MEMOIRS OF DOUGLAS SAVILL

Introduction

Douglas Savill was born in Laburnum House on Langley Upper Green, the first child of Frederick Savill and Florence (nee Wombwell). Both parents had been born and bred in Langley, and both families had lived in the village for many years.He grew up in the village and was educated at the village school (missing quite a lot of his schooling through illness). Between the age of fourteen and fifteen he started work on the farm, first at Church Farm and then later at Langley Lawn Farm

He shared in the activities of the village, playing cricket for Langley and supporting the football team. He became involved, as were many of his family, with the Methodist Church and became a Methodist Local Preacher. In 1962 he went to study at Cliff College in Derbyshire (The Methodist Lay College) and in 1963 was accepted to train as a Methodist Minister at Handsworth College in Birmingham. He left college in 1966, was ordained in Wolverhampton,and served on circuits in County Durham, Cleveland, West Yorkshire, Shropshire, and Cheshire.

He is now retired and lives with his wife Pat in Cheshire. After retiring he has had more time to follow his interests in family and Primitive Methodist history and to write up his memories of those early years. He has never forgotten his Langley roots, and the formative years, spent in North West Essex, and still takes the opportunity to visit the area where he has brothers and a sister and numerous other relatives and friends.

He has very generously agreed to allow the Recorders to place his memoirs on the Langley pages of our website. The first article is given here – a memoir of Langley during WW2.

Langley during the Second World War

by Douglas Savill

I was not very old when the Second World War broke out in September 1939, but there are memories that bring back those days and something of what it meant to so many people.

There were signs that the war was coming - the Army had extensive manouvres and all around the village and area at one point there were troops and army vehicles. I remember the soldiers showing us children some of the Rangefinders and Sound Detection equipment they had set up on the village green.

With the outbreak of war it meant the end of Grandfather George Wombwell’s building firm. Some of the men had to go into the Forces; the lorry and the car were commandeered for the war effort. Grandfather was getting on at that time and during the period of the war did various building jobs, and worked for most of that period doing estate repairs, for Paul Harding at Chrishall Grange.

Call Up

The coming of war meant changes for everyone. Father served for a time as an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) Warden, and had his black steel helmet and stirrup pump as his equipment. Black-out precautions were brought into force - black material had to be fitted to windows when the lights were on during darkness - the ARP wardens had to watch out for those who were showing a light. Cars were fitted with masks over the headlights that just had three slots in them - and one wondered how there was enough light to see the road.

But then as the war progressed Father was called up for the Army. He trained in this country as a Driver/Mechanic, and we saw him a number of times when he was able to get home on leave.

He was allocated to the RAOC as a driver, and after embarkation leave sailed for Italy to serve on a Baths and Laundry Unit that travelled all the way north through Italy following the front line and eventually finishing up at Klaganfert in Austria.

He was eventually demobbed under Class B release to help with rebuilding after the war - and was directed to help with the rebuilding of the brick kilns at Bedford.

Many of the men around the village were called up to serve in one or other of the armed forces, unless they were in a reserved occupation. Some of the younger women in the village joined the ATS or the WRAFs.

Home Guard

Grandfather Wombwell had served in France in the First World War and tried to join up at the start of the Second World War, but he was too old and they would not have him. So he joined the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers) who were distinguished by an armband with the letters LVD on them. The LDV later became the Home Guard, and uniforms were gradually issued, and the Home Guard began to look like soldiers. He would go on night watch at the local Church Hall (Which was known as the ‘Tin Room’ because it was made of corrugated iron). He would take with him some sandwiches and a little Camp Coffee bottle full of home-made Mead to reinforce them during the night. Sometimes the group would go on guard duty at the railway tunnels at Littlebury - and it was said that some of the stokers on the trains would throw off some coal for them to make a fire.

The Home Guard was eventually issued with some rifles - old Lee Enfields - Grandfather had the task of stenciling the size of the ammunition - 303 - on each rifle in red paint. I remember how he used to care for the rifle allocated to him, cleaning it in the kitchen at Laburnum House with a ‘pull-through’and oil to make sure it was really clean and ready for action.

I seem to remember a Colonel Ambrose, from Thurrocks Farm just outside the village, being the officer in charge, and he had a car and a petrol allowance to visit the troops.

