Building up the Home industries in WW2

A 'Megger Tester' made in September 1939
Manufactured by Evershed & Vignoles Ltd, Chiswick, London)
(Photograph: J. Ritson)

Recently, some work colleagues came across some obsolete documents and equipment from the war years hidden away in an old workshop and having gathered dust and grime for many years. Materially, these things may not have much value and may not, at first glance, even be that historically important. However, they do provide an insight that the home industries in Britain continued to be built up even during the war years.

These items were found in West Cumbria, an area to where a lot of important British industries, such as munitions or uniform manufacture, were relocated from the Home Counties. New factories and homes for many of the relocated workers required new electricity connections, and it is evidence how the electricity network continued to be built up that has come to light with this find, including the ‘Megger Tester’ seen in the photograph above.

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Keeping alive the memories of WW2

(Top) Reverend John Bannister and Major Ray Devlin

(Bottom) Veterans of WW2 and other campaigns on parade

(St Nicholas' Church Gardens, Whitehaven, 6 June 2009)

June 2009 marked the 65th anniversary of the Normandy Landings by the Allies. This assault, together with other campaigns in NW Europe, southern France and Italy, would lead to the Liberation of France and ultimate Victory over the Axis Forces. While many people have a lot to be thankful for these events of WW2 – and there is much to celebrate – there was a price for Ultimate Victory.

A number of commemorative events were organised by the Normandy Veterans Association, the British Legion and others in France, Britain and elsewhere to mark the Normandy Landings of 1944. The above photographs show the commemorations on Saturday 6 June 2009 at the West Cumbria Normandy Veterans Memorial, St Nicholas’ Church Gardens, Whitehaven, Cumbria.

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Problem with BBC "People's War" search facility

Anyone who has accessed the BBC "People's War" website over recent months will have noticed the 'search facility' function is disabled. This is what it says on the front page of the website:

"The 'search' facility on People's War is currently not working. We aim to rectify this problem in the near future. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

This can make it very difficult for users to find a particular story, event or person. This is especially so for those stories that were assigned to an incorrect category or region by the BBC website team towards the end of the project by applying Bayes' Theorem. For example some stories I posted which were about wartime life in Preston, Lancashire were categorised under London rather than Lancashire.

It is not easy trying to find who to contact in the BBC to see if this is likely to be resolved! So, I have recently sent a message via the 'technical fault' page of the BBC website. Hopefully, it will be resolved in the near future.

In a Country Churchyard

(1) CWGC Headstone of Volunteer Joseph Stuart, Home Guard

(2) St Mary’s Church, Threlkeld, near Keswick, Cumbria
(Originally a ‘Chapel of Ease’ for Greystoke Parish Church)

In this small country Churchyard lie two casualties of WW2

Recently, while researching casualties from the Cleator Moor area of Cumbria I paid a visit to the Cumbrian village of Threlkeld, situated between Keswick and Greystoke. In the recent past Threlkeld had many families involved in farming or mining. But it was also the location of Blencathra Sanatorium. This was where patients from the former county of Cumberland were often sent if they suffered from tuberculosis (TB).

A small number of the WW2 casualties from Cleator Moor had died at the former Blencathra Sanatorium, which was the primary reason for my recent visit to Threlkeld. Patients who died at Blencathra Sanatorium during the war were buried elsewhere – close to their home towns - I did find there were two WW2 casualties from Threlkeld buried in this small country Churchyard – Volunteer Joseph Stuart and Gunner Alfred Tangye.

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James Jolly (1923 – 2009): A Final Salute

Normandy Veterans Association West Cumbria Branch
Laying up of the Branch Standard, 6 June 2008
(L-R) Keith Hitchen, Roy Rogers, Jim Jolly Freida Hitchen

Mr Jim Jolly, R.A. from Cleator Moor, Cumbria passed away on Saturday 25 April 2009 at the age of 85. Jim was originally from southern England and during WW2 served firstly in the Home Guard and then in the Royal Artillery. He will be missed by his dear wife Mary, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many friends.

Jim took part in the Normandy Landings and for several years until 6 June 2008, Jim also served as Branch Secretary of the West Cumbria Branch of the Normandy Veterans Association (Branch No 51). In the above photograph taken after the Branch Standard had been laid up for the last time Jim can be seen talking with Councillor Mr Keith Hitchen (Mayor of Copeland), Mrs Freida Hitchen (Mayoress) and Mr Roy Rogers, a former N.V.A. Branch Standard Bearer.

