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Intro to 1942
1942 was the year when the
pendulum swung towards the Allies from the Axis powers.
Malta stood defiant in the Mediterranean, in the North African
desert the Allies halted Rommel and Montgomery became the nation's hero.
Thoughts of an invasion of Britain were beginning to fade too.
The German advances in Russia stalled with the Red Army
counter-attacking while the Germans were frozen in the ground.
But there was
still a long way to go. Mistakes were still being made and lessons
had to be learned by the Allies. The commando raid on Dieppe
proved that the 'Western Front' would need more planning and more time.
Then there was the fiasco at Singapore. It was supposedly
impenetrable. But the Japanese soon blew that theory away and over
130,000 British servicemen were forced to surrender their fate to them.
This marked the start of almost 4 years of captivity at the hands of the
Japanese.
Families in Brandon would listen eagerly to the radio and read the
newspapers for any snippet of information that may give them hope that
their loved ones were still alive. Letters sent would remain
unanswered.
So although 1942
would be seen as the turning point of the war, for some their nightmare
was only just beginning ... From March lists of local men captured
or killed in Singapore appear all too frequently in the local
newspapers.
M.I.A.
or K.I.A.
As the war progressed, and even more so when many Suffolk men were
caught in the surrender at Singapore, there were ever-increasing reports
in local newspapers detailing local men who were either missing, or
sadly killed in action.
January, Sapper
and Mrs. J. Austin were informed that their son is missing,
presumed to be a Prisoner Of War, in the Middle East.
February, Mr. and Mrs. J. Bush, Station Cottages, were
informed that their son, previously reported as missing, is now a
Prisoner Of War.
March, Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Malt, Bury Road, were
informed by the Royal Engineers Record Officer that their son, Lance
Corporal James H. Malt, is
missing in Malaya.
May, Private Sidney
Glaister, Cambridgeshire
Regiment, was officially listed as missing after the fall of Singapore.
His parents, Mr. and Mrs. A Glaister, lived at White
Horse Street in Town Street.
Sapper Henry Kent,
Royal Engineers, son of Mr. and Mrs. S. Kent,
Fishponds, is announced as missing in Singapore.
July, Mrs. Carlton of Fishponds, Brandon, has been
informed that her husband, Regimental
Sergeant-Major J. T. Carlton
of the Green Howards, was reported missing in the Middle East.
July, the name of Lance
Corporal W. A. Hill, of
Thetford Road, was featured in a list of prisoners given by enemy
sources.
October, Brandon residents, Mr. and Mrs. A. Towler of
London Road, received information that their son, Sgt.
Cecil Towler of a Canadian
Regiment was a Prisoner Of War in Germany. He was caught in the Dieppe
Raid and was in hospital wounded.
December, Mr. and Mrs. F. Edwards, of Thetford Road,
received a letter from their son, Private
E. Edwards telling them
that he was a Prisoner Of War in Italy.
How much for the war?
The cost of the war is estimated as costing Britain £13
million PER DAY! This
compares with the Red Cross spending £11,000 per day.
Brandon
Parish Council
Questions were raised regarding why the clock on the Market Hill was
silent even though no act of Parliament had decreed that clocks should
remain silent.
Brandon
Tradesmen
Brandon tradesmen held a meeting in The Baptist Schoolroom, in February.
Due to the petrol rationing and a lack of manpower because of the men
joining the services, they decided that no goods would be delivered
inside a 1 mile radius of the Market Hill crossroads to make efficient
use of fuel and labour.
Petty
Sessions
Mr. Percy Norton fined 10s for riding a bike at night without lights.
Mr. John William Norton timber merchant, fined 10s for driving a car on the road when not
a holder of a licence to do so.
United Nations Day
Sunday 14th June 1942 was named ‘United Nations’ Day.
Towns and villages across the world, in the Allies that is, were to fly
the flags of all the 28 members of the Grand Alliance. It was
Roosevelt’s idea and fell on the same date that the ‘Stars and
Stripes’ was revealed in 1737.
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AIR RAID SOUVENIRS
ANOTHER WARNING |
A further
warning to the public against the handling and retention
of bombs or other explosive souvenirs
has been issued by the Ministry of Home Security.
Accidents continue to occur as a result of explosion of air raid
souvenirs (a number of these have occurred to the Eastern Region).
Members of the public are reminded that any unexploded shells,
bomb mine or doubtful object should immediately be reported to the
police or to the Air Raid Warden. On no
account should the object be handled or moved.