Thinking back to those days I am conscious that there is a lot of truth in the TV programme, ‘Dad’s Army’. The Home Guard was made up of men who were allowed to stay in the village because of being in a reserved occupation, or were too old to be called up. They seem to have been given various roles, and I remember Ron Wilson telling me he was given the task of Dispatch Rider (he happened to have a motorbike!).

All sorts of tales circulated, such as the one that told of a member of the Home Guard being on sentry duty and challenging an approaching figure with the words, ‘Who goes there, Friend or Foe?’ The approaching figure, who happened to be a fellow member of the Home Guard, thought he would have some fun, and replied ‘Foe’!It was said that he narrowly escaped with his life!

All those in the Home Guard took it very seriously, and no doubt if the Germans had come they would have done their best to repel the enemy.

Grandfather Wombwell seemed to get involved in a number of ways. Out after rabbits one day, he found a hollow tree in the Ford End area which seemed to be used regularly for some purpose, and talking to some people in that area later on his suspicions were aroused when they talked about doing some business on the radio, and he began to think they were spies communicating with Germany. I’m not sure what really happened but I was at Laburnum House when a big car with four men came to interview Grandfather, and it was said that the people under suspicion seemed to vanish from the area.

Evacuees

There were many evacuees that came to the village. Some were simply sent, others came because they had relatives -and an Aunt and four cousins arrived from Kilburn on the edge of London, where they had experienced something of the Blitz, to stay with mother in the relative tranquility of the village. In our small thatched cottage it was quite a crowd, with our own family already in place (Father I think had been called up by this time). Of course we were not the only ones and many people made room to provide refuge from those seeking to escape the danger of the Blitz.

Grandfather served for many years as Rural District Councillor - and at the outbreak of war was involved in allocating the evacuees that were sent from London away from the bombing to homes around the area. It was said that when one lady said she could not possibly have an evacuee as she only had one bathroom, Grandfather retorted, ‘Well Missus, I think you could manage if you tried, I always have a bath once a year whether I want it or not’.

Air Raids

We were fortunate that we did not see a lot of bombing, the first was a small bomb that fell in an old Roman Road not far away - at a place we called ‘Constance Slap Station’ and everyone went to look at the crater, which was only about six feet round.There were other bombs that fell - a stick across a field a few hundred yards from where we lived which made some sizeable craters.

There were also some incendiary bombs that fell on the Village Green near the school - on that occasion the teacher made us all get under the desks until the all-clear had sounded - and when we came out there were these smoking holes in the green - but little damage was done.

London was about 40 miles away and I can remember standing outside my Grandparents’ house and seeing the red glow in the sky when the Blitz was taking place.

Later on there were the V1’s - the Flying Bombs - or Buzz Bombs as some people called them - which sounded rather like a motorcycle engine in the sky. When the engine stopped one waited for the explosion to follow. One of these hit Meesden Manor a few miles away, and people thought that it was intended for the Aerodrome at Nuthampstead.

We had some air raid warnings - the warning was given by Mr Robert Georgeriding through the village on his bicycle blowing a whistle - another whistle when it was over. We had all been issued with gas masks - and the first time the warning wasgiven we all put on our gas masks! But that did not last very long!

With the coming of the war Grandfather decided that we needed an Air Raid Shelter. He used the service pit in the garage, putting bricks round the edge and covering it with corrugated iron - it was quite small and thankfully never had to be used.

Aircraft

Being in the edge of East Anglia we saw quite a lot of activity from aircraft. There were numerous aerodromes around us- at Duxford (now part of the Imperial War Museum, Debden, Hadstock, Bassingbourne, Stanstead (which later was tobecome Stansted Airport) and Nuthampstead.If you heard an aircraft in the sky you asked the question, ‘Is it one of ours, or is it a German?’. We could see the Fighter Planes from Duxford going off to encounter the enemy. And there were times when dogfights would take place over the area and one could hear spent bullets dropping in the countryside around.

Early on a Wellington bomber crashed in High Wood, just outside the village. The aircraft was soon removed, and I think the crew survived the crash. Many people went to look at the crash site, and I remember picking up a few pieces of metal debris that were lying around.

A searchlight site was set up in a field at Duddenhoe End Grange on the outskirts of the village with a very powerful searchlight, which threw a powerful beam of light into the sky and some anti-aircraft guns around the site. But I can never remember them being fired.