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"Into An Unknown Land"

(Top) Headstone of Flight Sergeant Benet Nicholls, RAF
Warwick Bridge R.C. Churchyard, Carlisle, Cumbria

(Bottom) Dent Fell as seen from Cleator village (taken 2009)

Flight Sergeant Benet Nicholls, R.A.F., Service No 610074, died on 26 June 1942 during a training flight from Crosby-on-Eden Airfield near Carlisle, Cumberland (now Cumbria). The plane crashed on Dent Fell, above Black How Farm, Cleator in West Cumberland. He was flying a single-seater Mk I Hawker Hurricane aircraft (Serial No P2877).

At the time of his death Sergeant Nicholls was 28 years old. He was laid to rest in the Churchyard of Our Lady and St Wilfred Roman Catholic Church, Warwick Bridge, Carlisle. This is about 2 miles from the Airfield at Crosby-on-Eden. On 26 June 1942 Benet Nicholls left the earthly realm for the last time and passed into an unknown land.

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An American who will always be with us

(Top) Headstone of Sgt (Pilot) Stephen D. Fassino, RCAF
Warwick Bridge R.C. Churchyard, Carlisle, Cumbria

(Bottom) Poster for Solway Aviation Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria

On 28 October 1941 Sergeant (Pilot) Stephen D. Fassino, Service Number R/84031, an American serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force was killed when his plane crashed during a training flight near Carlisle, Cumberland (now Cumbria).

Steve Fassino was 27 years old when he lost his life. He was laid to rest in the Churchyard of Our Lady and St Wilfred Roman Catholic Church, Warwick Bridge, Carlisle. He is an American who will always be with us in Britain.

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Lottery funding for WW2 Veterans

Full information at Heroes Return 2 Scheme

Memorial to the Fallen of Bamburgh

(Top) The WW2 ‘Roll of Honour’ for Bamburgh, Northumberland

(Bottom): The War Memorial of Bamburgh, Northumberland

The above photographs of the War Memorial at Bamburgh, Northumberland were taken during a visit to the village and the castle. It is situated in a cutting beneath the landward side of Bamburgh Castle. This is the village of the Victorian heroine Grace Darling, who is buried in the local churchyard.

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Father McCann and Moota YMCA Hostel

Father F.K. McCann of Cleator (above centre)
Father McCann was a chaplain to Moota YMCA Hostel after WW2
(Family album photograph of the writer)

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Getting the record straight

(Top Photograph): Headstone of Rifleman John George Mossop
St John’s C of E Churchyard, Cleator Moor

(Bottom Photograph): Headstone of Sapper Peter Doyle,
St Mary’s R.C. Churchyard, Cleator

During the course of researching the Allied casualties of WW1 and WW2, over the past few months I have found several of the records seemed to be incorrect or incomplete. This has included the citations of the two casualties from the Cleator Moor area of Cumbria whose headstones are seen in the above photographs.

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New permanent link

Have added a unique record to our permanent links.

“In my Father’s House”

WW2 photograph of my Cousin Elizabeth (Betty) Cowan
(Betty is the WAAF standing up asking a question)
[Family album photograph]

The above photograph from my family album shows my Cousin Betty Cowan standing up asking a question during what I assume is a briefing or training session. Leading Aircraftwoman Elizabeth Cowan, 2096437, WAAF died at home in Whitehaven, Cumberland on 24 October 1945 as a result of what I was told were ‘bomb blast injuries’.

Betty’s name is one of 20 names listed on the WW2 Memorial of St Nicholas’ Church, Whitehaven (Church of England). Beneath the names is the following Biblical quotation:

“In My Father’s house there are many mansions”.

This is a link to the story I posted to the BBC “People’s War” website:
At Rest Her Duty Nobly Done

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“A Paratrooper’s Exploit”

Front cover of a wartime Christian tract by George Skelly MM
George parachuted into Normandy on the night of 5 / 6 June 1944
[Courtesy of Mr Eva Elliott, George’s cousin]

Some years ago while studying the Battle of Normandy of 1944 I came across the story of a Conscientious Objector by the name of George Skelly. Subsequently, George had joined the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), parachuted into Normandy with the Parachute Regiment in the early hours of D-Day and then been awarded the Military Medal for gallantry. George Skelly MM originally came from my hometown of Whitehaven, Cumbria.

This is a link to a previous story I wrote about George Skelly MM and his brother John Skelly for the BBC "People's War" website

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"We must remember!"

