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Betty’s war time memories

I was 12 years old, there was no TV. then but we were all told to be very quiet and listen to the wireless, we heard the Prime Minister, Mr Chamberlain declare that we were at war with Germany. People cried, some prayed, knowing that their husbands and sons would be called up. My Mother was a widow, she had suffered during the First World War as my Father had served 4 years in the trenches and had died as a result of mustard gas poisoning 9 years later, just before I was born.
I had 6 elder brothers and 3 sisters, the Government said all 18 to 25 year olds had to enlist, David was 19 and joined the Green Howards, and he had a wife & baby son. Arthur was 18; he was a butler to a local gent so he had to go immediately. My Mother was so upset that she lost all of her hair, it just fell out.
The village where I lived, Seamer, near Stokesley, soon became very active, they made a mock aerodrome about a mile out of the village, in the middle of the village we had an ack-ack (soldiers with search lights & guns). When the air raid siren sounded we were to hurry home, some of us took our time as we were curious to watch the search lights and see if we could spot a plane, we did see one, it dived down in the lights and the guns were firing, the light was switched off and shrapnel was flying, we were terrified.
Things seemed fine at first so us kids carried on a usual, one day after school I was sent to pick Blackberries, I hadn’t picked many when the biggest aeroplane I had ever seen came over, it frightened me so much that I ran all the way home, I thought the Germans had come to get us! I was told later that it was a Wellington Bomber.
At school we were told that we were going to have some evacuees from Hartlepool and the households whose men folk had gone had to take them in, when they arrived some looked lost and didn’t want to stay, however, very few went back home and a lot stayed right through the war, left school and worked on local farms, as they got older some married and settled down there.
There was very little to celebrate that first Christmas, some of the lads came on leave in their uniforms, we thought they were ever so smart, then we were wishing that we were old enough to join up.
We had good fun at school, there were to many of us with the evacuees for the two classrooms so we had two classes in the playground, weather permitting, I don’t think the teachers knew what to do with us, we played football, cricket and rounders, once we followed the hounds.
We were issued with gas masks & identity cards, I remember my Number: J.H.U.D. 4 as now there was only my Mother, brother, sister and me; being the youngest I was no 4. we also were issued with ration books. One day some officials came to school to measure the children, if you were taller than 5 feet 4 inches you were given extra clothes coupons, I was tall & my Mother was allocated 40 additional coupons which helped the whole family.
My next brother was called up, and then my brother in law and his wife (my sister) joined the WRAC.
Aaron, another brother joined the Royal Navy.
Dunkirk was terrible, we listened to every news bulletin, David and Arthur were missing for a long time, then we heard they were prisoners. The Blacksmith in Seamer, Mr Graham nailed a horse shoe on the back of his door and asked families to nail a farthing in the circle for each boy or girl who had gone from the village, he said they would come back so Beanie (my sister) and I nailed ours on & do you know, they all came home eventually even though some were wounded. We were always waiting for the Postman but letters were few and far between. Service men at the Camp would ask my Mother to sew on their flashes and stripes, Beanie and I got roped in, they were awful to sew as the Khaki material was very tough, however when the lads came to collect them they would bring a few extra rations from their canteen. The Women’s Voluntary service brought Navy & Khaki wool for us to knit balaclavas, mittens and socks, I could knit & felt good that in this way I was helping the war effort.
My brother Thomas was serving in Italy and Egypt as a Dispatch rider, Jack was also in Egypt, eventually they were stationed back at home and came on leave. Walter, the eldest brother was in the Prison Corps, he helped with the Prisoners of war, he made us laugh as he said a lot of them would not wash but he was a big man and was able to put them in the tin baths.
One night I woke to the biggest flares, then the siren went, we all had to go to the pub cellar taking blankets, we would sing but some prayed. We had 3 new shelters made, they were made good use of by courting couples in-between raids.
Now I was leaving school, Christmas 1941, I went to help at a household who had 6 billeted airmen from the Mock aerodrome, I was kept very busy for my four shillings a week and only stayed for one month. I went into Gentlemen’s service in Stokesley, just as well as the lads had been all over me at the last place. I quite enjoyed the work, wherever you went there were men in uniforms and land army girls. At the Town hall there were regular dances which were always packed, we all enjoyed them, there was a local band with a piano, base violin and a drum, they were very good, the other maid and myself sneaked out after the evening meal, one night we nearly got caught coming back as we heard the Housekeeper coming across the landing, she had a limp, we jumped into bed fully clothed. Also some evenings we went to the school to learn how to make up beds, make tea, help with bandages in case of bombardment, the town’s people were sent to us, it was called the Rest Centre. The Boss here was a Major in the First world war, he tried to join up again but he was stone deaf so he opened his house for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Guard Head Quarters, we used to get Dispatch riders from the Army with secret messages.
The lads who were farmers stayed at home, they were key men on the farms and exempt from being called up.
Aaron’s ship, HMS Implacable, was torpedoed in the Pacific Ocean, he could not swim but managed to cling on to some floating wood until he was rescued and taken to Australia, after the war he emigrated and stayed there for the rest of his life.
I left this house to work at another big house, I stayed for one year then went to work on the land, I delivered milk amongst other tasks, Beanie also went into horticulture, we didn’t join the Land Army as we would have been posted away from home, never the less we worked with the other girls when they were assigned to the farm at harvest & potato picking time. We worked long hours as we were short of workers, any land that could be ploughed for crops was used, we snagged turnips and sowed corn in the moonlight & built stacks until dark.
I must say the people in the services who never went to the front line had some of the best times, the ammunition workers were mainly women, they wore scarves over their hair and pinny type overalls. There was always make-up to obtain, home made jewellery, colour for our legs as there were no stockings, we only got those if someone knew a yank.
Jack was assigned with the Americans for the D Day landings, again people were anxious for news, for days there was nothing then we heard that the Force had been held up through weather conditions, after that, the breaking point of the war, it was coming to an end in Europe, but there was still fighting in the far east.
Things started to get better, Mother was more relaxed, happy to know that her boys would soon be home.
I was nearing my 18th birthday and was arranging to marry my farm lad sweetheart, we were married in January 1946. If you were getting married you would be issued with 5 Dockets, we bought a bedroom suite, wardrobe, dressing table and tall boy, (that was 3 Dockets) we had 2 left so bought a basket chair, there wasn’t enough for a bed, everyone went to the salerooms to buy what they could.
We could get local eggs, we had a big pankin in which we preserved them in water glass, however, that stopped as the eggs all had to go to the packing stations, so then we were able to get dried egg. Our food rations were very small, 2 ounces of most things, butter, lard, tea, the meat was often horsemeat. The ration books were blue if you were under 18 years old and buff if older, they carried on after the war, I used to go to the butchers and grocers to present my blue book, they stared at me and wondered how old I was as it should have changed on my birthday, I felt embarrassed but said nothing.
My husband, Arthur and I have been married for 60 years in January 2006, we have 3 children and their spouses, 6 grandchildren and their spouses, 11 great grand children and are still going strong.

Betty Frankland (nee Durham)

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