Upload
others
View
4
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.
Defence and Deception
The Airfield Deception Campaign
In 1939, the R.A.F. began planning with the Air Ministry to establish decoy airfields near to their
operational stations as they were vulnerable to being attacked. They needed the decoys to
divert the enemy bombing; dozens of dummy airfields began to be built with elaborate props
taken from the Shepperton Studios, London. To protect the real airfields, the dummies were
constructed in sparsely populated areas near to their parent station, where enemy bombers
would drop their bombs not realising that it was a fake airfield. Parent stations in the East Riding
were at Leconfield, Driffield, Catfoss, Pocklington and Holme-on-Spalding-Moor. Decoys were
built at Routh, Skipsea, Skerne, Kilham, Beeford, Burnby and South Newbald.
Photograph of Aldbrough bombing decoy as it was at the
end of the war, 13th April 1945
Dummy aircraft such as this were designed to confuse bombers that
were attacking airfields. Skipsea decoy, protecting Catfoss airfield, was
equipped with dummy aircraft.
To create further confusion the real airfields were disguised. A camouflage scheme, such as the one for
Pocklington airfield made the airfield appear as agricultural fields.
Protecting the city
In an effort to confuse German bombers heading for Hull, an arrangement of 47 water-filled
concrete tanks, each one illuminated by an overhead lamp, was constructed on the Outstray.
This was a large area of saltings on the north bank of the Humber estuary, downstream from
Hull. The tanks were designed and positioned in such a way as to simulate the Hull docks at
night in an imperfectly blacked out state.
The walls of the tanks were 0.5m high, and were either rectangular (9m by 5m), right-angled
triangle (6.5m by 6.5m) or pentagonal (10m by 9m).
The lamps were attached to the top of 3metre high wooden posts set in concrete and were
angled to shine onto the water- filled tanks. The overhead lamps were known as ‘Leaking
Lights’ and were operated by the Royal Navy from a post centred near Little Humber farm at
Paull.
The two drains situated at [1] were dammed to flood the area between them in imitation of the River Hull in 1941. [2] shows the area at
Cherry Cob Sands in Holderness, East Yorkshire where the decoy ponds (right) were situated.
Coastal defences
After the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 it was thought that
an invasion of British shores was very likely. The
Holderness Coast was very vulnerable and the landing
places for the enemy would certainly include Atwick,
Mappleton, Withernsea and Easington right down the
estuary to Sunk Island and Paull. Defence measures were
needed to prevent such attacks going unopposed.
Along the beaches of the Holderness coast, pillboxes
were to be built and the Home Guard and Territorials were
given training. Pillboxes were very important for coastal
defence, the only snag being they were static. They were
solidly made and were tough obstacles for attacking
forces throughout the Second World War. They were
manned 24 hours a day.
During the winter of 1939 the Germans began to drop magnetic mines in the Humber. It was the
job of the ‘Wrens’ (Women’s Royal Naval Service) who were deployed at Fort Paull to degauss
ships using electric cables laid over the river bed, so would not set off the magnetic mines.
Beach defences were a matter of urgency; soldiers and civil engineers caused great concern as
the first rolls of barbed wire were washed out with the tide. A row of scaffolding to prevent tanks
and vehicles landing and large anti-tank blocks were created. On top of the cliffs there were
reinforced concrete pill boxes and six pounder gun emplacements.
The other defences, such as anti-aircraft batteries
and, most importantly, the development of radar
played a key part in the defence of Britain. Anti-
aircraft batteries, such as that at Hornsea, operated
searchlights against incoming German raids. The
searchlights were mainly used to enable gunners to
take accurate aim at night, but they could be used to
help damaged bombers navigate in the dark on their
return. This was not without its hazards. Mary
Latham of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS)
reported that: “During our time in Hull we shot down
one of our own aircraft (a Wellington) the crew gave
us the wrong signal. Fortunately he landed safely
with just the tail missing. We were commended for
our accurate firing but the crew were not impressed.
Hull was badly hit at the time.”
In the end Britain was not invaded but all that had been put in place seemed to be a deterrent.
At the end of the war all the defences were dismantled. “The beaches were cleared and paths
made through the maze of barbed wire”. Traps were still about but “still one must not complain
as at least one could wander along the shore, swim or sunbathe”.
