Next meeting of the Eton Wick History Group July 8, 2015

  

 
The next meeting of the History Group will be on Wednesday, 8th July at the Eton wick Village Hall starting at 7.30 pm. 

The topic for the evening will be  ‘Recall 60 Years On'  (film of the 2005 event) and Eton Wick in WWII’– a tribute to the late John Denham with Frank Bond.

 

Recall 60: Evacuation

Arrangements for evacuation of children were well rehearsed before the outbreak of war on September 3rd 1939. When war seemed inevitable, on September 1st the mass evacuation began, involving 72 London transport stations transporting nearly 250,000 passengers to rail stations etc., and 4,000 trains evacuating 1,300,000 to the country. 

Billeting Officers were waiting at various designated stations with the task of housing the evacuees, which included 1/2 million expectant mothers or mothers with infants. The first eight months of the war were without bitter fighting or air raids and became known as the 'phoney war'. 

This calm before the storm resulted in about seven out of every eight evacuees returning home, only an estimated 65,000 remained and many of these were hardly in 'safe' areas, having been billeted in the Home Counties and Kent. Following the onslaught of May/June 1940, a further evacuation of coastal areas was deemed necessary.  

An evacuee's story can be read here

Recall 60: 10 years on: 2

In 1938 the armed services numbered 381,000. The first year of the war the number was 2 million and in 1945, 4,680,000 of whom 437,000 were females. In all, including early releases, fatalities, wounded, and Prisoners of War, 5,900,000 people served in one of the services during W.W.II.

Of the 40,000,000 civilians, 61,000 were killed and a further 86,000 severely injured. Approximately 2,500,000 of the service personnel were married, and women of eligible service age were usually given the option of doing essential civilian work, i.e. in industry, or of joining one of the services. This was not an option for the men.

Please share your memories of Eton Wick in World War Two by adding a comment in the space at the end of this article.

Recall 60: 10 years on

10 years ago the Eton Wick History Group collected the life stories of the men and women who saw service during World War 2 and were living in the village in 2005. There are the recollections of 53 people in Recall 60 years on and many other stories. In the run up to the 70th anniversary of the end WW2 we will be publishing many of these other stories on this website. Here is the first article.


Following the outbreak of World War II, a National Service Act decreed that all fit men aged between 18 and 41 years of age were liable for service. In 1941, a further Act extended the service liability to include women and those aged between 18 and 51 years. In effect, few over 41 years were called and none over 45. All those falling within the eligible ages were obliged to register, usually at their local employment exchange.

In the last four months of 1939, 727,000 registered. In 1940, 4,100,000 registered and in 1941, 2,222,000 registered. From then on the majority of those eligible had registered for service and numbers fell off except for those reaching the age of 18 during the past year. Many were exempt from service on account of doing essential work in industry, commerce, agriculture, transport or other such occupations. Others of course, failed the fitness examination. The classification of reserved occupation was constantly reviewed and few felt completely secure in their civilian status.

The founding treasurer of the EWHG, John Denham was in a reserved occupation as an apprentice with an engineering company in Taunton. During this time he was a member of the local Home Guard. When he finished his apprenticeship in 1944 he was conscripted at the age of 19 and saw service in Burma and Singapore.

Please note Recall 60 is now out of print.

Wartime memories - the V1 Rocket attack on Windsor

On the afternoon of Saturday, 1st July 1944, a flying bomb was seen and heard coming from the direction of Slough towards Windsor...

Within a very short time an explosion was heard as the bomb hit the chimney of the Windsor Corporation dust destructor in Kentons Lane. Many houses were damaged but there were no deaths, although many people were injured by flying glass. The blast shattered windows at Edward Woolhouse’s cycle shop in the Eton Wick.

Royal Navy Artificer, P.O. Frederick Lamb from Sunderland remembered the incident as follows:-
He was put with a draft from Portsmouth at 5 o'clock in the morning on June 6th 1944, not knowing whence they were bound. His thoughts at that time were of going across the channel with the invasion forces but they were told on reaching Waterloo Station that their destination was the Slough Government Training Centre, and they would be billeted in Windsor. H
e considered he was lucky, had they gone the other way, who knows what the outcome might have been. —

"After a hectic struggle to get across from Waterloo to the station for Windsor with all our gear we arrived on Saturday at Windsor. Another artificer and me had to go on our way to the Police Station to collect a double bunk bed and take it with us along with our kit bags, suit cases, hammocks and tool boxes.

Eventually we were dropped off at a house near to a Pub. The family with whom we were billeted, a husband and wife with young girls, had a small upstairs room for us. We carried our gear to the room and then assembled the double bunk bed. On the Monday morning we caught the train to Slough to work at the Government Training Centre on shifts from 2—10 one week, 6—2 the following week which brought us to July 1st.

The house was partially destroyed, roof windows etc... I think we were taken to a school, the lady there said they would put us up there for the time being and showed me to a mattress on the floor which was screened off. On wakening the next morning I could hear babies crying and women talking. Having dressed, I prepared to leave but at the door enquiries were made as to my relatives and I explained that I was only billeted in the house.

Arriving at the Training Centre the Chief Petty Officer said "You are adrift, Captain’s report" to be charged with absent without leave. Having explained my absence the charge was dismissed. Leave to find transport to Windsor and retrieve my gear. On arriving at the billet, it appeared the house was about to cave in any minute and I was faced with getting my gear out by myself as the driver was not going to risk his life. Having got my tools, hammock, cases etc. I then set about finding a fresh billet. I finished the course and went to H.M.S Wildfire."

Note: WRNS were also taught engineering trades such as welding, machining, wood working at the Slough Government Training Centre, passing out as ship mechanic (LC) for the repair of landing craft.

