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"Reserved Occupations" in World War 2

P

Peter Walker

gone but not forgotten
As Brum was arguably the biggest manufacturing source in the country, its factories had a lot to offer the war effort, and oviously skilled staff were needed to keep production and especially new development going.
We lived in a cul-de-sac just north of Witton Cemetery, and there were 36 houses, built and first occupied in 1934. I was old enough to know all the surnames and faces of the grown-ups, and the first names of the kids, which unfortunately (I thought at the time) were nearly all girls.
To cut a long story short, only two out of the thirty six dads served in the forces. Both (my dad was one) volunteered early to get a bit of choice in what they did. They were both in their early thirties.
Of the other 34 male householders, most were under 45, but it was assumed that they were in a "reserved occupation".
I am fairly confident that one of them was what would be listed as a "general dealer" (he used a pony and trap since he couldn't use his lorry) and another was a bus inspector.
While "conscientious objectors" were penalised by the authorities and despised by the public, our neighbours did their thing apparently without interference, some still running a car.
To quote "Beyond the Fringe", "Funny thing, war!"
Peter
 
My Dad was in RESERVED OCCUPATION in World War 2. He worked for the General Electric CO;
at Electric Ave; WITTON  His job was building Runway Beacons for the Air Ministry. He had many a tale of the night GEG WORKS were bombed.One He tells. He turned up for work as usual, but was told at the main gate he could not go in as there was to much damage to the plant, but if he wished he could help with the clear up, so in the went, was well into the swing helping clear his area of the factory,when he found an unexploded bomb, MAD CAP AS MY DAD WAS. He promptly picked it up and walks into the Beacon Shop were all his work mates were starting to get back to some form of normality, He reckons it took just 5 Sec; to clear  what was a very large factory floor.
Well needless to say that finished the days shift until the bomb disposal guys had put it out of action. Lucky Dad was a key worker other wise I am sure he would have been suspended or some stronger action taken. We look back with amusement now but this could have been an action he and many other would have regretted.
one more memory.
ASTON
 
My father was hard of hearing , as a bricklayer therefore not in a reserved occupation he was immediately sent to Birmingham, he had no choice but to go. His task was to brick up windows in the many factories as a permanent to solution to blackout requirements.
As the war progressed he was then sent elsewhere to build prisoner of war camps.
 
Just picked up on this thread, and intresting to note why a lot of folk did not join up.but there were a million and one reasons for the folk who stayed behind, at home......war work, government work, needed at home as some folks were, who had kids and no wife,disabled people,secret work such as looking for spies( the phony war) but after reading Government books teams of bricklayers moved about the country and secured buildings after the rubble was cleared......and factories and houses were soon made habitable, if not demolishion teams moved in and pulled the buildings down, but more often than not it was age, as they had been in the Great War so they joined the Home guard or were firewatchers.
With reserved occupations you did not have much choice miners could not join up and to stem the shortage if you was a conscientious objector you could go down the mines.
But like all things in life everything can be fiddled and I bet many man a got his gaffer to say he was to valuable to lose
In this "World of Want" everybody wants money........me I would like a time machine to travel back and see what it was like for myself......
 
:angel: Although my Dad had a little sight he was registered as blind. From another post I made:

"Because of his poor sight my Dad was not in any of the armed services during WW2 and my Mom would never let him talk about his experiences at home in the war.... all we kids heard about were ...
Their A.T.S, Navy and Air Force friends.
Although they were very important, it would have been nice to know about how life was for people like my dad who were working just as hard on 'The Home Front'.
I do know that he was in the Red Cross and helped as an ambulance assistant, he also helped with rubble clearing after air raids on Birmingham. He did once tell me about seeing the big air raid on Coventry and standing under 'The Minories' by Lewis's seeing the sky light up just like a big fireworks extravaganza".

Now after reading and seeing the pic's and accounts posted by 'Cromwell' on 'The Birmingham Blitz', maybe talking about 'The Home front' and such events were too close to home and invoked too much sadness to be spoken about by my parents generation.
 
My Dad was in reserved occupation he was an electrical engineer and his job was to get areas that had been bombed back on electricity. My parents lived in Great Barr, Mom told me Dad would be away for a month doing his work, come home for a day and off again. There was still some jealousy from women who husbands were away fighting. My mother understood this as her brother was in the air force. She told me the worst night of her life was when Coventry was bombed. My father was working there with another engineer, as soon as the bombing died down they had to get on with their work, one of the buildings started to collapse and my father was saved by his workmate. I would love to have known his name. My mother said she didn't know for two days after the bombings if Dad was alive or dead..........no mobile phones then. My Dad died when I was 15 so I am glad I asked so many questions!
 