Pillboxes, Paull
Coastal defences, Holderness coast
Stone Creek anti-aircraft battery
Located at the western end of Sunk Island, between Hull and
Spurn Head, Stone Creek has the best preserved remains of a
WWII Heavy Anti-aircraft gun site in the East Riding. Even the
domestic buildings, although ruined, are a rare survival; at
most other sites they have been demolished. The site was
originally known as Station J when it opened in September
1939, fitted with 3 inch guns. From August 1941 it became
Station H9. At around the same women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were at the site as
radar operators.
The site was abandoned in November 1944 when the
guns and staff were moved to Ringborough, on the
coast near Aldbrough, to counter the threat from the
V1 flying bomb. The remains of this installation have
been lost to coastal erosion, as have the remains of
the ancient village of Ringborough.
Stone Creek, west of Sunk Island
Remains of the Stone Creek gun emplacements.
Drawings of aircraft at Stone Creek HAA site,
presumably to aid distinguishing friend and foe.
Impressive remains of Sunk Island battery. It was
originally built during the Great War to defend the Humber
estuary. It was reactivated during WWII and equipped with
two 4.7 inch quick firing guns. It was also the Control
Centre for an anti-submarine minefield in the river.
A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.
Auxiliaries and Territorials
In 1940 the threat of invasion became imminent as the Germans had begun to assemble a massive force on the other side of the English Channel. With the amount of equipment losses in France,
and the lack of reserves, this became a critical time in our defence of Great Britain. Defences such as using canals and rivers as gigantic anti-tank ditches were in place; but Winston Churchill
realised that this was not enough to slow any enemy. One solution was the creation of a highly secret volunteer army of saboteurs called the ‘Auxiliary Units’.
Training
Men would be discreetly invited to join a local Auxiliary unit
because they possessed a valued skill such as
marksmanship, or knowledge of the local landscape. Most of
the patrol leaders would be recruited from the Home Guard,
with only the best and fittest men selected. They were not
enrolled in the regular forces; they were in effect private
citizens.
The county was under the control of an Intelligence Officer
who was a volunteer forces officer with the rank of Captain.
The men would have to sign the Official Secrets Act and would have their own, and their
families’ backgrounds checked for security.
Auxiliary Unit training
The Auxiliaries were intended to carry out sabotage, guerrilla warfare
and spying. Emerging at night from their Underground operations
bases, their purpose was to carry out attacks against enemy targets
such as supply dumps, railway lines, convoys and enemy occupied
airfields. In the East Riding, Brough, Catfoss, Driffield, Leconfield and
Cottam were listed as Class 1 airfields, and many Operational Bases
were sited near these for high priority of sabotage in the event of an
invasion.
Auxiliary Unit badge
Hideouts
Each Auxiliary Patrol had an Operational Base or hideout. Auxiliary Unit hideouts were all made
differently, but were large enough to house six or seven men. Usually constructed underground,
the hideouts were eventually fitted with bunks, cooking stoves, Tilley lamps and chemical toilets.
They were stocked with enough food and water to sustain a patrol for as long as a month.
Most hideouts had plenty of room for the patrols’
arms, ammunition and sabotage material, but an
extra hide could be dug nearby to hold stores of
additional food and ammunition.
Engineers would dig a giant hole for the secret
bunkers, then lay a concrete floor and roof it with
a half-cylinder of corrugated iron. They were 12
to 15 feet in length and tall enough to stand up in.
One end had an entrance shaft that was lined
with brick or corrugated iron. At the other end
was an escape tunnel, often a tube made of con-
crete that ran 20 to 30 feet away from the base.
Plan of Rise Auxiliary Unit hideout.
Intelligence Officer
In 1940, Captain Peter Hollis became the Intelligence Officer for the
Auxiliary unit in East Yorkshire. He was the son of the Vicar of
Hornsea, Canon Hollis.
In 1939, Captain Hollis had volunteered for the Territorial Army in the
East Yorkshire Regiment, aged 19. In May 1940 after the Dunkirk
Operation he volunteered for the role as Intelligence Officer. Captain
Hollis controlled the East Yorkshire area as far as the village of
Bainton.
