Williams War Images

"I am a pupil from Prudhoe community high school, entering William Gaynor's story onto the website, and they fully understand the website terms and conditions of use"

How did you hear that the war had started?
“We knew that the war had started because at 11am the sirens screamed out, I can remember it well our mothers grabbed us and put us under the stairs fearing for our safety. All four of us squeezed under the stairs. Later our mothers realised that there was not an air raid, the siren was just to signify that war had been declared as Hitler had not withdrawn troops from Poland.”
What was running through your mind when you found out the news?
“I was only 6 at the time I did not realise what was happening, we knew that something was wrong as our parents looked worried this shocked us as we always looked up to our parents as being the ones who knew about everything!”
Did you have an Anderson shelter in your garden?
”Yes we had one in the front garden now looking at the garden I don’t know how they fit it in! We where quite lucky when I think about it now as the people in the next street had to share a shelter.”
What did it have inside?
“It was pretty simple really we only had a paraffin lamp, a bunk and an old bit of carpet, we where not in very often really as there where not many air raids”
Did you see any British or German planes?
“I saw loads of Lancaster bombers coming back from Germany. Once we where told that German bombers where chased over Crawcrook after bombing Vickers Armstrong’s in Newcastle, the German bombers dropped the bombs over Crawcrook so they could escape quicker luckily the bombs dropped in the area at the top of Crawcrook that we call the fells.”
Was it frightening to be young during the War?
“No not really as I was so young I thought it to be an exciting experience watching the search lights and barrage balloons in the sky. The only time when I was frightened was in about 1941 when Hitler was ready to invade us as my dad said “aye they’ve got us now” this frightened me because my dad was always so positive that we would win.”
What changed in your day to day life?
“The thing that affected us the most was the rationing of food as we could not get fruit throughout the war we did not see an orange or banana in 6 years! Also sweets where rationed we where only allowed about 2 ounces of sweets a week.”
Was there a home guard in your area?
“Yes my dad was in the local home guard, he was in the Navy during the First World War .I can remember him coming in with his rifle and cleaning it on the kitchen table after home guard parade in the second world war. After parade at night he used to take us to watch the gunfire in the distance.”
Did the ARP ever tell you to “PUT THAT LIGHT OUT”?
“I don’t think that they ever told us to put that light out but they would often come round the houses to check the blackout curtains in our windows.”
Do you find that the information in programmes like “Dads Army” is true?
“The facts in programmes where mostly correct as the home guard did meet in halls and practice but things where often exaggerated to make it more interesting.”

By
Mark
Turnbull
Prudhoe Community High School

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