A member of an old Bromley family was married at St John’s, Eden Park, on Saturday, when the bridegroom was Mr Sidney Bax (now Gunner, R.A.), eldest son of Mr and Mrs S. Bax, of The Cottage, 11 Upper Park Road, Bromley, and the bride , Miss Gwendoline Prior, second eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs W. Prior, of 338 Upper Elmers End Road, Beckenham. The Rev. W. J. Berry, M.A., officiated, and appropriate music was played before and after the ceremony, the hymn, “O Perfect Love,” being sung during…
Category: News
Canteen Truck donation to Bromley Fire Service, 1941
The donor, Mrs King, with the canteen she presented to Bromley Fire Services. On the left are Mr E. Ford Duncanson and the Mayor (Councillor H. Lynch Watson), and on the right Dr. K.E. Tapper and Fire Chief A.B. Craig. Source: Bromley & District Times, 18th July 1941 (page 5)
Complaints about Food Waste, 1941
Looks like complaints about food waste is not a new phenomenon. Although it seems comical now, this complaint printed in the Bromley & District newspaper in February 1941 shows a real disgust at the thought of people wasting their unwanted sandwiches! Coats Off I dunno. Some people don’t realise there is a war on. Three times a week somebody leaves a packet of fresh sandwiches in a public convenience in Sidcup. On the floor, too – so they are to all intents spoiled. We journalists (hum!) like to weave stories…
Squadron-Leader Barrie Heath
Born in Warwickshire in 1916, Squadron Leader Barrie Heath was a son of Mr G.R. Heath. He saw active service in 1940 with No. 611 Squadron RA, flying in the Spitfire IIa P7883 “Grahame Heath”, which had been donated by his father in memory of his brother Grahame, who had died in service in the first world war. It was in this Spitfire that Heath fought in the Battle of Britain, for which he received his medal. A memory of him, written on the 611 Squadron website, noted that he…
Who was Lord Woolton?
Frederick James Marquis, was an English Businessman and politician, born and raised in Lancashire. During World War two Woolton was one of a number of businessmen (including Sir Andrew Duncan, Lord Leathers, Oliver Lyttelton, and P. J. Grigg) who became became non-party ministers, brought into government to help with the war effort. In April 1940, Woolton was appointed Minister of Food, and established the rationing system, generally regarded as a success. He maintained food imports from America, kept prices down and organised a programme of free school meals. At the beginning of the…
Dr Kenneth Edwin Tapper
Awarded the George Medal Dr. Kenneth E. Tapper, O.B.E, Medical Officer of Health for Bromley, and head of the A.P.R. Casualty Services, has been awarded the George Medal for bravery during air raids. On many occasions he has crawled under wreckage to search for and give treatment to injured casualties pinned down by debris. When people were buried beneath the wreckage of a German aeroplane and two houses, Dr. Tapper gave medical aid to the victims while large unexploded bombs were removed. He has shown great gallantry in his efforts…
Don’t Delay – install an Incendiary Bomb Detector today, 1941
London had suffered 57 days of non-stop bombing from the Luftwaffe in 1940 – it was relentless. There must have been many bombs that failed to explode, so there must have been a ready made market for such a device. This advert for an Incendiary Bomb Detector appeared in the local Bromley Times newspaper in July 1941. Incendiary Bomb Detector Incendiary Bombs can be rendered non-effective If they are Dealt with Promptly This can be done if you install a detector. Many Installations completed – automatic – inexpensive DON’T DELAY…
Housekeeping in War-time Britain
Queen Elizabeth, consort of George VI the King of the United Kingdom (and mother of Queen Elizabeth II), visited the Ministry of Food on the 30th May 1941, where she was met by Lord Woolton who showed her a demonstration of food cooking, food for use in English homes under rationing and the “Planning of Meat Rationing.” During the visit, Her Majesty was given a demonstration of how potato pastry was made, and explained that no fat was used in the recipe. The Hairy Bikers have a recipe for this…
Call out for local knitters to help with the war effort
It is amazing how history can repeat itself. This article asking for knitters to help create woollen clothing for the Winter season in 1941 especially resonated with me as it reminded me of the recent plea for sewers across the country to help put together hospital scrubs for medical staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. It seems we have always been a nation willing to help his fellow man in times of national need. This small article appeared in the local Bromley & District newspaper. I wonder what the take up…
Henry Euler and Miss Jane Bowl
It is such a wonderful moment in family history research when you stumble upon an article, such as a marriage or obituary, where it can either help fill in a missing puzzle piece in a family tree, or provide further information about the family and help lead you down another avenue of research. Whilst creating my Military Ancestors database, I also recorded all the weddings that appeared. One such wedding was of a Lieutenant Henry Leonard Euler, who was in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve to Miss Jane Elizabeth Bowl…