Scouts
The Brandon Scouts first Christmas
Party took place on Christmas Eve. They decorated their HQ
and invited parents along. Scoutmaster Mr G. Philpots,
organised a musical evening followed by games and a sausage and
mash dinner, with buns and mineral water.
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Warship
Week
Every year the towns and
villages of Britain would hold a savings week to encourage residents to
save their cash with various Government schemes, thus boosting the
economy. In February the Mildenhall Rural District Council decided to
hold a ‘Warship Week’ for March 21st - 28th. The aim is to raise
enough funds to ‘adopt’ a Minesweeper, H.M.S. Macbeth. The projected
figure was £62,000.
The final total at the end of the week
was £74,697
6s 9d.
The Secretary of the Admiralty sent a
letter to the M.R.D.C. expressing pleasure at the result of the
‘Warship Week’ in the district. H.M.S Macbeth had been adopted and a
commemorative plaque was to be sent to the district. The M.R.D.C. agreed
to respond to the gesture by presenting a plaque to H.M.S. Macbeth. It
cost £10 and was made of oak.
Family
tragedy
Here is a rather touching episode of
Brandon’s war years. Only two sentences long but very sad all the
same.
"The Sunday School were in
attendance at the funeral of 10 year old Sheila Ruth Branch,
of Thetford Road, who had died after a short illness in the West Suffolk
Hospital. While her mother was in attendance, her father, Sgt.
C. Branch was not there as he was reported as being missing in
action in Malaya."
What do I do...
So far as actual fighting is
concerned - and fighting is, of course, an even more important
contribution - men should train themselves before hand by
joining the Home Guard, since the fighting value of the
untrained amateur is very limited.
If the fighting comes close to
you, and if your town or village stands in the path of the
German hordes, then you will be very heavily shelled and bombed
much worse than an ordinary night blitz.
Casualties may be extremely high. During this, all who have no
fixed job must get into their slit trenches or shelters or other
cover nearby.
Fighters of all kinds (men and
women) carry on. Don’t panic and crowd the roads. If you
can’t stick it, your house is burning, etc. go into the nearby
fields and ditches; don’t crowd the roads. "Stay
Put" is a horrible slogan, as defeatist as "Safety
First". "Stand Firm and Fight" is more suited to
our race and tradition.
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Mildenhall
Rural District Council
A few events from the Mildenhall Rural
District Council, the forerunner to the Forest Heath District Council:
The Births and Deaths statistics for
the M.R.D.C. up to 1941 which were compiled by the Medical Officer, Dr.
Clayton and read as this:
| Births |
1939
-187 |
1940
- 195 |
1941
-215 |
| Deaths |
1939 -140 |
1940 -
171 |
1941
-168 |
1941
Deaths of infants = 5
Deaths from cancer = 27
Deaths from measles = 1
Deaths from Tuberculosis = 8
Deaths from Heart Disease = 41
Deaths from Bronchitis = 14 |
There were also:
14 cases of Scarlet Fever;
23 cases of Whooping Cough;
10 cases of Diphtheria;
88 cases of measles; |
- In July the Sanitary Inspector
stated that the water in the river was far from satisfactory.
- In April, the Council's surveyor
reported that the Ministry of Civil Defence had told him that
Morrison Table Bomb Shelters were available for distribution to
every household in Brandon, irrespective of income. However those
households with a surface shelter would not receive one.
- The M.R.D.C. made an appeal to
Brandon residents to "put out at least 6 unwanted books to be
collected with their refuse bins. Books should be protected from the
rain by placing under the bin’s lid or covered. Wet books will not
be collected."
- Ministry of Salvage Department had
informed the Council that the tonnage of bones so far collected was
far below what was expected. Bones were used for fats for explosion,
glycerin, glue, fertilisers and medical products.
Mr. Gentle (Vice
Chairman) had stated that he had seen an Army lorry dumping refuse in a
pit at Santon Downham. He took the number of the lorry and stopped to
questioned the men and obtained the name of their Commanding Officer.
It was decided that the Sanitary Inspector should report the matter to
the Army H.Q. and to the Ministry of Supply as there was a considerable
amount of salvage included in the refuse being dumped.
In May many Councilors expressed their concerns that they had been
experiencing trouble obtaining petrol so they could attend the Council
meetings.
