A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.

Defence and Deception

The Airfield Deception Campaign

In 1939, the R.A.F. began planning with the Air Ministry to establish decoy airfields near to their

operational stations as they were vulnerable to being attacked. They needed the decoys to

divert the enemy bombing; dozens of dummy airfields began to be built with elaborate props

taken from the Shepperton Studios, London. To protect the real airfields, the dummies were

constructed in sparsely populated areas near to their parent station, where enemy bombers

would drop their bombs not realising that it was a fake airfield. Parent stations in the East Riding

were at Leconfield, Driffield, Catfoss, Pocklington and Holme-on-Spalding-Moor. Decoys were

built at Routh, Skipsea, Skerne, Kilham, Beeford, Burnby and South Newbald.

Photograph of Aldbrough bombing decoy as it was at the

end of the war, 13th April 1945

Dummy aircraft such as this were designed to confuse bombers that

were attacking airfields. Skipsea decoy, protecting Catfoss airfield, was

equipped with dummy aircraft.

To create further confusion the real airfields were disguised. A camouflage scheme, such as the one for

Pocklington airfield made the airfield appear as agricultural fields.

Protecting the city

In an effort to confuse German bombers heading for Hull, an arrangement of 47 water-filled

concrete tanks, each one illuminated by an overhead lamp, was constructed on the Outstray.

This was a large area of saltings on the north bank of the Humber estuary, downstream from

Hull. The tanks were designed and positioned in such a way as to simulate the Hull docks at

night in an imperfectly blacked out state.

The walls of the tanks were 0.5m high, and were either rectangular (9m by 5m), right-angled

triangle (6.5m by 6.5m) or pentagonal (10m by 9m).

The lamps were attached to the top of 3metre high wooden posts set in concrete and were

angled to shine onto the water- filled tanks. The overhead lamps were known as ‘Leaking

Lights’ and were operated by the Royal Navy from a post centred near Little Humber farm at

Paull.

The two drains situated at [1] were dammed to flood the area between them in imitation of the River Hull in 1941. [2] shows the area at

Cherry Cob Sands in Holderness, East Yorkshire where the decoy ponds (right) were situated.

Coastal defences

After the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 it was thought that

an invasion of British shores was very likely. The

Holderness Coast was very vulnerable and the landing

places for the enemy would certainly include Atwick,

Mappleton, Withernsea and Easington right down the

estuary to Sunk Island and Paull. Defence measures were

needed to prevent such attacks going unopposed.

Along the beaches of the Holderness coast, pillboxes

were to be built and the Home Guard and Territorials were

given training. Pillboxes were very important for coastal

defence, the only snag being they were static. They were

solidly made and were tough obstacles for attacking

forces throughout the Second World War. They were

manned 24 hours a day.

During the winter of 1939 the Germans began to drop magnetic mines in the Humber. It was the

job of the ‘Wrens’ (Women’s Royal Naval Service) who were deployed at Fort Paull to degauss

ships using electric cables laid over the river bed, so would not set off the magnetic mines.

Beach defences were a matter of urgency; soldiers and civil engineers caused great concern as

the first rolls of barbed wire were washed out with the tide. A row of scaffolding to prevent tanks

and vehicles landing and large anti-tank blocks were created. On top of the cliffs there were

reinforced concrete pill boxes and six pounder gun emplacements.

The other defences, such as anti-aircraft batteries

and, most importantly, the development of radar

played a key part in the defence of Britain. Anti-

aircraft batteries, such as that at Hornsea, operated

searchlights against incoming German raids. The

searchlights were mainly used to enable gunners to

take accurate aim at night, but they could be used to

help damaged bombers navigate in the dark on their

return. This was not without its hazards. Mary

Latham of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS)

reported that: “During our time in Hull we shot down

one of our own aircraft (a Wellington) the crew gave

us the wrong signal. Fortunately he landed safely

with just the tail missing. We were commended for

our accurate firing but the crew were not impressed.

Hull was badly hit at the time.”

In the end Britain was not invaded but all that had been put in place seemed to be a deterrent.

At the end of the war all the defences were dismantled. “The beaches were cleared and paths

made through the maze of barbed wire”. Traps were still about but “still one must not complain

as at least one could wander along the shore, swim or sunbathe”.

Pillboxes, Paull

Coastal defences, Holderness coast

Stone Creek anti-aircraft battery

Located at the western end of Sunk Island, between Hull and

Spurn Head, Stone Creek has the best preserved remains of a

WWII Heavy Anti-aircraft gun site in the East Riding. Even the

domestic buildings, although ruined, are a rare survival; at

most other sites they have been demolished. The site was

originally known as Station J when it opened in September

1939, fitted with 3 inch guns. From August 1941 it became

Station H9. At around the same women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service were at the site as

radar operators.

The site was abandoned in November 1944 when the

guns and staff were moved to Ringborough, on the

coast near Aldbrough, to counter the threat from the

V1 flying bomb. The remains of this installation have

been lost to coastal erosion, as have the remains of

the ancient village of Ringborough.

Stone Creek, west of Sunk Island

Remains of the Stone Creek gun emplacements.

Drawings of aircraft at Stone Creek HAA site,

presumably to aid distinguishing friend and foe.