Cottingham Patrols
The Operational Base for the Cottingham North Patrol was
on the site of the Grange at Harland Rise, Cottingham. The
hide was beneath a greenhouse and the patrol was once
almost wiped out by fumes from the boiler house. Fortunately
patrol member Dr Lindsay who had been on a call returned to
find his comrades on the point of death .
Cottingham North Patrol Members in 1944 Sgt Jack H. Steel, Sanitary Inspector,d.o.b.10.09.1908
Cpl Joseph Long, Grocer, 17.07.1897
Pte John G. Lindsay, Doctor (GP)
Pte Ronald Newlove, Fitter, 19.11.1926
Pte Mark K. Wilson, Market Gardener, 04.12.1913
Pte Alan Bolton, Farmer, 25.12.1926
Pte John S. Rhodes, Butcher, 24.06.1913
Map showing the location of the Operational
Base of Cottingham North Patrol at
Cottingham Grange
Members of Cottingham Auxiliary Unit
Drawing of Cottingham South patrol’s hideout
East Riding Yeomanry in WWII
The East Riding Yeomanry (ERY) was a local
Territorial Army armoured unit based in
Hull .In 1939 it consisted of two regiments:
the 1st and 2
nd ERY. In February 1940 the 1
st
ERY was sent to join the British
Expeditionary Force in France whilst the 2nd
ERY remained at home. The Germans
invaded France and the Low Countries on
10th May 1940, quickly breaking through the
Allied Lines. The 1st ERY was thrown into
battle, fighting seven rear guard actions
before being surrounded and destroyed at
Cassel on 29th May. Only about half escaped
via Dunkirk; 55 were killed and the rest
captured.
The 1st ERY was brought up to strength by the 2
nd ERY (which was disbanded) and spent the
next 4 years training in preparation for D-Day. The regiment landed on Sword beach and was
involved in the bitter fighting in Normandy, afterwards liberating Le Havre in September 1944.
Following heavy fighting to free Holland in October 1944, the regiment was rushed south to
block any German advance north during “The Battle of the Bulge”. The 1st ERY subsequently
supported the Allied counterattack in the bitter
winter temperatures of January 1945.
The ERY was re-equipped with “Buffalo”
amphibious vehicles, taking part in the assault
crossing of the Rhine in March 1945, ferrying
troops and supplies over the river.
After this their tanks were returned and at the
end of the war they occupied Kiel and Laboe
on the German Baltic coast. The regiment was
demobilised in 1946, to be reformed in the
Territorial Army in 1947.
East Riding Yeomanry camp in 1939/40 (Treasure House collection)
ERY prisoners of war in Germany (Treasure House collection.)
East Riding Yeomanry - D-Day
The D-Day landings began on 6th June 1944. These images show the involvement of the East
Riding Yeomanry in that campaign. Pictures courtesy of East Riding Archives and the Imperial
War Museum.
Above Sherman tanks waiting to go into action,
June 1944
ERY landing during a D-Day rehearsal
ERY tanks moving to the front, January 1945 ERY tanks advancing, October 1944
A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.
Bombs and V-weapons
Leaving aside members of the armed forces who might be on active service abroad, one of the biggest impacts of the war on the population was the air war. In the summer of 1940, the Germans
attempted to defeat the Royal Air Force in the ‘Battle of Britain’ and in 1944 the so-called ‘Vengeance weapons’ (the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket) brought terror to civilian populations far from
the war fronts. Although not in itself a key target area for the German Luftwaffe, the East Riding did see a lot of activity during the Battle of Britain. It lay across the route to the industrial cities of the
West Riding and was adjacent to the port city of Hull, the most bombed city in Britain after London.
Bombing in East Yorkshire
Much of the bombing activity in our area was as a result of
German bombers which had lost their way and needed to
offload their bombs somewhere before making their way
home. Sometimes too, they may have misidentified targets.
Otherwise, it is difficult to explain bombs falling in isolated
rural fields, troubling some livestock, but very few people.
Coastal ports were more intentional targets, and Bridlington
in particular received much attention, with Hornsea and
Withernsea also seeing raids. Likewise, there were deliberate
attacks on the Blackburn aircraft factory at Brough and the oil
terminal at Saltend.