Top - Madame Arunka Rajchnudel with her four eldest children
(L-R): Jacqueline, Claudine, Jean-Claude, Mme Rajchnudel, Marcelle

Bottom - Baby Eliane Rajchudel (1 year old)
This family were transported from France to Auschwitz in 1944 and died in the Holocaust
(Original photographs courtesy of the late M. J-P. Nogaret)

The above photographs show a mother and her five children who died in the Gas Chambers of Auschwitz. Madame Arunka Rajchnudel and her children - Jacqueline (10 years old), Claudine (6 years old), Jean-Claude (3 years old), Marcelle (13 years old) and Eliane (1 year old) were killed in the Holocaust because they were of the Jewish faith. There are those who deny there were Gas Chambers in the Nazi Concentration Camps, or at least the scale of what happened. Yet, individuals like Mme Rajchnudel were killed in the most horrific of circumstances as part of 'The Final Solution'. This is something we must always remember.

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Flying with the wings of Pegasus

Symbol of the British Airborne troops:
Bellepheron astride the winged horse Pegasus

(A romantic symbol from Classical literature)

During 1941 / 1942 Britain made the decision to create an airborne army. The designated Commanding Officer of the 1st Airborne Division was the disciplinarian General Frederick "Boy" Browning, whose wife was the romantic novelist Daphne du Maurier. It was Daphne du Maurier who has been attributed with the suggestion that airborne troops wear the distinguishing red beret and have Bellepheron astride Pegasus the winged horse as their shoulder patch.

General “Boy” Browning was in command of the Airborne Forces during Operation ‘Market Garden’ in September 1944. ‘Market’ was the airborne part of the operation and ‘Garden’ was the ground-based part. In the film about this campaign, “A Bridge Too Far” (based on the book by Cornelius Ryan), General “Boy” Browning was portrayed by the British actor Dirk Bogarde . His wife, Lady Browning (Daphne du Maurier), wrote several books that were later made into films, such as ‘Jamaica Inn’ and ‘Rebecca’.

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The first dwelling liberated on D-Day, 1944

The Gondrée Café, Bénouville, Calvados
This was the first dwelling liberated on 5 / 6 June 1944
[From the 60th Anniversary commemorations in 2004]
[Personal collection]

Adjacent to the Bénouville Canal bridge on the western side of the Caen Canal, the ‘Gondrée Café’ became the first dwelling in France to be 'liberated' from German Occupation on the night of 5 / 6 June 1944. The precise time of its liberation by airborne troops from the 2nd Battalion (Oxford and Buckinghamshire) Light Infantry Regiment is generally regarded as 00:20 local time (British time was one hour behind).

The first French municipality liberated is generally regarded as that of nearby Ranville on the eastern side of the Orne River. Ranville Town Hall was liberated at about 02.30 local time.

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French 'Refractaires' in WW2

(Top) Cover of 'Mémoires d'un Réfractaire' by M. J.-P. Nogaret
[A personal account of a French 'Refractaire' in WW2]

(Bottom) Personal dedication from M J.-P. Nogaret
(Personal collection of J. Ritson)

In France during the Second World War those Frenchmen who actively avoid the compulsory draft of being sent to undertake civilian work in Germany became known as 'réfractaires'. There is no real equivalent word in English (except perhaps to drop the 'é'). Refractaires were not the same as 'résistants' (members of the active French resistance) although many did actually join resistance groups.

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'Pegasus Bridge', D-Day, 6 June 1944

This is me standing beside the modern 'Pegasus Bridge', Bénouville
[Personal photograph collection]

The first company to go into action in 'Operation Overlord' (the Allied invasion of N.W. Europe) on D-Day, 6 June 1944 was D Company, 2 (Airborne) Battalion, Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry Regiment (Ox and Bucks). Their specific role was a 'coup de main' action to take, and hold until relieved, the Bénouville bridge over the Caen Canal and the Ranville Bridge over the River Orne in the French Calvados department.

The canal bridge was later renamed ‘Pegasus Bridge’ in honour of the 6th Airborne Division, whose insignia was Bellepheron astride Pegasus the winged horse (from Classical Mythology). Although the 1944 bridge has been replaced, the present bridge is still known as ‘Pegasus Bridge’. This is the one seen in the background of the above photograph.

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The Principal French Internment camps of WW2

Catherine's recent article posted to the 2WW Blog site regarding the recent installation of a memorial for the deportees from Les Milles near Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône, France) prompted me to look out some of my notes and works about WW2 in France. Les Milles was, in fact, but one of many internment camps distributed throughout France where not only Jewish internees were sent but also Gypsies, Freemasons, foreigners, anti-Nazis and other political opponents.

During WW2 the Allied countries (Britain, the USA etc) also interned some of their own nationals, or those who had originated from one of the opposing countries (Germany, Italy or Japan). For example, many British internees were sent to the Isle of Man, but the way they were treated and what happened to them afterwards was rather different to French internees.

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