I was eight when the war started. I remember even then it was the six o'clock ritual to gather by the radio and heard the announcement that “Britain was at War”. My parents were looking very serious but did not say a lot.

The airfield construction started in 1941. Wimpey had the contract and many Irish labourers were employed. The pubs did well as a number of workers clocked on, walked across the then fields to Pocklington, returning later in the day.

We lived on Garth End at no.12 (now 24) and the road was in line with the main runway with sad consequences. One evening, probably1942, my parents my sister and  I were sitting at the table playing ludo. Suddenly there was an almighty crash, everything shook and things fell about. We all sat speechless until my sister Margaret started giggling. The room had filled with soot and we were all covered. Without any air raid warning the German bomber had dropped a stick of bombs, fairly small thank goodness, along Garth End. He got his line right for the airfield but not the distance. On the north side the house of  Youngs, the Solicitors, was badly damaged, Mrs Young was killed and her daughter injured. Further down to the west Turners bungalow was badly damaged but no casualties and almost opposite one fell in the front garden of Mrs Walkers house, two doors away from us. Her garden was paved and I think flying concrete did as much damage as shrapnel. One large piece of shrapnel went through our front wall but fell in the cavity. Next Spring sparrows built a nest in the hole and did for many years. The hole was filled with cement at some time but is still visible.

Some neighbours dug large holes in their gardens lined them with wood with a roof and piled the earth back. I do not think they would have helped much in a near miss. Our shelter in the early days was under the stairs on a platform built over the bath! To meet the 1930 rule that all new houses had to have a bath that is where it was, with only cold water connected! When the air raid warning sounded my sister and I moved in, sometimes sleeping there. Mum sat on the corner and Dad would stand by the back door and rush in if he heard aircraft. Later in the war we were given a steel shelter (Morrison?), about the size of a double bed, that stood in the front room.

I remember  late in the war, after the siren sounded, Mum, and by then the three of us children, were in the shelter when a V1 (Doodlebug) came over. Dad was by the back door and rushed in as the engine stopped. The bang came a short while later. It hit the airfield but very close to Barmby and left a large crater which we cycled out to see.

Our aircraft crashing caused more damage to the town than German bombs. The only one that I saw was one of the first. It was probably in 1941 as I was in the playground at the National School at break time watching a Wellington bomber fly over. Suddenly, the tail appeared to explode and the plane dived to the ground with the engines screaming. It crashed in the back of Laughton's farm up Yapham Road.
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 At the west end of Garth End  stood a large house called Red House surrounded by trees. Garth End was in line with the runway and one night a returning bomber clipped the roof off one end and crashed in a field where Sherbuttgate  is now. The roof  was repaired, but another crash took off  the top storey. This time it was rebuilt as a bungalow only to be hit again by an aircraft landing on it. One of the sad memories that I have was the row of bodies laid out on the grass verge under grey blankets. I think the house stayed a pile of rubble until the war was over.

One plane crashed in the beck halfway down West Green with bombs on and another in New  Street, demolishing a house and damaging the school.

Mother, with other ladies of the Mother's Union, cleaned the church weekly and she told of kneeling down to pray with aircrew members who came in.

The scene of these crashes was a source of perspex (cockpit windows) and bullets for local boys. The perspex was made into rings and trinkets. I wonder if any still exist. The bullets were opened and the cordite used to make fireworks and rockets.

A large stone barrier was erected at the top end of George Street to block German tanks if they had ever landed, I believe. I cannot remember any others so maybe they had second thoughts, as we said tanks would go round the back and come through the gardens in George Street. The LDV, Home Guard, would defend us!

I remember late in the war going to a demonstration in one of Megginson's fields up The Mile, given by The Home Guard. A  motley crew shambled on carrying pitchforks, spades and the odd 12-bore. After the laughter died down we were then given an up to date demonstration of  men in uniform with rifles and bren guns. The evening concluded with a firing of  their large anti-tank weapon down the field towards Clock Mill. This was called the Blacker Bombard and fired a mortar round of about 6 inch diameter. Google has quite a lot of information about it.

Jean's father, Walter Fussey, was a member of the Observer Corp who had a dug-out, and later a hut, on Chapel Hill up behind the reservoir where a team of volunteers kept watch and presumably kept in touch by telephone with a central control if aircraft passed over.

The first soldiers that I  recall were The Third Hussars with their small tanks. It must have been well after Dunkirk. One bad winter, maybe 1943, the tanks were driving up  the Market Place and then slewing round to clear the ice from the road.  They used among other places the yard on the north side of Garth End which is now a tyre depot. The sentry used an old outhouse and burned wood in a brazier which was all very exciting for small boys. A number of the soldiers were billetted with local families. One soldier used to make us cringe by swallowing razor blades and bits of glass. We would take over jugs of tea and scones from time to time. One soldier, Alf Truelove, from Kent used to come to the house and Christmas cards were exchanged for a few years after the war. I think they left to sail to Egypt for the Alemain campaign.

Later in the war the Free French arrived equipped with American half-track vehicles. They not only used the yard but parked along the wide verges of Garth End. Algarth Road  had not extended down to where it is now and we had a field opposite to us leading up to Robinson's farm which is still there as a private house, I think. The other way in to the farm was down Gypsy Lane, because they camped there, from Yapham Road. I noticed that it has been given a more up-market name but I cannot remember it.

The French were given American ration packs and the soldiers used to give us sweets, chocolates, tins of food that they did not like and ground coffee. Mum would supply them with tea, scones and cake in return.

In the weeks before D-day they cut out lots of the rifle stowages and other bits to lighten the vehicles. There was a buzz of anticipation and then one day they had gone to form part of General Leclerc's French Army.

I think that there were Americans at Kilnwick Percy. When all had gone I remember exploring the empty house with friends.

By Jim Hall

POST WAR PARTY PHOTOGRAPH

The photograph below was taken in the Masonic Hall at Pocklington in 1945, or 1946.

POST WAR PARTY PHOTOGRAPH IN THE MASONIC HALL

The photograph has names before marriage:-

BACK ROW: ?, ?Wilkinson, Jean Heseltine (married Denis Moor), Marjorie Robson, June Henderson, ?, ? Piercy, Ann Smith, Janet Heningham, ?, ?, Ann Heningham,?, Nancy Harrison, Margaret Cass, Jill Megginson

THIRD ROW: Roy Henderson, Brian Scaife, Tony Dale, David Hamilton, Geoff Walker, Cecil Jackson, Cliff Craddock, Gerry Parker, Donald Pearson, ?, Rowley, Joe Craddock, ?Roberts, Denis Moor, Les Kitchen, Geoff Todd

SECOND ROW: David Moore, ?, ?, ?Blacker, Esther Marshall, Betty Gilyead, Heather Todd, Rose Banks (married Gerry Parker), Ruth Bickerdike, Jean Fussey, ?, ?, Monica Laughton, John Lane, Ted Mumby

FRONT ROW: Rob Barty, Jim Hall, Peter Blacker, ?, Nigel Rudsdale, John Forth, Gay Richardson, Shirley Evans, Enid Rudsdale, ?, ? , ?, Peter Mawer, Neville Jackson Photograph was taken in the Masonic Hall at Pocklington in 1945, or 1946.

The three girls in the middle of the front row are probably the hosts. Gay Smith (nee' Richardson) is still in Pocklington.

The back of the photo. has COPYRIGHT LEEDS PRESS 24833 stamped on it.

Article submitted by Chris Hall 11th February 2021.
(©2021 Chris Hall).