Hull may have suffered as many as 82 air raids, with about
1200 people being killed. In the East Riding, the figure was
much lower – 82 civilians and 39 military personnel (mainly
on airfields, such as RAF Leconfield).
Article from the Hull Daily Mail 7 April 1940
V-1
In general the ‘V’ weapons were not a problem in this
region. They were launched from sites in the Calais
area to concentrate on the south coast of England.
They only had fuel for about 30 minutes flying time
and so could not reach the north of England.
In order to attack industrial cities in the north, V-1
missiles were launched from Heinkel 111 bombers
from off the mouth of the Humber. During such a mass
attack on Christmas Eve 1944, a V-1 aimed at
Manchester fell short and landed in Willerby, causing
damage to houses and a pumping station.
V-1 missiles relatively short range and were also very
inaccurate: when the rocket engine cut out they fell to
the ground like any other bomb. One cunning German
scheme to determine where the V-1s had landed was
to load some with leaflets called V1 P.O.W. Post
which purported to contain letters from prisoners of
war to their families. The leaflets asked finders to post
them on to the relatives; this would enable those who
dispatched to rocket to know where it had fallen.
Photograph of a crashed Heinkel 111H, possibly near
Garrowby. From the Hull Daily Mail 7th April 1940.
Leaflet dropped with V-1 flying bombs
Norah Pinder, air-raid warden
Norah Pinder was an air-raid warden who was interviewed in 1999 as part of a programme of
collecting oral histories. Air Raid Precaution wardens (ARPs) had wide ranging powers (in
addition to the police) to enforce blackouts and to control traffic flow, as well as to watch for
fires, set off air raid sirens, direct people to bomb shelters and help casualties.
Norah Pinder’s husband was seconded to Hull Fire Brigade and she was often on her own at
their cottage in Skidby during air raids. ‘He was in Hull most of the time’. If the sirens were
sounding when the Hull bus reached Skidby, then the driver was put up in her house and the
bus went back after the raid. Trained medical personnel were also sometimes called into Hull if
there had been a heavy raid with lots of casualties.
Norah recounted stories that showed that stray bombs falling could have consequences both
serious and comical:
‘Yes, light bombs, fire bombs. They were fire ones. And it set most of the trees alight up there.
We found one at the top of our garden. One that hadn’t gone off. There were quite a lot of
incendiary bombs dropped….There was a big one dropped, that’s down at the bottom of Church
Rise [in Skidby],…..there was a big one dropped there at Cherry Trees.’ (‘Mr Dixon (a
neighbour) fell on an incendiary bomb, on his face, it was a mess. There was an old lady at the
end cottage….she always used to put her fur coat on every time the sirens blew and she always
had a light on - I used to say - turn that light off. [She replied] When I’ve put my coat on!’
Presumably the lady wanted to look her best if she was an air raid casualty! Remembering that
Norah was an air raid warden, the lady’s behaviour must have caused her some annoyance as
she was charged with ensuring there was a blackout. Norah Pinder interview, ERYC Museums
collection)
Bombs fall on Bridlington
PC Jackson of Bridlington
showing off an unexploded
bomb (from a private
collection)
Attack on RAF Driffield
At around midday on 15th August 1940, about 50
Junkers JU88 bombers attacked Driffield
aerodrome killing seven ground crew, including a
member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, five
members of the East Yorkshire Regiment, a Royal
Artillery gunner and one civilian. 169 bombs were
dropped and twelve Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
aircraft were destroyed. The attack was part of a
larger operation in which German bombers based
in Denmark planned to attack a number of airfields
in the north of England. Fighters from Leconfield
and Church Fenton (now Leeds East Airport)
prevented most of the force reaching its intended targets. The only successful attack was that
on RAF Driffield.
One survivor of the attack was an airframe fitter
who was in the guardhouse having ‘borrowed’ a
Fairy Battle single engine bomber for a ‘joy ride’.
The guardhouse was demolished in the Luftwaffe
attack but the offender walked away unharmed.
It is noticeable that the fatalities in the attack were
all ground crew. Because of the risk of attack most
of the aircrew, including overseas pilots from
Canada, New Zealand, Poland and Australia, were
billeted in and around Driffield, including 20 at
Sunderlandwick Hall which burned down on VJ Day
in 1945. The present hall hosts the Driffield Golf
Club.
