called up into the army, and coal was needed for factories. So they decided to put all Registered Numbers, which you got from Army registration and medical checks, and draw a number “out of the hat”. The result was that if your Registration number ended with a “9” you were called up for the coal mines. This was an idea of Aneurin Bevan, and all those called up were “Bevan Boys”. My number ended with a “9” but I was not called up — I might have been with Jimmy Saville!

Not being called up for the “fighting”, I did many other things for the “war effort” (as they called it). I remember being in the Home Guard and the “funny” things that happened were just like in “Dad’s Army”.

I remember that somehow I got the job of teaching them how to take automatic weapons, machine guns etc to pieces to clean them. I still have the spanner I used.

Lots of people had other duties during the war, like Air Raid Wardens, SFP (Special Fire Parties) outside when there was an air raid, with a steel helmet, an SFP arm band and a stirrup pump (I was one!). People did Fire Watching in factories overnight to be ready to fight incendiary bombs and we were paid 3 shillings per night (that is 15p).

Valerie Wardell (nee Bennett), Grandmother.
Age 10 when war declared, living in Darlington

Our school was closed for about 6 weeks in order to build brick air raid shelters on the playing fields.

We all had to go to the garage of a private house in the neighbourhood to collect our gas masks. Very uncomfortable to wear — horrid smell of rubber. We then had to take them everywhere with us, and were sent home from school if we didn’t have them.

At the beginning of the war my father, who had a building company, had an underground shelter built in our garden. Inside there were four bunk beds but I only remember sleeping in there once.

Obviously, if there had been any danger we would have been taken in there but I only remember one raid which caused any real damage in Darlington.

During the war I was quite scared at the possibility of a German invasion and often asked my father if we would win the war. He always told me “of Course”, but thinking back he wouldn’t always be so sure of that.

At school there was great rivalry to see who could take the most money to school to buy savings certificates etc. The money was used, we were told, to buy Spitfires etc, Thinking back, I must have been trusted to carry hundreds of pounds to school from my mother and father and also from an aunt.

All the railings in our town were taken away and melted down for ammunition etc. Even now, 65 years later, one can still see garden walls which once held the metal railings.

There were not many serious raids in Darlington so we were extremely fortunate. If one was in the cinema when the sirens were sounded, the film was halted and the manager came out and infirmed the audience that an alarm had gone off and that people who wished should leave. Most of the audience stayed, except for those like ARP wardens and others with jobs to do.

As sweets were very scarce we often stopped at a corner shop on our way from the swimming baths. We bought carlings (a kind of pea which had been steeped) wrapped in a newspaper cone, and an Oxo cube costing one old penny, which we nibbled with the carlings. Sounds revolting but we thoroughly enjoyed it all!

Our diet was probably healthier in those days as vegetables were plentiful and although meat was rationed, a little was made to go a long way. There was a British Restaurant where once could always get a good lunch which was available at a modest charge.

There was very little branded makeup available so face creams and lipsticks were made by local pharmacists. The latter were made in suppository moulds!

At the local High School the uniform rules were very strict, but blouses were often made by our mothers out of anything they could get hold of. The school uniform shops appeared to keep stocks of all the other items as I don’t remember having anything second hand.

I do remember VJ Day very well as we were on holiday on the west coast when a telegram arrived telling me of my success in the School Certificate! A wonderful end to the war for me.

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