Stansted

The airfield was built by and for US forces in World War 2, work starting in August 1942. Known as Station 166, from August 1943 the base became responsible for the handling of damaged aircraft and maintaining the supply of replacements to operational groups.

On the 9th of February 1944 the 344th Bomb Group moved in equipped with B26 Marauders. Many of the operations flown from Stansted were in support of the invasion of France and the subsequent advance- the group transferred to a continental base in September 1944 leaving the airfield to return to its role of a tactical Air Depot.

After the war the RAF took over, setting up 263 MU on the base, whose task it was to dispose of the vast quantities of surplus stores.

As time went on Stansted became more and more a commercial air field and in December 1946 a civilian operator with cargo by L.A.M.S. (London Aero and Motor Club) - this was wound up in 1948, leavingKearsley Airways to maintain charters with Dakotas, but ceased two years later. The Ministry of Civil Aviation assumed control of Stansted in 1949.

In the 1950s several carriers flew long distance charters on Government contracts -and the Americans did considerable airfield development - and completed a 10,000 ft runway.

The 1960s saw Stansted developing as a major freight centre - with Lloyd International andTransmeridian - using Britannias and CL-44s. More passengers were carried with Channel Airways, but they stopped after a time and then Lloyd left in February 1972. The new terminal was erected during Channel Airways time.

Stansted continued to develop and 1978 saw a British Midland service to Norwich and the North. In January 1980 Air UK was launched. By April 1987 Air France was flying twice daily to Paris - KLM to Amsterdam sector - Glasgow & Belfast were added. There was the movement towards development as London’s third airport and uncertainty was ended in April 1986 with a start on the development. Knowing the countryside it is incredible how large Stansted has become and the amount of traffic with which it deals.

I can remember fighting planes taking off from Duxford. There were many other airfields includingDebden, Hadstock and Bassingbourne, all within a few miles of Langley, and so there were many aircraft in the sky, and we learnt to identify many of them.

Then there was Nuthampstead just on the edge of Langley and only just over a mile from where we lived. Then came the time when the Americans arrived and constructed a big aerodrome in the middle of woodland and farmland between the villages of Nuthampstead and Langley. Areas were bulldozed out and large concrete runways laid down. All seemed to be done in a matter of weeks. As soon as part of it had been laid down there were some American Fighter Planes - twin fuselage LightingsP 41’s (these were known to be death traps because the high tail plane between the two fuselages wouldcatch the pilot if he tried to bale out - they had to turn the plane upside down to bale out safely!)

Then when all was finished it became a home for the 398th Bomb Group, Station 131, Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire – the base for B17’s - Flying Fortresses - I remember standing on the village green and watching them having flown over from America. The US Eighth Army Air Force soon became involved in daylight raids, and we used to watch them go off on those raids over Germany – we would watch them go out and watch them come back - sometimes on their return there would be one that came straight in with its lights flashing - and we learnt that it probably had someone who was wounded on board, or something wrong with the aircraft so that it had to make an emergency landing.

One B-17 Flying Fortress, put down in a barley field on Gypsy Farm to the northeast of the Station, and bogged down in the mire. Not really damaged, except for a wing panel which was soon replaced, with a few other repairs necessary.The aircraft was ready to go but the question was how to fly her off from the barley field. The Americans solved the problem by laying down 450 ft of steel matting and then attaching six rockets on each side and with the aid of engines and rockets the aircraft achieved take-off in 372ft and a mere eight seconds. It must have been quite a sight!

Soon there were Americans all over the area - and a great attraction for some of the local girls - (I said some of the local girls!) - for they were attractive young men, and a lot of the local lads were away in the forces. There was a saying that soon got around about them –‘over-paid, over-sexed and over here’.

There was also an American Army prison in a nearby village, and one day a group of prisoners with an armed guard of soldiers, came and played baseball on the village green. One of the guards was having trouble with his shoe and came and used the vice in Grandfather’s workshop to knock down a nail, which he did with the butt of his revolver.

Land Army Girls

The local Vicarage was turned into a Land Army Hostel with girls coming to help out with a shortage of men to work on the farm - they wore a uniform of a sort and became involved in many jobs on the farm. Many of them were girls from town and it was a different life entirely working on the land, and the girls did a useful job with many of the lighter jobs. It must have been hard for many of them who came from a town background. Each morning they would be sent out to various farms.

