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Schoolboy memories of Wantage in Berkshire in 1939 until 1942

In August we helped fill sand bags to build a wall to protect the large window pane of the towns cottage hospital opperating theatre. A job still unfinished when we broke away to listen to the Sunday morning broadcast that we were at War. Then back to work again.
My summer holiday task had been helping with the Harvest a pattern that continued untill I left school.

At King Alfreds grammar school all was very diffrent since another school from Canterbury had been evacuated to us. The Simon Langton School.

Some of our teachers were immediately called into the services so classes were reduced and space a premium. We studied in the morning, the others in the afternoon.

In the town generally we also had other school children around since scholls from Bow and West Ham were distibuted around the local villages. They also shared village school accommodation in the early stages.

As a member of the OTC at school I remember the delivery of older rifles .300 which had to be cleaned of the grease in which they had been stored, checked to see if they were in working order ad stored away in the school armoury before being transferred to the Territorials drill Hall.

The town also had its first influx of the 'army' the Royal Horse Artillery RHA and the Honorable Artillery Company HAC are names I remember from their badges.

When the Home Guard was formed (LDV) first of all, we boys from the Corps had an unusual task for the first few weeks. Many in those newly called in as volunteers had no experience of military drill but we boys did of course so our first task was to carry out some square bashing duties.

In Wantage there was another bonus for us OTC boys, we were allowed to join in on guard duties. Our platoon was made up from Old boys of the school and us young uns. The old uns were evn known in those days to supply us with fags. The Guard sergeant,, decided a pipe smoker this was expensive and one night he produce 4 export reject pipes placed them on the table with his tobacco pouch and said to us, if you want to smoke there is a pipe and you can fill from my pouch. For many years I was addicted to St Bruno.

Our guard duties in the winter were at the local water pumpimg works (strangely a site that had originally been built by my Grandfather) and in the summer we were at the upper level on the Ridgeway at Red House above Wantage.

To the best of my memory we never caught any invaders but i do have memories of being quite scared sometimes in the we small hours. Was I only 15 at the time. What would our reactions be today.

I will be interested if anyone else remembers similar experiences particularly if they are from that part of old Berkshire and especially East Hendred where I now live.

John Stevenson