Ruby's Memoirs

10. The Blitz and threat of invasion

On the home front we had the Local Defence Corps later called The Home Guard. I won’t go into this, but I assume you saw the television programme, it is so like the original I never grow tired of looking at their out of date antics. The real thing was made up of all ages with a captain in charge who had had experience of war and was either too old or unfit for the forces. There was also The Red Cross, St John’s Ambulance, Womens’ Voluntary Service, Air Raid Wardens and other organisations you could join if you had two arms, two legs and a head. It was just a few months packed with preparation for what we did not know but all gave willingly of their time and expertise.

The Government didn’t want a war, not a long war anyway and Chamberlain was a reluctant war leader, his idea was of a limited war with perhaps some compromise. Churchill backed Chamberlain as much as he could as he needed the time to prepare for war whenever it came, and it did. Suddenly Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, an expeditionary force was sent from England but was swiftly overwhelmed by German air power, this I’m afraid led to the overthrow of Chamberlain who was a fine Englishman but no match for Hitler. On May 10th, 1940, the National Government that was in power voted Chamberlain out and Churchill in, and he, helped by Attlee, formed a truly National Government made up from men from all parties with the one idea of winning this war.

Things had been going badly for our British Expeditionary Force in France and they were beaten back to the French coast and then followed the great evacuation from Dunkirk. Up to now there had been little good news from the war zone, but so glad were we to get so many men back who had made up our small army that it was treated as a victory especially for the armada of little boats sailed, often by their civilian owners, who only sailed for pleasure but at the call that went out to the nation for help dropped everything and sailed their small crafts with the larger vessels to evacuate every man they could from the beaches. Now the nation was really aroused and stood firmly behind Churchill, he was our hero and in the future the whole country followed him. His oratory stood him in good stead. There was a long tunnel of defeat in front of us still, but he was our inspiration, and the hope of most of Europe as well. Roosevelt withdrew his Ambassador who had told him England had had it and was not worth helping, and sent a new one here to find out just what was going on. Soon America promised ships to help in convoying merchant ships, foodstuffs and materials for war, which was their first step towards their full participation.

In September 1940 at the end of one of the best summers for many years the blitz on London began and we learned the lesson of Total War, nothing was sacrosanct, churches, hospitals, urban districts of large towns as well as London, where closely packed housing of the suburbs made them vulnerable, they were bombed mercilessly and many civilians were killed. Air raid shelters were hastily built in gardens, and women now were accepted for work everywhere to take the place of the ones that were now being “called up” especially in factories. V.A.D's worked in hospitals, drivers were needed for ambulances for the civil population. Demolition squads were formed to clear the debris from the bombed sites and rescue those who had been trapped in the wreckage, and I think it was at this time that the NAAFI or something like it was formed to bring succour to the victims of these horrific raids. The air raid wardens helped with these disasters and also anyone who happened to be at hand. Overhead the Spitfire came into operation and the Battle of Britain began. Later with the Hurricane they fought battles of the skies against the whole German Air Force which was thrown against us. While the towns burned day and night and the population stood against this appalling onslaught, these “few” somehow gained the upper hand just before we ran out of men and planes and so we had our first Big Victory.

Now we knew what we were up against all sharing in the same risks and misfortune. There were few dissenters, everyone took the same risk. One London Correspondent of the New York Herald Tribune reported: “Hitler is doing what centuries of English history have not accomplished — “The breaking down of the class structure of England,” - which was quite true. On a visit to London after one of these raids I saw the devastation of a vast area but St Paul’s Cathedral stood out like a beacon, with no evidence of having been hit, which it had but in comparison slight. It was a sight which remained for a long time and as it was some years before it was cleared, weeds grew and flowered in the ruins like a wildflower garden of the cathedral. But we were saved from the dreaded invasion.
Disasters came and went, but we had gained one important victory, the threat of invasion had receded for the time being although the bombing of towns and civilians continued in some form or other until more or less the end of the war. London was bombed frequently during the day and also at night. Many people left and made for the country where everyone opened their homes to help them in their plight. They often had nothing except what they carried, church halls put up many of these unfortunate people; as did the councils with vacant houses and unfinished buildings. The call now was for blankets and camp beds and warm clothing. After a few nights away from the fear of bombs, we had a few but nothing like the cities, many went back to their homes and you never heard of them again but a few we had as life long friends. It was a wonderful time of sharing. So the war had its good times as well as bad.

My divorce came through in 1940 and I married again in 1941 in Kings Cross, London Registry Office. A very quiet wedding during which Kings Cross Railway Station was bombed, and as this was only a stones throw away it was a bit noisy at that time. Afterwards we went to a famous London Restaurant of those days, Frascatti’s of Tottenham Court Road with our friends who had witnessed our marriage, for lunch to find them sweeping the glass from their shattered windows. So started my second marriage of on the whole 25 happy years.

Ruby Bullock
• to be continued.