Aerial view of Driffield airfield
Hangar, Driffield airfield
The threat of bomb damage to key public services was recognised and local authorities took
precautionary measures where they could. For example, in Pocklington a series of dwarf walls
were built across the Beck, allowing water to be collected in pools. This would provide an
emergency supply of water should the water mains be damaged in a raid. Control centres were
set up in larger towns and useful supplies stock piled there. Recently some WWII era canvas
stretchers were found in the basement at Bridlington Town Hall and two have been added to
the Museum Service’s collections. Whilst local authorities struggled to maintain some basic
services, much of their business in the war years inevitably related to the conflict.
Bridlington Battle Honours
In 1942 a plaque was presented to Alderman T.D. Fenby JP,
Mayor of Bridlington and chairman of the Air Raid Precautions
committee, which listed the bombing raids on Bridlington for the
period October 1939 to October 1941. Forty three separate
incidents are itemised for the two years.
The list distinguishes what weapons the bombers were delivering.
The least deadly event was the dropping of leaflets over a wide
area to the north of Bridlington on 4/5 August 1940. Types of
bombs were mostly high explosive (H.E.) and incendiary bombs
(I.B.), designed to cause fire. There were also 2 Parachute Mines,
2 Oil Bombs, 2 “G” mines and one Sea Mine.
The most severe bombing was in May 1941. On May 3rd-4th six high explosive and 160
incendiary bombs fell on the ‘cemetery, near Baker’s Café, Sewerby Drive’ and on May 11th-
12th 14 H.E. and 500 I.B. fell on ‘South Pier, South Side Beach, King Street, Windsor Crescent,
Manor Street, New Burlington Road, Hilderthorpe Road’.
Sketch showing bomb damage in Bridlington
harbour (Sewerby Hall collection)
A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.
Women at War
Amy Johnson
One celebrity pilot in the ATA was Amy Johnson (1903-1941), the first
woman to fly solo to Australia. She joined the ATA in May 1940, based at
RAF Hatfield, with the rank of 2nd
officer. Initially Amy ferried training
aircraft such as Tiger Moths to squadrons in the north of England and
Scotland. On 5th January 1941 Amy’s Airspeed Oxford transport ditched
in the Thames Estuary (she had probably run out of fuel and lost her way
in bad weather) and an attempt to rescue her
was unsuccessful. A pigskin bag found at the
crash scene and the ATA badge from her
spare uniform are amongst relics in the Amy
Johnson collection at Sewerby Hall near
Bridlington.
Air Transport Auxiliary
The role of the air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was to ferry
newly produced planes from factories and airfields to RAF
bases for active service. The women’s section of the ATA
was created in January 1940, led by Pauline Gower, initially
consisting of just eight female pilots. Initially confined to
delivering training and transport aircraft, the Women’s ATA
had to overcome considerable prejudice about female flying capabilities before being able to fly
large bombers and also the famous (and fast) ‘Spitfire’ and ‘Hurricane’ fighters. From 1943
female ATA personnel had the same pay as the men, a first for that period.
ATA women wore a dark navy blue tunic, RAF type shirt and black tie and slacks (skirts were
only worn off duty). RAF wings were worn on the tunic, along with rank indications. Some
wealthier pilots did unofficially sew brightly coloured linings into their tunics!
Service in the ATA was far from routine. Although operating mostly in the UK, they were still
flying in a combat zone, with no radios, and usually unarmed. ATA pilots were therefore
vulnerable to being shot down by the Germans or by their own side if misidentified by anti-
aircraft positions on the ground. In all 174 ATA pilots were killed during the war (about 15 were
women); their courageous services freed up large numbers of trained RAF pilots for front line
roles.
Amy Johnson’s ATA badge
Dorothy Robson - ‘Bomb Sight Bertha’
After studying for a Physics degree at Leeds University,
which was remarkable for a woman in 1940, Dorothy
Robson joined the Ministry of Aircraft Production. She
was initially based at Farnborough, where the work she
undertook was so secret, that not even her parents
knew about it. Dorothy became an expert in the
development of the bomb aiming equipment and,
because of her diligence, commanded respect
wherever she worked.
