THE ERA of WORLD WAR II Introduction
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THE ABBOTSKERSWELL VILLAGE HISTORY SERIES, 5 THE ERA OF WORLD WAR II Introduction t has been an absolute pleasure, dare I say an honour, to have researched and written this fifth volume in our Abbotskerswell Village IHistory Series. The help, encouragement and support from so many Abbotskerswell connected people, has been quite brilliant; it came from those still living in the village, and those related to the men and women whose story we tell. Many of them do not live here, and are scattered far and wide, and they have all given unstinting help, providing documents, pictures, artefacts, reminiscences and huge amounts of time. For this volume I felt I wanted to thank many by name, which I do at the back of the publication, I hope I have not missed anybody; if I have then I am sorry. I must make special mention to Tony Bowhay and Ann Wild who provided us with so many contacts, thank you. When we completed our World War 1 ‘Roll of Honour Project’ in 2014 we were often asked if we were going on to World War 2, but at that time the one book was all we had planned. Since then, of course, we have undertaken the four publications that at present make up the Abbotskerswell Village History Series, and now seems to be the right time to tell the story of the period from 1939 – 1959. We have named this volume The Era of World War 2, since it tells the story of both the war and its impact on the next decade. If, like me, you happen to be a former History teacher, you will appreciate that this title is lifted from the original National Curriculum History Programme of Study from 1989, when it was used to hide the fact that the academics who designed it couldn’t decide what should be taught in the 20th Century! 2 ABBOTSKERSWELL VILLAGE HISTORY The Era of World War Two ABBOTSKERSWELL VILLAGE HISTORY The Era of World War Two 3 of the world we now live in were evident; this is shown not only with the houses, employment and consumer products available, but also with the beginnings of the social mobility that made it so hard to tell the story of those involved in the war. It would appear that the names were collected orally as there are a number of misspellings on the Roll of Honour. The spellings we use in our text are what we believe to be the correct ones. We also found the names of other villagers who were in the armed forces and seemed to have been ‘forgotten’ when the Roll of Honour was created; we have told their story anyway. In Chapter 4 any person who served in the Armed Forces, whether on the Roll of Honour or not, who is referred to in the text, has their name shown in bold. A large number of stories from the war period have been collected, but others will have inevitably been missed, if we missed a story from your family we would still like to hear it, as going to print is never the end of the research. We have been given great support once again by the Heritage Lottery Fund, who for the third time, have allocated us a grant. This means we can complete the last volumes in the series, create a digital photographic archive and provide several physical reminders of the village’s story. Newton Abbot Museum provided us with two stunning finds which will help us tell our stories; the first is used in this volume, the Village Scout Log. Thank you Felicity Cole and Tess Walker for your support. Our Abbotskerswell Village History Series publications are very much a team collaboration, and I have to thank the AbbPast research team members We chose the title as we wanted to show the impact of the 1939 - 1945 for all they have contributed. To Nick for his knowledge and patience period on Abbotskerswell and its people, and also the changes in the with me, as I struggled through military matters, and his company on village during the 1950s. Much of what you will read came from the the trips that we made to unearth the story of Ernest Border. To Felicity, recollections of those who were in the village at the time, or from their who never quibbled when I asked for more detail on village families who children, who also provided the photographs and documents that have had spread across the world, and quietly improved my historical story allowed the story to be written. I was particularly keen to tell the story of telling. To Trish who has the unenviable task of sorting out my grammar the men who completed National Service in the post war period, to talk and keeping control of my spending. Our series would not be the same to those involved, and to record an often forgotten piece of history that without Kingfisher Print & Design’s team; thanks Galane and Tessa for risks being lost. sorting out our printing needs, and to Kim who yet again has produced a wonderful interpretation of our words and pictures. We could not do Abbotskerswell and the people who lived here experienced huge changes it without you. in this period. In 1939 they lived in a village little changed from 1918, when another war had seemed unthinkable, but by 1959 the trappings Peter Wade 4 ABBOTSKERSWELL VILLAGE HISTORY The Era of World War Two ABBOTSKERSWELL VILLAGE HISTORY The Era of World War Two 5 The name was originally a joke because of Chapter 1 the cylindrical and hexagonal boxes in which medical pills were once sold. Inside was a trench firing step, which gave protection against small-arms fire and The Inter War Years grenades, and raised to improve the field of fire. This one was to protect the road, and was he years covered in this volume were ones of great change in situated on a corner to cover both directions. Abbotskerswell, when men went back to war, the British Empire all but disappeared, austerity came and went, and many of the In our publication Abbotskerswell During WW1 T the early years after the war were described, village’s young men completed their National Service. complete with the story of the creation of There are few objects the War Memorial in the church. Although obviously connected with life would have settled back into its usual World War II left in the patterns, the impact on the families of the dead parish, the addition to the servicemen, and the trauma suffered by the War Memorial is one; it was survivors would have lived on. Every year in made in the same style as the October the war memorial was decorated with WW1 plaque, and the Church Faculty for it was agreed in May 1946. white chrysanthemums on the anniversary of Another is the air raid shelter at Marystowe, shown on page 77. the death of Alfred Rowe who had died aged 18. Other memorials were added in these Just outside the parish there years as the parents of the soldiers died. are two reminders of the war. In the main Newton An interesting memorial in the village Abbot cemetery there is a churchyard is that of the Miseman family row of war graves, provided who lived in Prospect Place. Walter and by the Commonwealth War Ellen moved into the village in the 1930s Graves Commission in their from Bridgetown, Totnes. They had lost their distinctive design. only son, Walter, at the Somme in 1916. He is commemorated on the family grave, but is Designed in WW1, each headstone is made of Portland not on Abbotskerswell’s War Memorial. He stone and contains the national emblem or regimental is on the Totnes War Memorial, where the badge, rank, name, unit, date of death and age of each family home was when he died. casualty, and often carries a personal dedication chosen by relatives. The example shown is one from the WW1 The impact of the war, and being in the Services continued to be felt in the period, which is in Abbotskerswell Churchyard. village after 1918. Edith Coombe who had lived in Prospect Place with her family, went into service with a doctor in Kingsteignton. She married On the Old Coach Road, is a distinctive WW2 construction, George Brimecombe in 1915, and gave birth to their son, Fred, in 1918. a pillbox. It is made from concrete and was a guard post, George was in the Royal Navy, and served as a stoker on the battleship equipped with loopholes through which to fire weapons. HMS Collingwood, which was involved in the Battle of Jutland during 6 ABBOTSKERSWELL VILLAGE HISTORY The Era of World War Two ABBOTSKERSWELL VILLAGE HISTORY The Era of World War Two 7 WW1. However, in 1919 he was invalided out of the service suffering from ‘tubercole of the lungs’, he died later that year. Edith returned to the village to live with her sister Philippa Lomax, who was widowed during WW1, and their children at Park View. The only Commonwealth War Grave in the village churchyard was added after the war ended, when in 1920 Fred Lee, shown left, of 2 Town Cottages died. His headstone is shown on page 6. He was in the Royal Navy but died through illness. His daughter Olive, better known as Bet, would marry a sailor and become the landlady of the Tradesman’s Arms. The stories of both Lee and Miseman are told in our WW1 book.