Downing and the Two World Wars
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Bevan, Hicks & Thomson & Hicks Bevan, Downing and the two World Wars This book describes life in Downing College during the two World Wars and gives some account of the military exploits of members of the College. At the centre of the book are the reminiscences and experiences of men who were at Downing before, during, and just after the Second World War. These men are now in their late eighties or older and, if the authors had not collected their stories now they would fairly soon Wars World Downing and Two the have been lost. Some are poignant, some are funny, some conceal or play down great bravery and courage, but they are all worth preserving. In addition to individual memories, there are descriptions of what happened in College itself in the two wars. For instance, in the Second World War it was largely taken over by the RAF although it continued to be full of students, mostly on short courses before joining the forces, while in the First World War it almost emptied, being reduced to only 16 undergraduates in 1917, with the rest all having gone off to fight. The book is a useful addition to the records of the College’s history and should be read not only by members of Downing of all ages but also local historians and anyone interested in studying life during the two wars. Gwyn Bevan, John Hicks & Peter Thomson Letter from the famous burns surgeon Sir Archibald McIndoe recommending Ward Bowyer for a place Cover picture: The OTC parading outside the Hall in 1916 DOWNING AND THE TWO WORLD WARS Gwyn Bevan, John Hicks & Peter Thomson Published by The Downing College Association © 2010 While every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright material produced herein, the publishers would like to apologise for any omissions and would be pleased to incorporate any missing acknowledgements in future editions. The description of the role of the Cambridge University Air Squadron comprises extracts from The History 1925-2000 of The Cambridge University Air Squadron reproduced with the kind permission of the Officer Commanding. The photograph of the grave of Captain J L Green VC is reproduced by kind permission of The War Graves Photographic Project. CONTENTS Page Foreword 4 Introduction and Acknowledgements 5 The First World War 7 The College in the Second World War 21 Wartime and Post War Memories 33 Appendices A The College War Memorials 80 B List of Contributors 84 C Numbers in College 1938-1947 85 D First World War Gallantry Awards 86 E Bibliography 87 F Money Values 88 G Abbreviations 89 Illustrations The College at the time of the First World War 11 Capt J L Green VC 15 Capt Green’s grave in Foncquevilliers Military Cemetery 15 Plan of the College in the Second World War 24 College staff pass in the Second World War 28 Leslie Southwell’s Civil Defence pass in 1950 35 Letter from Colin Hill to his tutor on a letterhead he found in Berlin 52 Cambridge University Air Squadron in 1943 62 Note from the Senior Tutor about Denis Dean’s lack of a gown 74 3 FOREWORD It is very easy to lose touch with the past without intentionally doing so. The authors of this book have helped prevent Downing from doing so by assembling the recollections of those who fought in or attended College during the Second World War, as well as presenting valuable material and information from our archive, with the help of Kate Thompson, our exceptional archivist. Baby boomers such as myself understood the horror of two World Wars through our parents and grandparents and through growing up in the post-WWII society in which food was still rationed. But even for us it is difficult to imagine a College in which the students were men in their mid-twenties who had lived and often fought through these conflicts and a College that was requisitioned by the RAF and in part given over to supporting Britain’s war efforts. Not everyone wishes to remember and record what happened during the wars in which they served. So it was during my childhood; I never heard from my father about his life as a rear gunner in a Lancaster bomber, but heard instead about the camaraderie and friendships that formed during his training in Canada. His memories are now lost to me, but those recollected within these pages are now preserved for us all. They are sometimes poignant, often funny and always informative and our thanks go to all those old members who have contributed and shared their memories. The historical information about what was going on in Downing in the wider context of the periods of war and their aftermath are both informative and compelling. Gwyn Bevan, John Hicks and Peter Thomson are to be congratulated and thanked most sincerely for their hard and dedicated work in bringing this volume to fruition in an astonishingly short period of time. Barry Everitt The Master’s Lodge November 2010 4 INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We got the idea for this book from Girton. In 2009 we heard that some members of the Girton Roll (their equivalent of the Downing College Association) were working on a book about the college and its members in the two World Wars. We had already been thinking about collecting reminiscences and memorabilia from Downing’s veterans of the Second World War through Gwyn Bevan, who acts as the representative of pre-1950 alumni, with a view to adding to the College archive, but Girton’s example led us on to produce this short book. Our thanks go to the Girton team who visited us and talked so helpfully and openly about their project – Eileen Rubery, Deryn Watson, Barbara Megson and Catherine Tilley. The memories of the men who were at Downing before, during, or just after the Second World War formed the starting point, but we thought that the picture should be completed by taking material from the College archives and other sources to describe life in the College in 1939-45. John Hicks, then the Secretary of the Association, largely took responsibility for that. The First World War obviously offered no scope for the collection of reminiscences and the material here is largely, but not entirely, derived from the College archives, and I looked after that. This is not a work of scholarship although we have tried to be accurate; it is aimed at the general reader. We have occasionally used terms such as “servant” or “Empire” which might be considered politically incorrect now. They are there because they were the words used at the time. We would not have got very far without the help of the College’s professional archivist, Dr Kate Thompson, to whom we are very grateful for her cheerful and well-informed guidance. In fact, the book would probably not have been able to be produced without her. She had already done work on mounting an exhibition about the College in the First World War and was able to take us through what was on record for both conflicts. We hope that, in return, we may have provided her with some useful material to enhance the archives in a number of ways. If there are any mistakes in this book they are ours and not hers. John Hall, a former Assistant Secretary of the Association, gave invaluable help in the final editing and proof-reading, and two Fellows of Downing, Dr David Pratt and Dr Paul Millett, have read the manuscript and made helpful comments. Work done as an undergraduate by Hannah Salisbury (2006) provided useful information about the early days of the First War. Finally, we would like to thank the old Downing men who contributed their memories of the Second War. Some were reluctant to say much about their military exploits either through modesty or through a wish to forget traumatic experiences, but they were unfailingly courteous and kind in their response to our intrusion into their lives. We hope that the book will be of interest, not least to younger readers, who, happily, have never experienced global conflict. Peter Thomson President Downing College Association 2009-10 5 THE FIRST WORLD WAR GENERAL BACKGROUND The Great War of 1914-18 was an absolute catastrophe for the countries of Europe and was almost certainly avoidable. It was not only enormously damaging in human and economic terms but its aftermath led directly to the conditions that brought about the even more catastrophic Second World War. Living in the twenty-first century, after more than sixty years of comparative peace, it is very difficult to imagine the impact that it had on the entire population. More than 5.7 million British men served in the war and over 700,000 were killed. To get some basis for comparison: at the time of writing (mid-2010) the deaths of our troops in Afghanistan cause widespread concern and sadness, but the total deaths there in eight years of conflict there are only about two-thirds of the average daily losses the British forces suffered throughout the four years of the First World War. The losses on the first day of the Battle of the Somme alone exceeded those killed by enemy action in the Crimean, Boer and Korean Wars put together, and in the five months of that battle there were a million casualties on the two sides in an area about seven miles square. In addition to the loss of life, the economic damage was enormous. By 1917 the war effort was absorbing nearly 60% of GDP and this had a lasting effect on the British economy.