Evacuee Boys (27 page)

An Auster like the one John flew. (By kind permission of Mr Phillip Jarrett)

At 100ft altitude the instructor looked about 2ft tall, and on releasing the cable I put the nose down and headed straight for him. At 50ft, he began walking to my left and with a little left rudder, he was lined up with my nose again. Soon he began walking to my right and with total confidence and a little right rudder, he was back in my sights. This was fun. When I was within about 15ft from the ground, I steered a little away from him and landed smoothly, keeping my wings level until he reached my side. ‘Was that near enough Sir?,’ I asked. Instructors flew a full circuit up to 800ft at each day’s end and on his approach, my instructor almost cut my head off.

A Glider retrieving Falcon 3. (By kind permission of Mr Phillip Jarrett)

Although nearly every glider in the school received some damage, only one incident produced casualties. On his last flight as the course was finishing, one Terry Rogers asked Athol Lonie, our flight sergeant, to take his picture during the takeoff. It was a bumpy start to a late takeoff and Lonie had not allowed for the distortions of his camera’s viewfinder, but stayed in the flight path until Terry’s wing leading edge sliced into his chin. At that point, Terry’s glider went up vertically for a few feet, tipped over onto one wing and collapsed in a heap on the ground, breaking Terry’s ankle. Lonie was left lying unconscious – but fortunately after a short stay in hospital, he had only lost a few teeth.

5 August 1945 – from 10th Fulham Scout Camp, Surrey

Dear Dad,

I am writing to you, to wish you a happy birthday. I must say it is hard to put down on paper one’s feelings on such occasions but I want you to realize, how much I realise the debt both Andrew and I owe you (and Mother) for obviously, any son owes a great debt to his parents.

I wish from depth of my reason, that you carry on with a long, healthy and extremely happy life, together with mum and with us always close at hand to help and be helped when necessary. I am afraid I cannot put my feelings in any better form. And I think you will understand what I mean.

Please excuse my writing in pencil but my pen has run out of ink. Well cheerio for now and we shall see you soon. Love to Mum Noni & all.

Cheerio

John

August
1945
– from
10
th Fulham Scout Camp, Surrey

Dear Everybody,

Thanks very much for your letter a few days ago. I’m sorry I did not write before but as I saw you not long ago there was no hurry. I am having a good time here and I wish you would come down for a day this week.

If you can come write and tell us when you are coming.

Last week we had beautiful weather although the last two days were not so good.

I am feeling fit & well and I’ve got plenty to eat. The only thing I miss is you. Please come down.

I went swimming to-day and swam nearly a mile, and now I am going down to the village to get some chocolate. Well I’ll say cheerio now. Please come.

Yours Ever

John

P.S. Write & tell us when you will arrive.

… continued by Andrew

Lots of love from me too. Having a lovely time teaching & examining chaps & giving first aid.

See you Saturday, till then love to all,

Andrew

25
August
1946
– from
18
Church Avenue, Crosland Moor, Huddersfield, Yorks
36

Dear Mum, Dad & Andrew,

I am having a very nice time up here, and the people with whom I am staying, could not be kinder. They like me very much and we get on very well. The food is very good and there is plenty of it.

Well, now, I hope that has put your minds at rest.

On Wednesday, we went out for a long walk in the morning, took sandwitches with us, and returned in the evening. In all we did about 20 miles. We went right over the moors, climbing mountains, and going down in the valleys. The view was beautiful and also luckily the weather.

On the way, we found a lovely little site for camping, and so we went out on Friday and stayed till yesterday.

The place was where two lovely little rocky mountain streams meet in a little valley and there was a little wood of beech. The streams were crystal clear and very fast running, so we tested it to see if it was good for drinking, and it was. It was a really beautiful spot. The only thing wrong was that in the evening, lots of tiny flies came out and bit us and crawled over us, until we scratched like madmen.

The first day we had lovely weather, but the second it rained a few times. Still we had a really good time and plenty of good food to eat. I made some lovely chips for dinner yesterday.