This memory was recorded as part of  the Eton Wick History Group's Recall 60 years on project to celebrate the 60th anniversary  of the ending of World War 2.

Wartime memories - an assortment

The Egg 

For several years after the war there continued to be many shortages of food and goods. In 1948 I applied for work on the Slough Estate at Intertype, manufacturers of American Compositing Machines. After my interview the works personnel manager said that my papers would go to the States and in due course I would then receive, with the States' Compliments, one egg a month. I never did cycle home clutching the egg, but gave it to a workmate. We had hens at home.

(Frank Bond)

Let's join the Wrens

…billetted in Hodgson House, Eton College, during the war while serving with the WRNS…

The washing facilities were at the front of the house facing the road … In summer, with windows open, WRNS could be seen washing (in stages of undress) and a collection of Eton College boys would gather outside at a certain time until they were discovered………..

…………….and then banned ……………

(B Golding)

Officials go Bon Bon

My grandparents kept the Bon Bon shop in Eton selling confectionary, tobacco etc. Shops customarily remained open until around 8pm in the pre-war and wartime days. One day around 1940-41 two well-dressed men entered the shop at closing time and asked for a box of matches, then one penny.

When served they became officious and told Gran she had contravened regulations by selling matches after 8pm. A petty rule that she was aware of although shops could not sell cigarettes after 8 o’clock as it interfered with the Public House trade. Old time petty officialdom ~ even in wartime.

(Alan Smith)

You may be wrong, but You are never right!!

I was in the Army - there was a war on and I soon learnt that to answer back was insolence and not to answer was dumb insolence. You cannot win. I know all soldiers had to read No.1 Orders ~~

I misinterpreted these...

The Sergeant said “Soldier, can’t you read - W.E.F. means With Effect From”

I said “Sorry Sergeant, I honestly thought it meant Week Ending Friday” … Not Funny, Sergeant was not amused.

(Alan Smith)

Camp News... Undesirable living accommodation

We were posted to Dorney. Billets were allocated, but unfortunately the Nissen hut that telephonists and spotters were expected to occupy was in an appalling condition having previously been a meat store; an odour I have never smelt before or since. There was a shortfall of beds so we were given the usual biscuit paliasses on which to sleep on the flagged floor. We could not deter the assorted number of cats from hanging around this hut, but horrible though it all was we just had to make the best of it.

Fortunately for me I was on all night duty, but was horrified when the poor girls trying to sleep in that hut told me of a night of horrors as dozens of mice left their nest under the flagged floor and ran over the beds and pillows and anywhere else they fancied. Helped by the cats continuing their vigil and making many successful catches.

Next morning the Junior Commander came to inspect the hut and ordered the floor to be taken up and it was found that there were literally hundreds of mice nests under the flag stones. We were transferred to share other barrack rooms which became overcrowded and the mice decided to move in with us as well.

(M.Sudsaby –ex 564 Bty.)

London in the blitz

As a school girl in Fulham I found the experience of being in the midst of such mayhem very exciting. Climbing in bombed remains of homes and discovering pieces of bomb shell and shrapnel were considered good finds to use as trade.

The seriousness of the situation only came when empty seats were seen around the class rooms. Walking one day with a friend to the dental clinic we were fascinated to watch a Doodlebug streaming noisily in the sky then the silence as it fell on a target - This time the clinic where we were heading (eight children and 2 nurses were killed) The clinic site is being developed now as luxury riverside apartments

(Margaret Everitt)

Air Raids… Early Fears & Precautions

War had just been declared. I was out on my cycle when the air raid siren sounded the alarm. Until the warning wail became a familiar sound everybody took notice, so I hurried home….

Dad was quite excited and asked me help him fill the bath and buckets with water in case we were bombed. Not a precaution we took later.

(P. Perring)

This away or That away

In 1941 I was a Brownie and we had our shoulder flashes taken off in case a German parachutist caught one of us and would know where he was...

(1st Slough Brownie Pack)

(J Lund)

A Thursday Memory

… Of being thrown out of my bed when the German Luftwaffe dropped a bomb on the wartime ack-ack site on Dorney Common…

Also the day the crew of a lone German plane delighted in some shooting against my Mother as she walked across the fields to meet father from work on a wet Thursday afternoon.

She was striding along, brolly up, oblivious of the plane until a man from the sewage works shouted at her to jump into the ditch…

On returning home I cannot repeat what she said about that little German ‘So-in-So’

(J. Neighbour)

Eton College Bombed 

7.45 am. December 1940… arriving early at the choir school to finish some prep, I found broken stained glass in the quad from the Chapel – the result of a bomb that had badly damaged Saville House during the previous night. Whilst picking some up as a souvenir, I spotted a hole in the paving by the Headmaster's schoolroom and decided to investigate but was prevented from doing so by a master running towards me shouting “Out boy, it’s an unexploded bomb”. Later that day the Bomb Disposal team arrived, but decided they could do nothing. That evening it exploded destroying the schoolroom and part of Upper School.

Old Men forget and are forgotten, but I shall remember this day. - (Henry V.)

I remember

I came to England as a prisoner in January 1946 after the war was over and was in the great camp at Reading. In the springtime 1946 I was transferred to a camp between Maidenhead and Bray. The first time I worked for the farmer Mr Kinross at the Manor Farm was in the summer of the same year. After discharged from the prisoner of war status I stayed voluntary for another year with Mr Kinross on the farm. The Kinross family was so kind to permit me to stay on the farm for another year, a free man. On the 6^th January1951 I finally left England …

(Max Schattke)

These memories were recorded as part of  the Eton Wick History Group's Recall 60 years on project to celebrate the 60th anniversary  of the ending of World War 2.