Suffolk

Extracts from Winifred Basham's diary 1939-1945 Chapter 7

Fri 23rd Feb - Percy had to go to Youth Centre and I got out my sewing machine and started on the...

Bungay Has Been Bombed

As soon as I got there Mr Alexander came in and said that one had dropped in Mr Sprakes front yard, one...

Tuppence a Day Danger Money

We also wrote messages on the balloons to Hitler, Goering, Goebbels and any other poor German who saw them....

My War

My mother told the people at work about these huge aircraft that had arrived on our doorstep, one of...

Memories of a World War Two Evacuee: From Dagenham to Lowestoft

The class did not get a chance to try the patience of this new teacher as we were only with him for...

Extracts from Winifred Basham's diary 1939-1945 Chapter 5

Mon 14th June - Roger began to yell before 2am and at 2.16 the sirens sounded and Percy had to go on...

John's War

I had left school and was back in London living with my grandparents at 1 Hyde Park Street, Paddington,...

Fred Albins' War

As I was walking out I said I'd been working on the water for some time, and he said we're looking...

A Wartime Childhood

One of my earliest memories is our Sunday afternoon cycle rides into the surrounding countryside - my...

Motor Torpedo Boats

The crew objected to the chief mate who was a stickler for discipline and they complained to the young...

MY WAR IN THE WRNS (Training & First Postings)

Plotting & Ops Officer - A4146004 HMS Eaglet, Liverpoool; HMS Phrosopine, Orkney; HMS Heron I.O.W. over...

Memories of a World War Two Evacuee (2): Life in Halesworth, Suffolk

School was organised soon after we arrived and since there were a large number of evacuee children in...

From Ipswich to Foggia and Back: Memories of an RAF Bomb-Aimer

37 Squadron, still flying Wellingtons, now continued their advance up the east coast of Italy, supporting...

Evacuation September 1939: A London Child's Good Times, Bad Times, Lowestoft and Diss

As an aside Dad̓s nickname at work was Captain after the Merchant Navy Captain FRYATT of the SS...

A Bury Boys War

In June 1943, the 94th USAAF bomb groups B17 Flying Fortresses arrived at Rougham Airfield. Eight and nine...

Ada Green -"In the Ack Ack"

I came out of that battery and went to another one and I were at Leeds and then when they were disbanding...

Bury Boys' War

In June 1943, the 94th USAAF bomb groups B17 Flying Fortresses arrived at Rougham Airfield... Eight and...

Doing My Bit in WW11: With the RAF

Another lucky occasion was when we returned from a mission on a night when it was below freezing even at...

Evacuees and Americans - A Child's View of War in Ipswich

Imagine my father's horror following an incendiary raid in the road next to ours, when he came off...

Losing a Son

On the afternoon of June 8th 1940 some German planes flew over Ipswich while I was in Holywells Park having...

War Time on a Suffolk Farm

Schooldays in Suffolk

For most of the time these two "bases" had B 24 Liberator bombers flying from them though earlier...

HONG KONG FROM HALTON VIA W.W.2

After leaving Halton I joined 102 Squadron at Driffield in Yorkshire, where I was mainly employed to repair...

WW2 as seen by an under-7 year old: In Suffolk

I don't remember much of the war, fleeting memories of being woken up when there was a...

The Virgin Soldier - A Love Story

Having completed my initial military training by April 1941, my first posting as a Gunner in the Royal...

On Duty in the WAAF in Stradishall

After six months my Officer, Mr Hill, asked me if I would like to do the catering and I went to Melksham...