Dorothy was later sent to work predominantly on the
Bomber Command airfields in the north of England.
Her job led to her being nicknamed Bomb Sight Bertha, although she was also referred to as
the girl with the laughing eyes, which illustrates the affection felt for her by the crews with
whom she worked.
On November 3rd
1943, a week before her 24th birthday, Dorothy was testing a bomb sight in a
new Halifax bomber (‘Hetty the Hefflump’), flying out of Holme-on-Spalding-Moor airfield.
Tragically, the plane crashed onto the Wolds at Enthorpe near Market Weighton and Dorothy,
along with the crew of five, were all killed. It is a measure of her dedication that she had
insisted on being present for the test, in order that the equipment was thoroughly checked.
The Land Army
The Women’s Land Army (WLA) was originally established
during the First World War, but was reconstituted during
WWII. It’s primary purpose was to ensure an adequate supply
of food for the home population as a large proportion of the
male workforce in the countryside was called up for military
service. The WLA were eventually involved in all aspects of
agriculture including driving tractors and other machinery,
planting crops and looking after animals. Sometimes they had
to work alongside German and Italian prisoners of war and
although fraternisation was officially banned, relationships
could (and did) develop.
The WLA met considerable opposition in some quarters, with
many farmers for example feeling that women would simply
not be strong enough for farming work. It is certainly true that
with women volunteering from all walks of life, some found
their new circumstances harder than others.
Surviving accounts tell of the comradeship and the
laughs that were had, but also make clear the
unremitting hard work and often basic living conditions.
Despite the initial prejudice, the WLA kept the country
fed through the war and proved its worth.
WLA enrolment card: conditions were a bit hard!
Land girls, Market Weighton
Rat catchers
Official recognition was a long time coming – it was not until 2007 that surviving members were
awarded a badge for all their efforts.
Women’s Voluntary Service
Originally created in 1938, the organisation became the Royal
Voluntary Service from 1966.
Set up by the Government, its original aim was ‘the enrolment of
women for air raid precaution services for local authorities’ and
more generally, to spread knowledge in civilian circles as to what to
do during and after air raids.
Technically, there were no ranks in the WVS, but there were titles.
The organisation was split into 12 regions, with almost 2000
centres during the war. Women from all classes of society joined.
This social diversity did raise some issues with regard to uniforms.
In June 1939, a suit uniform, hat and overcoat could be obtained, but as these were made by
Harrods, they were rather expensive for working women! Uniforms therefore remained optional,
and many wore their own clothes with just a WVS badge for identification.
WVS members were employed in a wide variety of roles and were an important and much
appreciated resource. For example they staffed canteens for those fighting fires, drove
ambulances and operated information points during air raids. They also greeted returning
soldiers, handing out clothes, food and drink.
Service in the WVS counted as war service and members were therefore eligible for the
Defence Medal after the war ended.
Eileen Medford – recollections
We went out to whatever farm we had to go to, either picking potatoes, weeding carrots on
your hands and knees – awful job that, I think that’s why we’ve all got bad knees now, all the
kneeling in the damp grounds.
I more or less worked along with the men. I had a good set of men to work with and I worked
the same hours as they did… So I worked then amongst…, you know doing everything on the
farm, I was just the same as an ordinary man – tractoring. Some of the men at some of the
farms weren’t [O.K. with girls coming in]. They were, you know, resentful because they were
girls from towns. Granted some of them had never seen a cow in their lives, they were terrified
of them.
I was lucky, I worked with horses. I had big shire horses to work with, 18 hand shire horses.
They were big horses. They were a pair of old horses, well I say old, they were knowledgeable
horses. They knew what to do if you went to put a head collar on one of them he would
immediately lift his head as high as he could do, where he should have put it down – he knew
what he was doing. And when it was towards dinner time he knew it was it was dinner time and
he would stop and wouldn’t go any further….
I worked on threshing machines, yes. Most of the girls had to carry caff as they called it, that
was the husks and all the stuff that came out the bottom. You had to bundle it up, put it on your
back and carry it away. Well I did do that occasionally...but mainly I was allowed to work on the
machine, I was insured to do that you see. We used to carry corn, we used to do all sorts.