My father-in-law's father, Alfred RANDELL, was in a reserved occupation, he worked at Dunlop making the tyres for the planes during WW2. Sadly he was injured twice during his work time, once he was scalded from the waist down, presumably with either steaming hot water or the molten rubber going into the moulds. Don't know much about it, nor does my f-i-l. Although he does remember the second injury, although I don't know which one was first or second, Alfred lost the lower part of his arm, unsure left or right, apparently rushed to Birmingham Accident Hospital, no records, and then out to St Matthew's in Burntwood for recouperation, there is records of this remaining. This accident happend 1943, think sometime before May, he was mentioned in admissions for St Matthew's in beginning of May.
Does anyone give me any details of life in the Dunlop during the war times please? Any link online?
Kind regards, Michael
 
My father Henry Begley worked at the Birmingham Mint as a metal roller during the war, as did my mother (Mary Kathleen Cruxton) , her step father and mother (Henry & Alice Bullock) and Alice's two brothers Stanley & Ivor Griffin, whilst Henry Bullock was too old for combat the three men were fit for combat but in reserved occupations, Henry Begley and Stanley & Ivor Griffin, tell me folks, whilst the men had reserved occupations did they also have to take on other duties, ie fire watching or ARP duties?

Forgot to mention dads brother Jack Begley also worked at the Birmingham Mint during the war, quite a family concern.
 
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My father was called up and even though his eyesight was poor the sergeant picked up the rifle and scored high enough points to put my father through A1 - did not last long as he got kicked out again. My FiL on the other hand was sent to work at The Austin making or testing, Aero engines - 3 times he tried to join up and 3 time he was escorted home by the police. The last time he was warned if he tried it again he would be placed under house arrest.
 
If you were in a reserved occupation, you could not leave one job and take up another without official permission, and then it would only to another reserved occupation, my brother worked as a toolsetter and was also in the Aux Fire Service, my Father worked 14 hrs a day and had to do several nights a week fire watching, on reaching the age of 16 yrs you had to register to do voluntery service, if you were in reserved job there were severe penaltys if were absent without a good reason.
 
My dad worked at Fort Dunlop in a reserved occupation, most of the men working there were needed. They worked long hours, and then like my dad were out three or four nights a week on fire watch. Dad also went away to fit tyres on the planes. We didn' see a lot of him during the war, he left the house at 6.30am before I was up, and got home after I had gone to bed when he was on fire watch duty. He was 35 so could have served, and I think he felt he ought to have because his two younger brothers were both in the Army.
 
Michael55 said:
My father-in-law's father, Alfred RANDELL, was in a reserved occupation, he worked at Dunlop making the tyres for the planes during WW2. Sadly he was injured twice during his work time, once he was scalded from the waist down, presumably with either steaming hot water or the molten rubber going into the moulds. Don't know much about it, nor does my f-i-l. Although he does remember the second injury, although I don't know which one was first or second, Alfred lost the lower part of his arm, unsure left or right, apparently rushed to Birmingham Accident Hospital, no records, and then out to St Matthew's in Burntwood for recouperation, there is records of this remaining. This accident happend 1943, think sometime before May, he was mentioned in admissions for St Matthew's in beginning of May.
Does anyone give me any details of life in the Dunlop during the war times please? Any link online?
Kind regards, Michael
Click to expand...

Hello Michael. I can only give details as told to me by my Father who worked (reserved occ.) in the Patternshop. I remember him telling me about the bomb that landed close to the patternshop/machineshop and brought huge shards of glass down from the glass roof and the men were sheltering under their benches.. I believe it was from a Heinkel with a number 101 on the side.. my Mother (Kingsbury Rd) saw it pass overhead moments before. He also told me that the planes would make machine gun runs down the 'drives' as the men were coming off shift. I have some pics's and will attempt to upload when I have more time.

Ian
 
my Uncle Horace Manton was a "Tool maker and Turner" and wanted desperatly to serve in the armed forces but stayed and worked long hours and was a dispatch rider for the Handsworth ARP as well.
Paul stacey
 
My old man was an installation electrician with Efco Ltd during the war, and was classified as in a reserved occupation, although because of a deformed foot he wouldn't have been eligible for military service anyway. He spent much of the war in Sheffield, Glasgow and Middlesborough, working at armaments manufacturers, and claimed he was bombed regularly. He used to tell a story about how towards the end of the war he was working at an aluminium smelter on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, and was relieved to get away from the major centres of industry, which were still receiving attention from the Luftwaffe. However, within a couple of days of arriving at Sheppey, an off-track V1 came down nearby and took the roof off his digs while he was at work. True or not, a good story from a long past time in our history.

Big Gee
 
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