Meat
Pies
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RURAL DISTRICT
COUNCIL OF MILDENHALL
UNRATIONED MEAT FOR
ALL
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| The above Council has arranged
for a delivery of
on TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS to all Parishes in
the Rural District.
As from TUESDAY, the 28th July, the Pies, price 3½d each,
will be on Sale at the addresses below:
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- Co-op Society, London
Road.
- P. W. Hyam, High Street.
- R. H. Zipfell, London Road.
- S. R. Bailey, Town Street. |
The pies will be available to
all residents in the area and the allocation will be one pie
per ration book per distribution. The public are requested to
place an order with a retailer for a weekly supply of pies and
so avoid disappointment. All orders for the initial supply
must be given by SATURDAY, the 25th July.
Please bring your own bags or
wrapping when collecting the pies.
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F.
DANNATT, |
| Council Offices,
Mildenhall |
Clerk to
the Council |
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The demand for the pies was so overwhelming that on July 15th the
Council were asked for a bigger van as an average of over 10,000
pies were being delivered each week.
New
Youth Organisations
As well as the Home Guard Brandon could
boast the emergence of a varied range of youth groups during the war
years.
The Brandon flight of the
Air
Training Corps was formed in late March and had 30 members
under Pilot Officer H. W. Lumsden. Meetings were held
on 4 evenings per week for instruction. Officer Lumsden also founded
flights in Hockwold, Methwold, Northwold and Feltwell.
The Girls
Training Corps was led by Commandant Miss W. Wilmshurst
though they had few members.
The Army
Cadet Corps consisted of 35 members under 2nd-Lieutenant
R. A. Baldock and they met 3 times a week.
The Youth
Movement held meetings, conducted by Miss Cynthia Holmes, every
Wednesday at the School. Other Instructors were: Mrs W. Woodrow,
Miss I. Byron, Miss Braybrook, Miss
W. Wilmshurst.
A Scout
Troop was formed on Monday 20th July with Mr. G.
Philpot of the Gas Works as Scoutmaster. The Cubs
were also revived under Miss H. Stanhope as Captain
Mistress. She was assisted by Lieutenant Thompson of
the Girl Guides.
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What do I do...
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to go "all out"
for victory?
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I SAVE everything I can for my
local salvage campaign - paper, metal, bones, food scraps.
I SAVE gas, electricity, coal, paraffin and water.
I SAVE money wherever possible and put it into War
Savings.
I SPEND every ounce of energy and every minute I can
spare in War Winning work. I help local voluntary organisations and if
I can, I dig for victory.
I know that everyone, including myself can do something.
Cut this out and keep it!
Issued by the Ministry of Information
Space presented to the Nation by the
Brewers’ Society.
The Battle For
Fuel
CHRISTMAS
PRESENT TO THE FORCES
Our men at the front cannot relax this
Christmas. Nor must you. There can be no truce, no armistice in the
Battle for Fuel.
Fuel savers have done well in the last few months. Any slacking now in
the saving of coal, coke, electricity, gas, paraffin -
even for a couple of days - would lose much of the ground we have just
gained.
There is no need for a cold, cheerless Christmas. But there IS need to
make sure that this Christmas will not lead to forgetfulness about fuel
saving. The best Christmas present
we can give our fighting forces is to keep on saving fuel so as to give
them more weapons.
CHRISTMAS ACTION
HINTS
1. Don’t ‘roar’
your re-
sources of coal away; and
don’t ‘let yourself go’ on
gas and electric fires.
Colder weather is coming.
2. Don’t forget that water
is precious - especially hot
water. Don’t wash up in
‘dribs and drabs’. Collect
a decent pile of dirty
crockery and make one
job of it.
3. Above all, share your |
FUEL SAVERS - FIGHT
ON!
firesides. It’s the get-to-
gether season and by get-
ting together around one
fire, two or three families
can keep really warm and
comfortable and still keep
their fuel consumption low.
4. Send a card to the Public
Relations Branch, Ministry
of Fuel and Power, Dean
Stanley Street, London,
S.W.1 for advice on how
to lag your pipes and tanks. |
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Singapore
Many Suffolk men's fate lay in the
hands of the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in 1941. The press
printed many reassuring tales from escaped British soldiers and
mentioned how well the P.O.W.s were being treated. There is no way of
knowing whether these tales were true, or if they were more an attempt
to reassure relatives of the Suffolk men caught up in the fall of
Singapore that their men were being treated well.
In fact during 1942 the true barbarity the men suffered was masked from
the general public.
