An Interview with 3 Evacuees from Hull

Dennis: Has anyone mentioned the despatch rider who got killed, who's buried at Bishop Wilton? There was a military funeral with bagpipes. Can you remember that, Bill, with the bagpipes? [Evidently there was a ceremony at Bishop Wilton but the despatch rider wasn’t actually buried there]
Billy: Yes. You know as you come down Garrowby from Cot Nab on the left hand side the ground dips away real quick just before you turn into Bishop Wilton lane - well, his bike stopped there and he went on, over into the field. They had him laid out in one of Mr Holgate's garages. We weren't that nosy that we went and had a look, but that's where they had him laid out. And they took him up the village on a handcart one time. That would be sometime about 1943.

Dennis: There used to be a lot of manoeuvres there.
Margaret: There's one story about the silver paper…. they used to drop this silver paper. Was it for the radar?
Dennis: It was silver on one side and black on the other. They had a name for it, but I've forgotten it. [“Window”?]
Billy: It used to be all over, on the telegraph wires and all over, when they dropped it.
A lot of troops used to camp in the field where they have the Show now, Wilton Lodge. When the troops used to come, their reputation used to go before them. Me Mam and Miss Robinson used to make them jugs of tea. Me Mam was most upset, because the story got around that they were paying for it. She would have lynched me if they'd have said “There's thruppence for you, son”. She would have lynched me for taking it. There used to be Bren Gun Carriers parked up on the road, and all sorts sometimes. Miss Robinson used to come and shout “They're coming, Muriel, get kettle on”. And Miss Robinson and me Mam used to make tea. There were thousands of troops at times. You know Worsendale as you go up from the village, there's a gate on the right hand side, just past where the moat is, well, you go down that hedge side and then you turned down to your right, and there used to be a great big stand of elm trees. There was always troops camping on there.

Billy: We used to walk down as far as Youlthorpe - Sleightholmes lived there. We used to walk down there Christmas carolling and there was a service in the living room, and they catered for you afterwards.

Dennis: There was a bunker on Braygate for the Observer Corps. Mr West used to be in it. On the right hand side. I knew all the names of the aircraft. German and all. I don't know if this is part of my imagination or actual fact, but I'm absolutely certain that we got strafed by a German aircraft. We were in the Park and this aircraft with a cross on its side and a swastika on its tail, just fired a few rounds at us. I don't know whether they intended to hit us or not, as there was just me and another lad, we ran into the hedge. We were just having a walk round there - maybe rabbiting or something. We used to put down snickles.
Billy: I could still make one, couldn't you, Dennis? You need a boot eye, 2 pieces of wood, some wire and you're away. They're illegal now, though. You used to be able to buy them at one time. When we lived at Beulahs’ we got proficient at this, Arthur and I, setting snares, because rabbits were a luxury to anyone living in town. The meat ration was farcical; when me Mam was coming through to see us we used to set a snickle and if we could catch a rabbit it used to be great. Mr Beulah didn't mind, they were a pest. The Wolds were running live with rabbits, everywhere. Some of the deep dales the other side of Wilton Wold, we set a snare once in the corner of this corn field where we saw a run, but the rabbit we caught must have run round in circles 1000 times, it had all flattened down the corn. When we showed my Mam, it put her off - she didn't take it back with her. We got a bit more proficient after that - more deadly.
Dennis: We used to get a rabbit by the hind legs and just chop at its neck……

Billy: For the record, Arthur Beulah, he was only a young man then, they hadn't been married long when we went, he was an absolute gentleman. He really was. He looked after my brother and me really well. If he went out working and we weren't at school, guaranteed we'd go with him and he'd look after us. Mrs Beulah could be a bit short to say the least.
Dennis: Mrs West had enough pots and pans and knives and forks for seven days. Me and Margaret used to wash up on a Saturday morning for the whole week. Honestly.
Kate: Did you have to pump the water?
Dennis: They had a boiler at the side of the fire, but they used to fill the boiler up from a rainwater tub with a ladling can. We used to clean the shoes. These are the worst things – and cleaning spuds……. oh God!

Billy: At the back of that block of houses that we lived in there was one pump in the yard. You know how you play Ducks and Drakes in a pond, me and Arthur was playing it one day, and I threw a stone and it hit this blooming duck. It didn't do it any particular harm, but I got a stick broken across my back for doing that.
Margaret: From your Mum?
Billy: Ooh no - if my Mam had been there she would have lynched the person who did it! Arthur kicked her to death nearly, trying to stop her. I was used to getting smacked if I didn't do as I was told. My Mam was strict but not like that.

Arthur & Billy King in Bishop Wilton

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