Eileen Medford was originally from Hull and commuted by train to Market Weighton when she
joined the Land Army. Later she lived in a Land Army hostel and then on one of the farms until
she married at the end of the War. These recollections were recorded by Jayne Fisher in
January 2008.
Factories
With men in the services many of
their jobs had to be done by women.
Women worked in ship building,
factories and particularly munitions
They had to learn new skills such as
handling machinery and welding as
in this painting by Bernard Casson
which shows factory workers in Hull
making military vehicles. (Beverley
Art Gallery collection)
A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.
Aliens — friend and foe
Whilst the Second World War pitted nations against others, it also brought different peoples and cultures together on a scale which had never occurred before in Britain. As British service men and
women landed on foreign soils across the world, foreign nationals including refugees, allies and prisoners of war arrived in Britain, including the East Riding.
Thousands of people from overseas found themselves in the East Riding between 1939 and 1945, indeed the number of inhabitants across the East Riding who did not come into contact with foreign
nationals at some point during the war must have been very few. Memories of French, Italians, Germans, Polish, Americans and Canadians loom large in the recollections of locals who lived through
this time, and they provide an insight into the curiosity, amusement and empathy that was often felt towards those from other countries who found themselves far from home amidst the conflict.
Prisoners of War
The Riding’s largely remote location and rural economy made it favourable for the holding of
enemy prisoners of war. There were camps at Welton, Goole, Bishop Burton, Rudston and
West Cowick. The first POW’s held in Britain were German pilots, aircrew and naval personnel,
however, these were only small in number. The first major influx of enemy prisoners occurred
from July 1941 when Italians captured in the Middle East arrived on British shores.
The arrival of these Italians allowed the Government to begin alleviating the labour shortage
particularly within agriculture. Gordon Bulmer recalls encountering Italian POWs at South Cave
as a teenager in 1941:
“We went down into the woods and said “what
are we going to eat” and they said “well
there’s some pigeons here” so one of them
had a catapult so I said “well you shoot a
pigeon and we can roast it” y’see? …this was
going down into South Cave in the woods
there and then suddenly this man appeared
and he was an Italian prisoner of war … their
camp was on the way down that hill into
South Cave on the left hand side. They had
some Nissen huts, they were working on the
lands of the farmers and he said “don’t do
that” this Italian, he said “come and have tea
and a cake with us” and we went into this
camp and all the chalk in the area they’d
carved it into beautiful statues did the Italian
prisoners and he said “sit down and he said
the only thing is we can’t buy anything in the
shops because we only have prisoner of war
money and we can only use that at sort of the
NAAFI but we could use it if you could change
one of my notes for one of your notes”. So I
think we swapped a pound coin or something
can’t remember what it was a pound note I
suppose it was in those days and he gave us
this prisoner of war money for it.”
After the Italian surrender on 3 September 1943, some 100,000 Italians volunteered to work as
‘co-operators’. They were given freedom and mixed with local people. Ted Williamson from
Hornsea recalled how he encountered Italian ‘co-operators’ in the Holderness area:
“When the Italians changes sides, well they surrendered, all their prisoners were effectively
released and they all found bikes from somewhere and I used to see dozens of them at
Thorngumbald and the Germans were at Roos and I think the Italians were at Burstwick
somewhere and they [the Italians] all used to come into Withernsea ‘cos they used to get 10
bob a week pocket money and I suppose they could have a drink and chat up the local lasses.”
In Britain, the Italians were joined by German POWs just over a year later following the D-Day
landings in the summer of 1944. Although there was an initial reluctance to utilise German
labour for the war-effort some 70,000 were working across Britain by March 1945. Ted’s wife,
Joyce recollected German POWs working in the Holderness area and how bonds were formed
between locals and captives:
“The Brown’s they had three German prisoners of war who worked at the Church Farm at Sunk
Island and I remember one of them was called Karl and I remember my mother saying that he
was a lovely lad was Karl and when they started to repatriate them to their own country Karl did
not want to go home! But they made him go back, but some of the prisoners of war did stay.”