These messages were
printed in the Bury Free Press:
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An officer of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders escaped
and a friend of our’s has just seen him. He says the
prisoners in Singapore are well treated on the whole and that
the Japanese General in charge of them is a Christian
churchman - a Roman Catholic - who was educated at Oxford ...
I do think the fact that the Christian General is in charge,
with English education, does make an enormous difference to
our anxiety and I hope will find strong hope in it.
" |
In June, from Cambridge
another letter:
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I have good news to give you. I had a letter from Ted
Furse’s mother this week. She has had word from the father
of a man who escaped 12 days after the fall of Singapore that
the prisoners were being well treated up to the day he left
and that all were at work repairing the damage that had been
done. It is a blessing that they have got something to pass
the time. How will they each react to this captivity I do not
know and we must just hope for the best. It is very comforting
in the meantime to have this news.
" |
And the Mayoress
of Bury St. Edmunds wrote an invitation to all relatives of
those missing in the Bury Free Press:
"We
should like, through your paper, to invite the next-of-kin of
the 5th Battalion Suffolk Regiment to come to a meeting at the
Athenaeum on Friday 26th June at 3 o’clock when it is hoped
we may be able to meet all those who have relatives in the
Battalion.
I am writing as the Chairman of a small welfare committee,
which was approved before the Battalion left England. We are
anxious to be of assistance in any way possible." |
Award for
local tractor driver
Mr Fred Harrington, of Lime Kiln Farm,
was awarded the British Empire Medal for gallantry displayed in
recovering injured members of an aircraft that had crashed nearby and
then burst into flames.
For more details click
here to turn to this page.
Cinema
In August, members of the M.R.D.C were
concerned that civilians were getting into the Sunday showings at the
cinema ahead of the troops.
Mr. F. W. Gentle stated, " I do think it’s
unfair when you see many troops turned away and civilians have all gone
in. I saw this happen last Sunday and it is not right at all. There
should be a certain time limit for troops to get in. Can we suggest any
way out of this matter? "
Mr. Wentworth-Smith replied, " I am in agreement
with Mr. Gentle. Let us do all we can for the troops in our midst, but
you have got to have some regard for your civilian workers. Most of them
are working overtime and late. Home Guards are working every night. Many
of them cannot get there on a week night. "
Women’s
Institute
The Women's Institute members were as active as always.
In January Mrs. Wentworth-Smith
Commandant of the Red Cross (Brandon) gave a speech to the W. I. She
spoke of the possibilities of an invasion and she asked for more
volunteers to carry out cooking and the nursing of any casualties,
should they arise, in the event of an invasion. She had several women
volunteer for the tasks.
In May the W.I. donated:
- £5 to the West Suffolk Hospital;
- £5 to the British Sailors’
Society; and
- £41 2s 6d of savings was saved by
the W.I. members during Warship Week.
The Women’s Unionist Association held
a meeting at Paget Hall, Brandon, with a prize awarded to the member who
had brought her gas mask. The prize was not won!
Fire!
Fire destroyed the roof of a boiler
house at Calders Ltd., Saw Mills on Saturday afternoon,
27th June. Volunteers with stirrup pumps attempted to control the blaze
until fire pumps from Brandon, Mildenhall and Bury St. Edmunds arrived.
Government
notices
These notices appeared in the local and national press, all of them
urging the population to get together on the ‘Home Front’ to save
money, energy and food, all in order to help the war effort.
| A married man
with one child whose wartime earnings are £6 per week pays
12s 4d a week in income tax, £29 11s in the year. Nobody
enjoys paying income tax, but it is better to do so than to
let a sailor go short of a depth charge and 200 rounds of
armour-piercing ammunition, which £29 11s will buy. |
Congratulations Mr
& Mrs E. Norton celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary on 21st
August. They married at the Thetford Registry Office in 1892. Mr
Norton (84) was born in Town Street and was a keen gardener and grew a
"fine bed of onions".
Mr Norton and Mrs Norton (71) have 6 married sons and daughters.
Mrs W. Royal, 3 Town Street; Mrs F. Zipfell, 149 London Road; Mrs P.
Turrington, 1 Town Street; Mr Reg Norton, 151 Thetford Road; Mr J.W.
Norton, 'Pine Villa', London Road; Mr Donald Norton, 'Woodcote', London
Road.
Paper salvage
The average paper salvage returns per
house in Brandon during 1942 was 47.8lbs.
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