John Grice recalls life on the Home Front in Cradley during World War II
I remember the night that a German bomber dropped a stick of incendiaries along our section of the river Stour. Two or three hit Blackwell's steel storage units, and several dropped alongside the river -
Apparently the aircraft was a Heinkel 111 taking part in a raid on Birmingham. It was hit by anti-
I recall being taken on the bus to Birmingham to stay with a friend of the family for a holiday. When Mum and I arrived, we found that the area in which the family lived had been flattened, and so we returned to Cradley with a terrified Alan, who stayed with us for a couple of months instead.
I remember the Grace Mary Estate in Quarry Bank being called the Holy City. It did get bombed, but was called the Holy City because of two large land mines which were dropped by parachute and failed to explode!
Dad worked at Stewarts and Lloyds in Coombs Wood, and had to take his turn on Fire Watch. I remember taking his hot supper in a basin to the Works.
Stewarts and Lloyds was never bombed. Being in a deep basin, it was not easily recognised from the air, and the sloping metal roofs may also have made radar identification difficult for the Luftwaffe air to ground radar.
My father felt that a bomb which hit T.W. Lench had been meant for Stewarts and Lloyds, although it may well have been a simple navigation error, as I don't think the Germans would have flown all that way to waste two squadrons of Heinkel 111's on nuts and bolts!
Food
Food was uppermost in my thoughts during the war, being 8 years old when war started. We had no tropical fruit during the war -
We had a large garden, and so did well on vegetables. We also kept chickens too for eggs, and of course at Christmas and special occasions we would have chicken for lunch.
Because meat was rationed, Mum bought a lot of offal, which was not rationed. Fish was scarce, and on one occasion I landed in big trouble with Mum; she had sent me to buy fish, and I came back with a piece of fresh salmon, having spent every penny that was in the purse. Bread was rationed, and we were able to buy the 'National loaf', which tasted like sawdust.
I believe we had to be registered with our butcher, Homer's in Cradley Heath, and the Co-
School
I went to school at Colley Lane. The headmaster, Jack Shakespeare, made a Spitfire model -
There was an above-
We sat on long benches in the dark, and if we were in for a long time the teachers would read to us by torch-
There were also air-
At the age of eleven I won a scholarship to Halesowen Grammar School. Clothes were rationed, but they insisted on full school uniform. My Mum made a lot of my uniform, including trousers, as material was not as heavily rationed. She was a fine seamstress, fortunately.
At home
We seemed to spend most of 1940-
Dad and I loved to listen to the wireless, and I remember hearing Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce) broadcasting from Germany, saying "Don't worry Cradley, Lye and all you little towns in the Black Country, we haven't forgotten you. The horsemen of the Apocalypse are about to ride over you." Within minutes the siren sounded and over came the German aircraft, but luckily they did not hit us.
We had a limited bus service during the war to conserve fuel. Petrol was rationed. There were no more trips to the seaside -
Comics and toys
My cousin Thelma, who is ten years older than me, says that no toys were available, and that Christmas presents had to be made with whatever materials one could find. However, I was not short of toys, and comics such as Beano, Dandy and Hotspur were still available, money permitting. I never cease to appreciate the sacrifices my parents must have made to give me a wonderful childhood, regardless of their circumstances.
Relatives in the forces
My cousin Alf Woodhouse was in the RAF and stationed in India. When he came home on leave he brought me sweets and other things for the family that he could get on his rations in the service. He seemed to spend his time cleaning his boots, badge and buttons on his uniform which he had to wear whilst on leave. Having since spent 28 years in the RAF, I can sympathise.
His sister Joyce Woodhouse joined the WAAF, based in England.
My cousin's husband, George Myatt, was an REME Company sergeant major, who fought with the Russians, in Russia, repairing tanks. The Russians put their men in front of the tanks when they advanced -
Before and after the war
The main difference I can think of between Cradley life before and after the war -
I went on to fly for twenty-
Today I live in France, one thousand feet up in the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains, twelve miles from the Spanish border, and only thirty-
We have been made abundantly welcome here in France, where we have lived for seven years. There are only thirty-
They say that anyone born north of a line Bordeaux-
These, then, are my boyhood memories of growing up in a war which at times was frightening, and yet sometimes -
This essay is © Copyright 2002 John Grice.
Cradley Links thanks John for his generous
permission to reproduce it on this web site.
The Stour at Cradley 2002 Nigel Brown
Blackwell’s C.2002 Nigel Brown
John Grice 1941 School Photograph
John Grice with his dog "Jill" in 1941
John and Elizabeth Grice with Jill Guest at Cradley Day, Oct 5 2002
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