On the way back it was raining and we could not get on the bus as it was full, so we started walking, but luckily some kind people gave us a lift in their car, almost all the way home.

As soon as we got in, we had a bath & changed, and had a big supper of plaice, fried potatoes etc. This morning I had a boiled egg for breakfast.

Thanks Andrew, for writing and sending on ‘The Scout’. I wrote to Jean Montjotin
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(in French). Has he sent his ticket yet, I hope everything is all right.

There seems little else for me to say except that I shall be back on Saturday. I’ll let you know, at what time and where. Perhaps one of you could meet me.

I’ll close now and I hope not only Andrew will reply!!!

Cheerio for now, & love to all from your

John

Throughout this period and for years to come, the character and leadership training inherent in being a Scout stood me in ever greater stead. Working up through Patrol Leader, Troop Leader and King’s Scout with a surfeit of merit badges, Scouting was more a part of my life even than the Air Training Corps.

At school, between occasional runs into the air-raid shelter, we manfully joked about the difference between a Gestapo agent and a Russian policeman – the latter being a Rostov Tech and the former, a Malapropism reversal, into a ‘tossed off wreck’. Mr Nightingale, our eccentric mathematics teacher, proved his reputed madness by deftly drawing large, perfect, freehand circles on the blackboard, then wiping it clean with his tattered black master’s gown after geometry was over. ‘This must have cost at least £6,’ (a lot of money in those days) he would enthuse as he fingered my new Harris Tweed jacket. At that time, a major career success would be to earn £1,000 a year – which was incidentally the income Mr Jeavons our physics master claimed to earn, when he added private tutoring to his salary.

Sloane Grammar made its overriding contribution to my life by giving me a good all-round education and, besides preparing me for university to become an aeronautical engineer (what else?), made me its school vice-captain.

As with most 16-year-olds, politics other than related to the war was of no great interest or consequence to me. But the 1942 Beverage Report proposing a Welfare State got my attention. By the population at large, it was taken as a breakthrough in care and fairness for everybody. However, with the benefit of hindsight, the opinion I offered my schoolmates, ‘A Welfare State would sap the moral fibre of the nation’, could well be considered wisdom: ‘out of the mouths of babes and sucklings …’

On VE Day, I was one of several hundred thousands who surged in Whitehall outside the Ministry of Health building shouting in unison, ‘We want Winnie’, until Churchill came out on the big balcony with his Cabinet, to wave in victory.

29
August
1946
– also from Huddersfield

Dear Mum, Dad & Andrew,

Thanks very much for your letter which I received on Monday. I’m, afraid our letters crossed. I am really happy that Dad’s X ray was favourable, & let us hope that the whole trouble is clearing up.

Fancy giving Jimmy Jnr. away after all, I thought we were going to keep him now. I hope Jimmy
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is running like a Delage now. By the way Andrew, your memory is like a sieve. The petrol bloke’s name is Shell and he lives in Kings road near Parson’s Green, on a corner on the Parson’s Green side there is a baker’s shop; remember?

About the fountain pen, Mr. Dixon
39
ought to have it, as I gave him it to him on the last day of camp. The badges, as you know, I have not been able to get yet.

I have written to Mr. Dixon, and told him when I am coming home. It is a pity, I can’t be at the Scouters
40
meeting on Friday, but it can’t be helped. I had a letter from John & he says he will be there. Andrew could you tell him that I shall call round on Sunday C. of H.
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I have also heard from Pat Talfourd.
42

Poor Mother, having to be in all day again. The sooner it is over the better.

I shall be leaving Huddersfield by the 8.38 train, and will arrive at
Euston
at 2.25 p.m. So if anybody can meet me, I would very much appreciate it.

Yesterday we went to Barnsley which is not far from here, in hope of finding Tony Randall, but at the Hostel, the receptionist girl said, ‘Randall? Oh from Canvey Island, he’s been away for months’ [he was a Bevin Boy
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and ran away, to join the Fleet Air Arm]. Then we had a high tea which cost us 4/- each. I am fair broke now.