81312016 BBe VIJIN2 People's War - School Day.; at Gov.erton Around 1940

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BBC Homepage School Days at Around 1940 bySwanseaLibraries BBCHistory You are browsing in: Archive List> Air Raids and Other Bombing Archive List> > South West

Contributed by SwanseaLibrarles People in story: Gordon Dennis Location of story: Gowerton, Background to story: Civilian This story has been placed in Article 10: A2716652 the following categories. Contributed on: 07 June 2004 Contact Us

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ARP Wardens outside Gowerton School, Swansea. Includes a few school masters.

khtung. khtung.

In and around 1940 Gowerton was, seemingly, far removed from the Second World War except for military uniforms and Army vans and lorries on the roads. The windows ofcountless hoses and many shops were heavily taped in case of shattering from bomb blast. Each weekday morning we got off school buses in Gowerton and walked to the Intermediate School building to get ready for Iv10rning ~s em bly followed by 2 lessons before our mid-morning break. Then we got our books ready for either Mlsic or Latin.

Thursdays came and Thursdays went. But sometimes the German Luftwaffe appeared., at short notice on our timetables. Amazingly it appeared at that time the PJr Raid Siren would sound at 5 minutes to 11 to enact the great escape from Latin for some!

Quickly we abandoned books, pens, satchels and desks and evacuated our red­ bricked building and followed a pre-arranged plan worked out by the Head, Staff, Police, PJr-raid Wardens and the inhabitants ofGowerton themselves. Some of the boys were dispersed beneath the hedges and oak trees around the school field.

I was among those who were part of what we have since looked upon as a crazy dangerous exercise. Fit in wind and limb, we ran out through the main gates and we jogged down Talbot Street and turned left along Cecil Road down to Sterry Road and on to the Square. Then according to our allocation we fanned out along Bryn y Mar Road, lv10unt Street past Bethania Chapel and Mill Street. Each one of us had been allocated a house of safety and shelter where we stayed indoors till the air raid was over. Two of us were made very welcome each time at the home ofa Mrs. Davies in Mill Street. She was a tall white-haired well-spoken lady with a younger woman who had a son of about seven years if I remember correctly. We sat in the back kitchen

htto:/IWNW.bbc.co.uklhistorw\vw2ooooleswar/stories/52Ja2716652.shtml 1/2 8/312016 BBC - WW2 People's War - School Days at GCl'M!rtOl1 Around 1940 quietly, and spoke politely and behaved ourselves till it was safe to trudge slowly back to school to carryon with our studies. We had missed Latin or a weekly Music aural test. On the wayback to school we bought a cream bun, cream slice or doughnut from Jones the Bakery shop which was on the opposite corner to the Co­ operative Stores and the Gower Inn Hotel.

As I have earlier intimated, it was madness to disperse along the streets about 300 during an AJert. Mytrigger happy, low-flying Heinkel or Dornier air-gunner would have reaped quite a harvest ofyuung pupils.

Happily no one was killed or injured by the Luftwaffe.

Perhaps the enthusiasm for' AMO />NW3 AllMNT of the Latin sufferers was killed off when they came to studyVERGIL.

Later we left Gowerton Intermediate School and we joined H.M.Forces. We eventually won the 1939- 45 War but at the price of some yuung Gowerton lives.

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15 October 2014 WW2 Peoplels War An archive ofWorld War Two memories - written by the public, gathered by the BOO

BBC Homepage That Evening Full Moon - February 1941 by SwanseaUbraries BBCHistory You are browsing in: People's Archive List> The Blitz War Homepage Archive List> Royal Air Force Archive List> United Klngdom > South West Wales

Contributed by SwanseaLibraries People in story: Gordon Denis Location of story: Gowerton, Swansea Background to story: Royal Air Force This story has been placed in Article 10: A271S805 the following categories. Contact Us Contributed on: 07 June 2004

573 Squadren Air Training Corps 1943-44 Recommended story What's this? As members of the Boys' Grammar Schooillir Training Corps in Gowerton, we Story with photo members of Flight 573 gathered in the Talbot Street building for our weekly training sessions on a Wednesday. We usually assembled (or got 'fell in') in three ranks on the east-side playground facing the caretaker's house, and till about 7 pm. we performed various marching manoeuvres, or 'square bashing'; to the command of various Home Guard old soldiers such as Sergeant Tom Peebles (local butcher). Watching over these activities from time to time would be the 573C, officer Flight Lieutenant T.J. James and his second in com m and Pilot Officer G. Mekin Cope member ofthe school teaching staff. We would be dismissed almost in darkness and we then went indoors for various instruction classes, namely I\iIorse Code and Semaphore Signalling under the direction ofJack Bevan of Cecil Road; dismantling and reassembling a Lewis machine gun, llircraft recognition, Wireless instruction, and some air navigation techniques. With frequent Change-overs these classes usuallywent on tiU9 pm.

/'oJ. about 8 pm on that February evening with its full moon the order came from the Commanding Officer that a police warning had been received warning the Swan sea area ofan impending air-raid ofsome magnitude. To the accompaniment of the wailing llir Raid Warning Sirens we ran out ofthe school grounds; about 40 Cadets going in different directions. Myfriend Bernard and

I went down Talbot Street, Church Sstreet and Mill Street towards the Baldwin's Bridge and Gowerton Common, Victoria Road to Gorseinon. As we jogged towards Kingsbridge we became more aware of sweeping search lights and the noise of enemy bombers above us. These aeroplanes had tracks from Loughor River, over Loughor, Kingsbridge and Waunarlwydd with Cocket to bomb the built up area of the Town Centre and Swansea Docks.

I remember vividly the yellowyfull moon overwhatis today the Penlan area, undeveloped then; large flares floating overthe area a garden of twinkling incendiary bombs. Behind these 1could discern a back cloth of reddish haze as buildings began to blaze. And to this day in 2003, whenever I see an evening full moon the 1941 scenario comes back. hltp:Ii1MYN.bbc.co.uklhistoryfww2peopleswarlstories/05la2716805.shtml 112 81312016 SSG - VWI/2 People's War - That El.ening Full Moon - February 1941

When I had run as far as the Kingsbridge end of Victoria Road. where we have had Neylands post-war garages, the sweeping searchlights caught, momentarily. an enemy plane in its beam, and seemed to lose it quickly. That was myfirst sighting of the enemy and it unnerved me for a few minutes.

There were many people out along West Street, having been sent out from the Lido Cinema early. We were all gazing at Townhill and Fforestfach as though the Borough Council had organised a Fireworks Display.

The 'all-clear' siren sounded soon after midnight on the Thursday.

The moon, seemingly smaller, but higher over Swansea shone on -only to reappear on the Thursday night and Friday night to await the German bom bers to complete the Three Nights Blitz which reduced most ofthe shopping centre around Ben Evans Stores and S1. Mary's Church to a mass of bricks , stones, slates and hidden unexploded High Explosive Bombs.

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