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Birmingham Newspapers 1939-1945

My Mom was in the WAAF, but was on leave when Coventry was bombed, she reported to ARP Handsworth, and drove an ambulance for 4 days, my Nan was with the W V S, uncle Horace was an ARP Dispatch rider, and Auntie Kath a fire watcher. Dad was Army, badly wounded at Salerno. It was a busy time for our family, like millions of others. Paul
 
My friends' mum as a child and her family were amongst those Channel Islanders, who escaped in an open boat from Alderney, very frightened during the night with what they could carry. They settled in Chatham which she liked, being on the tidal river. Though no one could pronounce her surname which she didn't like.
I liked to get her to recount those memories. Every new year they had a large bunch of mistletoe hanging over the fireplace which remained for the year. She says it brought them luck as their custom claims and delivered them from the occupation and her tyrant dad, who never made it out. Thank you for posting this.
 
Nico said:
My friends' mum as a child and her family were amongst those Channel Islanders, who escaped in an open boat from Alderney, very frightened during the night with what they could carry. They settled in Chatham which she liked, being on the tidal river. Though no one could pronounce her surname which she didn't like.
I liked to get her to recount those memories. Every new year they had a large bunch of mistletoe hanging over the fireplace which remained for the year. She says it brought them luck as their custom claims and delivered them from the occupation and her tyrant dad, who never made it out. Thank you for posting this.
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The granny escaped too!
 
paul stacey said:
My Mom was in the WAAF, but was on leave when Coventry was bombed, she reported to ARP Handsworth, and drove an ambulance for 4 days, my Nan was with the W V S, uncle Horace was an ARP Dispatch rider, and Auntie Kath a fire watcher. Dad was Army, badly wounded at Salerno. It was a busy time for our family, like millions of others. Paul
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I posted it before but Gran cleaned the City Mortuary and the Co Op then. Awful she said. Mum's dad drove the Fire engine from Dudley to Coventry and my birth mother was taken up on to the Beacon in Malvern they could see Coventry burning. Ironically I ahd an 3 Aunty Kaths and and 2 Uncle Horaces, popular names then.
You must have been so worried about your dad
 
Borrowed this picture from the net, we had a local here when I first moved down from Brum who used one daily to fetch water from the well, no water in his house because he was too tight to pay for it.single-yoke.jpg
 
Looks a fake photo to me. Fakebook by anychance? The pails are new and so is the yoke I doubt it was ever used for water carrying purposes.
I had a good friend, now sadly departed, who lived in a solitary part of North Devon' he had no mains running water to his cottage. He did have a well outside and a bilge pump that pumped it up to his kitchen. The water was crystal clear.
 
Radiorails said:
Looks a fake photo to me. Fakebook by anychance? The pails are new and so is the yoke I doubt it was ever used for water carrying purposes.
I had a good friend, now sadly departed, who lived in a solitary part of North Devon' he had no mains running water to his cottage. He did have a well outside and a bilge pump that pumped it up to his kitchen. The water was crystal clear.
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i have a friend in Oswestry with no mains water, he has a tank.and it is gravity to the house. the tank is filled by a diesel pump in the field drawing water from a well once a week.
 
Radiorails said:
Looks a fake photo to me. Fakebook by anychance? The pails are new and so is the yoke I doubt it was ever used for water carrying purposes.
I had a good friend, now sadly departed, who lived in a solitary part of North Devon' he had no mains running water to his cottage. He did have a well outside and a bilge pump that pumped it up to his kitchen. The water was crystal clear.
Click to expand...

Just one of many pictures of yokes on the net, I figured maybe the guy made them himself, he looks a bit Amish to me.
 
My Grandad had a bell which Nan kept polished. I know he went round ringing it when WW2 ended. He was in the Home Guard and had been gassed in WW1. I wonder if it was one of those?
rosie.
 
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