I do not remember them mixing very much in the village but the Land Army Hostel seemed to have a great attraction for the American airmen from the Nuthampstead aerodrome!

Rationing

This was something that affected everyone and almost everything. Ration Books were issued which allowed you to purchase so much of the essentials each week.

We were fortunate in the sense that living in the countryside many things were available that were not available for town people. Produce was grown in the gardens and on the allotments - and people were encouraged to ‘Dig for victory’. Hens could be kept which provided a supply of eggs - and corn to feed the hens could be gleaned from the fields after harvest. Rabbits, hares, pigeons, pheasants, partridges, provided extra meat. There was a supply of fruit, apples, pears, plums and greengages from the orchard. Extra milk and butter appeared from family and friends who had farms.

Grandfather Wombwell, even if he was a builder, kept a pig in a sty at the end of the builder’s yard and twice a year a pig was slaughtered to provide extra meat. The slaughter took place on the premises by one of the local butchers and was hung up in the garage overnight. The next evening Grandfather would cut it up on the kitchen table, some joints to be cured as bacon, some to be eaten or given away. There was a sharing system and an exchange of joints with neighbours (I often wondered how the Methodist Minister managed to call at that time). It was true to say that nothing on the pig was wasted and it was a valuable addition to rationed meat.

News of the War

News of what was happening came through the newspapers, and from the broadcasts received on battery radios. The old-fashioned wireless was the source of information. There was no electricity in Langley in those days so it was the High-Tension Dry Battery and the Accumulator which had to be charged regularly, to enable us to receive the news.

The Germans used radio as a means of propaganda and one could hear the words ‘Germany Calling - Germany Calling’ and then the voice of William Joyce (who became known as Lord Haw Haw) giving the news from the German point of view and seeking to demoralize the British people.

Father Fred Savill was overseas but we did not really know where or what was happening to him, letters took some time to get to this country, and it was only later we found out he had been in Italy.

Uncle Hugh Wombwell was in the Navy and had served on the Liners - before the war he was on the Australia run, but with the coming of war was drawn into the Merchant Navy on the Atlantic Crossing, and in various parts of the world. I believe that he was on the last boat out of Hong Kong and Singapore before they were taken over by the Japanese. He was torpedoed three times, and told of how once the German U-Boat commander allowed them to take to the boats before sinking their ship. Another time when his ship was sunk in the Mediterranean he said he preferred that because the water was warm!

Sometimes the reality of the war was underlined for us. I remember when a person was reported missing and the relatives did not know what had happened to them, and then perhaps later the report came through that they had been killed in action.I remember Uncle George, Aunt Evelyn’s husband, coming to Laburnum House to tell the family that Jim, the husband of his sister Lil, had been killed at Tobruk.

Coming to the End

Towards the end of the war there seemed to be a lot of Prisoners of War in the area. There were Italians, and they used to help out on the farms, and as children we leant a few Italian words - most of them ‘rude’.

There were some German POW’s in the area, and some of them stayed on and married English girls, and became part of the community. One occasion that I remember was when someone arranged for the the German POW’s to play the local Football Team- the result was never in doubt - the local team did not stand a chance for the German team was very good.

After the D-Day invasion of Normandy things moved on and eventually on Tuesday the 8th of May 1945 the end of World War II against Germany was declared at one minute past midnight, and then on the 14th of August 1945, following dropping of the second Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki, Japan surrendered unconditionally to the Allies. VJ Day announced by Prime Minister Clement Attlee was celebrated on the 15th August 1945.

It was a time of celebration, and I remember the bonfire that was quickly built on the village green and the feelings and emotions that people were experiencing, and it was said that one returned soldier ran through the village firing a shotgun in the air when he first heard the news!

It took some time for things to come back to normal, but with people returning from the Forces, and reconstruction taking place, gradually things changed, and while it would never be quite the same as in pre-war days, a new era began to take shape.

Looking back some memories are clearer than others, but the overall impression is of a time when people stood and pulled together, preparing to help and support each other when it was needed. A time when there was pain and sorrow and sadness and there were difficulties to be faced. But also a time when the lighter and sometimes amusing memories and the sense of humour was not lost.

I think that having lived through this time there was much that influenced the post-war years and affairs, and things would never be quite the same again.

© 2008 Douglas Savill