Allies
Amongst Britain’s allies, it was the French who
were the first large overseas group to arrive in
Britain. After the evacuation of Dunkirk
between 26th May and 4th June 1940,
thousands of French found themselves in
Britain. Betty Atkinson related her memories of
the ‘Free French’ who resided in Hornsea:
“We had Free French [in Hornsea],...for quite a
while. I don’t know why they ended up in
Hornsea they were just landed on us and we
just took it for granted like. They used to do
exercises in the park, you know? and they
weren’t any bother a lot of the girls went with
‘em.”
From the very early stages of the conflict the RAF and Fleet Air Arm also included personnel
from outside of the United Kingdom. The open and flat expanses of land in the East Riding,
coupled with the region’s close proximity to occupied Europe made it suitable for the
establishment of airbases and therefore the
arrival of a large number of foreign pilots.
Many of these were exiles from Nazi-occupied
Europe and also some American emigrants.
James Hardy of Beverley reminisced about a
particularly dramatic episode involving a
Polish pilot:
“One night my dad said to me, come and have
a look here, they’ve shot a Jerry down! and
we went outside to see this plane coming
down in flames and the next day we went to
look and it [the plane] was in a field opposite
Figham, he’d crashed in there and the pilot
had bailed out and he was a Pole – a Polish
pilot and he was in a [Hawker] Hurricane [aircraft] and they took him in and they thought he was
a Jerry.”
The number of foreign allies on British soil swelled hugely following the entry of the United
States into the War, particularly from 1942. Over two million American servicemen passed
through Britain during the Second World War. In the East Riding, Beverley was a major station
for Americans. Beverlonian Barbara Oxtoby remembered:
“We saw the Americans [in Beverley] and we lived next door to Mr Brantano’s which was a
garage and these Americans used to all come and collect there at the garage – why? I don’t
know and I was really shy, I’d be about 2 or 3 [years old] and they used to try to talk to me but I
can remember them offering me a stick of Wrigley’s chewing gum and we’d never seen that
before.”
The village of Cottingham too was well-known American base. Dorothy Catterick remembered
her intrigue seeing the ‘Yanks’:
“The Americans came [to Cottingham] which was a big thing and they were near to us ‘cos they
were at The Lawns – what is now The Lawns and we used to see them marching which, to me,
was the most humorous thing – they marched and they chanted and they’d go so many paces
one and then huh! So many paces the other and we just thought that this was so strange ‘cos
we’d go to the end of Park Lane as they were marching down Hallgate.– it was the time of “got
any gum chum?” and they gave nylons out to their ladies.”
Vivienne Wray also remembered the Americans in Cottingham:
I remember my dad saying “now don’t you dare ask them [American troops] for gum’! My mum
used to have some [American troops] to Sunday lunch and they used to bring something with
them – they weren’t on rations like we were – they’d bring a couple of chickens with them and
my mum would cook them and they [the soldiers] always needed a bath because there were no
baths were they were situated
Migrant Workers
POWs were not the only foreigners to work on the land during wartime. Former Land Girl
Gwendolyn Pinder explained how non-native migrants worked alongside British labourers at
North Ferriby:
“Erna was a Land Girl – she was Austrian, but lived in Ferriby, she came from Austria [before
the war] as an au pair and she married Tom Cooper. There were quite a few Irish men working
there, they’d come from Ireland to work on Market Gardening – tomatoes and cucumbers
because it [North Ferriby] was quite a big area for market gardening.”
West Indian serviceman Billy Strachan (far left) was stationed in
Brough during the war.
“Softies”
The Italians used to serenade us. They had
a cook with them making coffee in the field.
They were at Storwood camp, they were
very artistic and they made beautiful
fountains there. They used to make ‘gold ‘
rings for farmers 'wives (brass of course)
and they used to rub them on their trousers.
They had these uniforms with round
patches like targets so they could be shot
when escaping., a patch on their leg and on
their back They were real softies though….
They were happy days.
Muriel Berzins - oral history, Guildhall
collection. Model plane hand-crafted and given to Joan Burnett and her sister
by prisoners of war who worked on their father’s farm at Cottingwith.
Storwood POW camp was at Cottingwith.
Womens’ Land Army girl Lena (Laverack) marrying an American
soldier at Welton church November 1944
German prisoner of war farm worker and horse
Land Army girls with Italian prisoners of war.