Voluntary fire fighting and rescue work.

MY SECOND WORLD WAR EXPERIENCE

NAME : R J (Bob) Paxton

BORN : Coventry - 28 May 1918

EDUCATION : Attended Coventry Technical College. 2 years
full-time and 5 years part time with School Leaving Certificate and the
London City and Guilds Certificate in Engineering.

I then spent 5 years Apprenticeship in Machine Tool manufacture and Toolmaking and Design. This also entailed the installation and servicing of machines in manufacturing companies around the Country. E.g. A large 3.7 Anti-Aircraft shell forging machine in Workington, Cumbria.
Component forging machines - Head Wrightons, Stockton-on-Tees.
Deritend Stampings, Birmingham.
Hoffmans Ball Races, Cheltenham.

In 1939, I finalised my Apprenticeship and was entered as Freeman of the
City of Coventry. I then volunteered for the RAF at my local airfield, near Coventry but was referred back to my engineering occupation (much to my disappointment).

This led to my volunteering for fire fighting and rescue work when War
broke out in 1939.
I was involved in all the Coventry Air Raids including the driving of a
Doctor in the infamous November 14th 1940 'Coventration' code named
'Moonlight Sonata' by the Luftwaffe.
Since I was referred back to my Engineering occupation, I joined the
Coventry Gauge and Tool Company who were engaged in the manufacture of machines for the production of many of the parts for the Merlin aero-engine used on several British aircraft including the Spitfire and the Mosquito.
These machines included jig boring machines, thread grinding Machines, multi-jig drilling machines and cylinder grinding machines.
The work also entailed the installing and servicing of these machines in
'shadow factories' in various parts of the country.
At this time, we were working 70 hours a week, 7 days a week. Since we were under severe bombing raids, life was becoming quite hazardous. Outlined below are some of the bombing incidents I was involved in as a volunteer rescue worker:

I attended one incident near to where I lived and came across several dead bodies; one of which was a young lady I knew - all that was left was half of her head hanging on the jagged edge of the air raid shelter after the bomb had exploded under it.
During another raid, I sheltered 15 people in our house whilst a shower of incendiaries was falling. I subsequently guided them to the public air raid shelters.

When the Coventry Gauge and Tool company received a call for help from Rotol Airscrews, I was sent from Coventry to repair a machine that was producing parts for the Variable Pitch Unit chiefly for Lancasters and Spitfires. I commenced work on the machine at 8.00 pm and after working through the night, I finished at lunch time the following day. I entered the Company air raid shelter to get some sleep (my hotel) when a lone Luftwaffe raider beat up the Hurricane station across the road with spectacular results. Whilst working through the night on the machine, I thought that I had at least missed one Coventry Raid (some hope!)

Now that the Second World War has been over for more than 50 years, a lot of "secrets"
are now in the public domain. These include the underground tunnels at Dover Castle from where Winston Churchill guided many operations (a worthwhile visit if you have time).
Not only has the British Government made many secrets public, but so has the German.
A historic society based near Rotol Airscrews in Bristol recently published a complete diary of the Luftwaffe bombing raids in the Bristol area from 1940 to 1944 and, to my surprise,
I discovered the exact time and date of the Rotol Airscrews bombing raid:
5th of June 1941 at 02:25!

During another air raid on Coventry, I drove a doctor to an incident where a lady had lost her baby when the house was hit. Whilst the doctor was treating her I asked a local air raid Warden if there were any other incidents. He replied that there could be if the delay action bomb I had parked over exploded! I soon moved the car and the bomb had exploded when we returned a little later.

On the November 14th 'Big' Raid, the First Aid and Rescue Post was badly damaged by a parachute bomb which also immobilised the Evacuation bus. To evacuate the casualties, I drove several drivers to their bus disposal sites so that we could move them to a safe district out of the city. In 1941, as the severity of the raids diminished, I joined the Company Home Guard.

My first rifle was a Ross .300 Bolt Action followed by a .303 Lee Enfield, a Sten Gun, Lewis Gun and finally Twin Browning machine Guns (beautiful guns). After training at several RAF and Army Gunnery Schools, I then volunteered for Airfield Defence on local air fields and factory defence. This at least gave me the opportunity to mix with RAF personnel and examine the Spitfires, Hurricanes and Boulton Paul Defiants etc. on site.

On one occasion, an enemy day raider attacked the factory whilst I was on the roof with a Lewis Gun, and although we fired at him, we did little or no damage. Then we fired at the next plane we sighted what turned out to be a British Whitley Bomber! Fortunately, we missed it.

There are, of course, many incidents that have not been recorded. The November 14th Raid lasted eleven hours that took me and the doctor all over the City which was completely devastated.

LIST OF FRIENDS AND RELATIVES LOST IN THE 2nd WORLD WAR
Ralph Kilburn
Sergeant Fighter Pilot cousin, shot down at Grantham whilst instructing a pupil
Fred Kilbuern
Leading Fireman killed in the Great Coventry Air Raid (During this air raid I must have been very close to him)
Harold Buttery
Air Crew crashed on Scottish mountain Returning from raid over Germany. Fellow apprentice Engineer.
Billy Parham
Flight Engineer shot down in Holland.
Old school friend.
Ford Rowney
School friend. Sergeant Pilot of a Halifax Bomber crashed in Hertfordshire returning from raid over Germany.
Norman Pell
Old school friend. Air crew shot down in Holland.
Cyril Bobby
Neighbour. Air crew crashed returning from raid in Germany.
Joe 'Ginger' Riddington
Fleet air arm lost at sea.
Joe Daniels
School friend, air crew shot down in Holland. He was a very great swimmer.
Husband of my cousin from Doncaster
Killed in Anzio Beach Head by German Sniper.

As we grow older, we seem to remember them even more.

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