A.R.P. Awards Members of Champion Rescue Squad Honoured Two members of a Bromley Rescue squad, Leader Cecil Edward Wright and Mr Albert Purless Harman, have been awarded the British Empire Medal for their part in extricating a man from a bombed house, the house received a direct hit from a high explosive bomb, and it was discovered that a man was buried beneath the wreckage. Mr Wright an Mr Harman had great difficulty in reaching him, and tunnelled for three houses during the night while the raid was still on,…
Category: WW2
Pet Food Adverts, 1941
In the Summer of 1939, before the outbreak of war, the National Air Raid Precautions Animals Committee (NARPAC) was formed. This committee produced a pamphlet giving advice to pet owners stating: “If at all possible, send or take your household animals into the country in advance of an emergency.” It concluded by saying: “If you cannot place them in the care of neighbours, it really is kindest to have them destroyed.” This advice was printed in almost every local newspapers across the country, and was confirmed in a BBC broadcast…
Billy Brown’s Guide to London Transport
Here is another fine example of the Billy Brown character, invented by cartoonist David Langdon OBE, giving advice on using public transport in London. Published in the Bromley & District Times, 27th December 1940 Billy Brown of London Town The safest travelling in town Is not too good for Billy Brown. He’s much too sensible and knowing To jump down off a bus that’s going. Especially in blackout house Or when the kerb is wet with showers On these occasions Billy B Goes by the slogan ‘Wait and See’. Printed…
Wedding Bells in Bromley, 1941
Mr. R. C. Collyer and Miss Phyllis E. Mildred Hopkins The Wedding of Reginald Clarence Collyer (Tank Corps) second son of Mr and Mrs T. Collyer, 27 Pope Road, Bromley, to Miss Phyllis E. Mildred Hopkins, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. Hopkins, 32 Nichol Lane, Bromley, took place at St Mary’s Church, Plaistow, on Saturday, the ceremony being performed by the Rev. W. R. Crichton. The bride, who was given away by her father Lance-Corporal G. Hopkins, Queen’s West Surrey Regiment, wore a dress of white figured taffeta,…
Bombed Railway Line fixed within Hours!
During WW2 the railway system in Britain was used heavily, and so it was of vital importance to keep the lines running effectively. The four main railway companies’ managements joined together, effectively becoming one company; London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), Great Western Railway (GWR), London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and Southern Railway (SR). The railways system suffered greatly from the bombing by German Luftwaffe, especially around cities such as London and Coventry. These ‘before’ and ‘after’ images show the efficiency of the British railway companies in fixing lines that…
Soldiers as “Can-Can” Dancers
Gunners of the Royal Artillery in South-east England, where they are running their own troupe of “can can dancers”
Only 7 men want to be Airmen
On the day that Britain declared war on Germany, 3rd September 1939, Parliament immediately imposed the National Service (Armed Forces) Act which enforced full conscription on all males between 18 and 41 who were UK residents. Exempt from this were the medically unfit, and those who were in key industries and jobs such as baking, farming, medicine, and engineering. Conscription helped greatly to increase the number of men in active service during the first year of the war. Conscription of women To help widen the scope of conscription still further,…
Hitler will Never Defeat our Spirit
This wonderful article, published in the local newspaper, shows that even business rivals were determined to carry on no matter what the enemy throw at them during the severe bombing of England in World War 2. It is this spirit of determination to carry on that Hitler will never defeat. Good Will Among Rivals Sir Waldron Smithers, Member for the Chislehurst Division, writes to The Times : Sir – I have received a letter from a young Naval officer from which I send you an extract :- “My father…
London received over 44 days worth of alerts in a 5 month period during the Blitz
This short articles, published in the local newspaper, reports the number of hours which London had been on alert since the enemy air offensive began in August 1941 to mid-January 1942. To give an idea of how intense the bombing was, it is reported that Hull received just over 1,00 hours of alerts during the whole of the Blitz! 1,056 Hours of Alerts in London According to a calculation by a news agency reporter, who has kept a daily log of alerts since the enemy air offensive on a big scale was…
Exciting Wartime Football Matches
In spite of the war, there was plenty of football to watch and teams to support. This report appeared in the local newspapers reporting on a match between Bromley Police and the Royal Corps of Signals. Football Bromley Police v Royal Corps of Signals With the score 5-2 in their favour ten minutes from the end, it looked as if Bromley Police were going to have a comfortable victory over a team drawn from the Royal Corps of Signals at The Warren on Saturday. In those ten minutes,…