World War II

[jamesicus]

Originally Posted by jamesicus

..... In the late afternoon of Monday, 19 February, 1945 an American B24 Liberator (#42-50668) crashed on the moors just outside Burnley (Black Hameldon) .....

There was a memorial service at St. Peter's (Church of England) parish church in Burnley for the crew members who died. A massed choir was formed from those of several local churches -- including St Matthew's choir, of which I was a member. It was a moving service -- we all carried candles in the processional. An American memorial chapel was installed in St. Peter's church -- it is still there.

James

[jamesicus]

There were only a few bombs dropped on Burnley in WW2. I posted all the information I was able to glean on my page: http://www.jp29.org/2ar.htm

BTW, there were a couple of bombs dropped on the Crown Point RAF decoy site on the moors just to the south of Burnley -- I believe in 1941 -- but the incidents were not reported in the Press due to security concerns.

[West Ender]

A few years ago I was in Cambridge with my late husband. He was on business there for a few days and I'd gone with him for a break.

I had to amuse myself during the day when he was working so I took the open-top tour bus that went round the city and ended up at the American War cemetry. I wandered around for a couple of hours - noting the inscribed Wall of Honour, dedicated to Americans who were missing but were never found; my musical "passion", Major Alton G Miller (Glenn Miller) is commemorated there.

There was a gardener/groundsman going round on a motorised mower while I was looking at the perfect ranks of crosses. I was very moved at some of the inscriptions, such as "A soldier, known only to God" and graves that contained 2 bodies, so badly burned and fused together that they couldn't be buried separately. I must have looked very sad and the gardener kept nodding at me and giving me looks of pure sympathy. I am quite sure he thought I was looking for the grave of my long-lost father.

N.B. My dad was English and spent the war years as an aircraft engine inspector at Bristol Aircraft Co., Accrington.

[jamesicus]

As memories of WW2 fade in our consciousness, it is very important that we remember those who "gave the last full measure of devotion" so that we can all enjoy our precious liberties and freedoms The following well known poem is particularly apropos:

[Doug]

Memories do fade my friend
As with all wars
Our memories of them pass into History
With the passing of those that came home
Distant guns but a memory
Of battles fought, lost and won.
But we will fight them all again my friend
With the raising of a Son we failed to educate.

[jamesicus]

On my own Message Board, Derry reminded me about brick surface air raid shelters with concrete slab tops.....

..... they could be death traps. I recall a newspaper story of one collapsing and killing several people -- I believe in Manchester. I remember that several schools in the Burnley area (I'm sure throughout Lancashire) used them. At Towneley senior school we had a great air raid shelter -- extensive reinforced concrete "tunneling" covered with a thick layer of earth (ala Anderson shelter methodology) that became our school project Victory garden -- we grew every kind of vegetable imaginable throughout the War. I actually attended Burnley Municipal College (Junior Engineering School) during most of the last year of the war -- they used the brick surface shelters mentioned previously, but by then the air raids were over.

[cashman]

think their was one in accy in the grounds of platts club,if thats what it was?we used it for differant things lol

[JohnW]

There certainly used to be one on 'the rec' in Baxenden. It was on the left as you entered Hollins Lane from Manchester Road, more or less opposite the Alma pub. We kids used to go in there for a crafty Woodbine, one ciggy shared amongst 3 or 4 of us. I remember it was really filthy, and stunk in there, this would be around 1950. Of course, this is long before the school was built. The rec. was used as St. John's football ground in the winter and cricket ground in the summer.

[jamesicus]

Originally Posted by JohnW

..... I remember it was really filthy, and stunk in there, this would be around 1950 .....

Yes they remained for many years after the war and were used for all kinds of (frequently unsavory) purposes. Many of them did smell and were sometimes full of nasty trash.

[Ber999T]

Jamescius thank you for the thread that I have had the pleasure in being able to read tonight at work.

I think that when I get up this afternoon I will have to look at the links (works pc will not allow links in case it is a "naughty" link) but as I have got Accyweb.com reg with work they have added it to my account.

Please try to carry on as I am finding this slice of history very interesting and compelling to read. :engsmil:

[Gayle]

Can I use any of these stories as snippets for my end of war 1945 event? I won't put names next to them, just use some of the phrases and quotes? If anyone does have any stories from the end of the war that they'd especially like to be included in my event pm me with them. I'm planning on producing a photographic memory wall and it would be great to have some quotes and stories to go with them.

[West Ender]

I have a little story (I sound like Max Bygraves, don't I?) from about 1940, before I was born. My mother told me this and she swore it was the absolute truth.

My parents and my brothers were living in Spondon, near Derby, and not very far from the heavily camouflaged Rolls Royce aero-engine factory which was being targeted by bombers every night, though it was never hit. At the time there were many German spy scares and one spy had, in fact, been caught masquerading as an artist and painting the countryside around the factory. He was actually making detailed drawings of the area.

In their back garden was a small shed where Dad kept gardening tools etc. It was never locked and the garden was easily accessed from the fields behind. One day Mum went into the shed to get something. Propped against the shed wall, just inside the door, was a large metal cylinder with what she described as "buttons" on it and a "sort of handle" on the top. She said it looked a bit like something you would spray weedkiller with, but not quite. She had never seen it before and she had no idea what it was. When Dad came home from work she asked him what the "thing" in the shed was. He didn't know what she was talking about. They went to the shed so she could show him but it wasn't there.

After she had convinced him she wasn't hallucinating, or pulling his leg, Dad went to the police and told them. They sent round a couple of policemen and 2 men who Mum suspected were from the army, though not in uniform, who asked Mum a great many detailed questions then went through the shed and the garden with a fine-tooth comb.

If they found anything, they didn't tell my parents, and they were never told what the officials thought it was but Mum remained convinced to the end of her life that it was something to do with the spying on Rolls Royce.

[keith]

re world war2 Is there anyone on the accrington web that can remember the avro hanson crash landing on the then highams playing fields cannot tell you the year maybe 1942 every kid on the ferngore dashed over there my brothers and I

[keith]

Sorry about that, included as was nearly every one from accrington I believe the pilot was hurt slightly but the word spread that it was taking off again in a couple of days time round about six in the evening thousands turned up to give it a wave off On starting up it stuttered and popped for about ten minutes but it finally moved round the playing field and as it slowly took to the air everyone give it a massive cheer and the pilot gave us a big thumbs up

[jamesicus]

Originally Posted by West Ender

..... My parents and my brothers were living in Spondon, near Derby, and not very far from the heavily camouflaged Rolls Royce aero-engine factory which was being targeted by bombers every night, though it was never hit ......

Quite a coincidence, West Ender -- I am very familiar with Spondon for an Uncle (Herbert Pickering, brother of my Father) and aunt lived there. They moved there from Burnley in the mid 1930s to work for Celanese (hard to get good weaving jobs in Lancashire during the depression) which as you know was close to Spondon. They lived in a small cottage on the road that led into the village from the north. We visited them before the war (1938 I believe) -- I liked Spondon which was quite rural in those days. My uncle left Celanese to work for Rolls Royce when the war started. Eventually they moved into Derby closer to the RR works.