Impressive remains of Sunk Island battery. It was

originally built during the Great War to defend the Humber

estuary. It was reactivated during WWII and equipped with

two 4.7 inch quick firing guns. It was also the Control

Centre for an anti-submarine minefield in the river.

A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.

Auxiliaries and Territorials

In 1940 the threat of invasion became imminent as the Germans had begun to assemble a massive force on the other side of the English Channel. With the amount of equipment losses in France,

and the lack of reserves, this became a critical time in our defence of Great Britain. Defences such as using canals and rivers as gigantic anti-tank ditches were in place; but Winston Churchill

realised that this was not enough to slow any enemy. One solution was the creation of a highly secret volunteer army of saboteurs called the ‘Auxiliary Units’.

Training

Men would be discreetly invited to join a local Auxiliary unit

because they possessed a valued skill such as

marksmanship, or knowledge of the local landscape. Most of

the patrol leaders would be recruited from the Home Guard,

with only the best and fittest men selected. They were not

enrolled in the regular forces; they were in effect private

citizens.

The county was under the control of an Intelligence Officer

who was a volunteer forces officer with the rank of Captain.

The men would have to sign the Official Secrets Act and would have their own, and their

families’ backgrounds checked for security.

Auxiliary Unit training

The Auxiliaries were intended to carry out sabotage, guerrilla warfare

and spying. Emerging at night from their Underground operations

bases, their purpose was to carry out attacks against enemy targets

such as supply dumps, railway lines, convoys and enemy occupied

airfields. In the East Riding, Brough, Catfoss, Driffield, Leconfield and

Cottam were listed as Class 1 airfields, and many Operational Bases

were sited near these for high priority of sabotage in the event of an

invasion.

Auxiliary Unit badge

Hideouts

Each Auxiliary Patrol had an Operational Base or hideout. Auxiliary Unit hideouts were all made

differently, but were large enough to house six or seven men. Usually constructed underground,

the hideouts were eventually fitted with bunks, cooking stoves, Tilley lamps and chemical toilets.

They were stocked with enough food and water to sustain a patrol for as long as a month.

Most hideouts had plenty of room for the patrols’

arms, ammunition and sabotage material, but an

extra hide could be dug nearby to hold stores of

additional food and ammunition.

Engineers would dig a giant hole for the secret

bunkers, then lay a concrete floor and roof it with

a half-cylinder of corrugated iron. They were 12

to 15 feet in length and tall enough to stand up in.

One end had an entrance shaft that was lined

with brick or corrugated iron. At the other end

was an escape tunnel, often a tube made of con-

crete that ran 20 to 30 feet away from the base.

Plan of Rise Auxiliary Unit hideout.

Intelligence Officer

In 1940, Captain Peter Hollis became the Intelligence Officer for the

Auxiliary unit in East Yorkshire. He was the son of the Vicar of

Hornsea, Canon Hollis.

In 1939, Captain Hollis had volunteered for the Territorial Army in the

East Yorkshire Regiment, aged 19. In May 1940 after the Dunkirk

Operation he volunteered for the role as Intelligence Officer. Captain

Hollis controlled the East Yorkshire area as far as the village of

Bainton.

Cottingham Patrols

The Operational Base for the Cottingham North Patrol was

on the site of the Grange at Harland Rise, Cottingham. The

hide was beneath a greenhouse and the patrol was once

almost wiped out by fumes from the boiler house. Fortunately

patrol member Dr Lindsay who had been on a call returned to

find his comrades on the point of death .

Cottingham North Patrol Members in 1944 Sgt Jack H. Steel, Sanitary Inspector,d.o.b.10.09.1908

Cpl Joseph Long, Grocer, 17.07.1897

Pte John G. Lindsay, Doctor (GP)

Pte Ronald Newlove, Fitter, 19.11.1926

Pte Mark K. Wilson, Market Gardener, 04.12.1913

Pte Alan Bolton, Farmer, 25.12.1926

Pte John S. Rhodes, Butcher, 24.06.1913

Map showing the location of the Operational

Base of Cottingham North Patrol at

Cottingham Grange

Members of Cottingham Auxiliary Unit

Drawing of Cottingham South patrol’s hideout

East Riding Yeomanry in WWII

The East Riding Yeomanry (ERY) was a local

Territorial Army armoured unit based in

Hull .In 1939 it consisted of two regiments:

the 1st and 2

nd ERY. In February 1940 the 1

st

ERY was sent to join the British

Expeditionary Force in France whilst the 2nd

ERY remained at home. The Germans

invaded France and the Low Countries on

10th May 1940, quickly breaking through the

Allied Lines. The 1st ERY was thrown into

battle, fighting seven rear guard actions

before being surrounded and destroyed at

Cassel on 29th May. Only about half escaped

via Dunkirk; 55 were killed and the rest

captured.

The 1st ERY was brought up to strength by the 2

nd ERY (which was disbanded) and spent the

next 4 years training in preparation for D-Day. The regiment landed on Sword beach and was

involved in the bitter fighting in Normandy, afterwards liberating Le Havre in September 1944.

Following heavy fighting to free Holland in October 1944, the regiment was rushed south to

block any German advance north during “The Battle of the Bulge”. The 1st ERY subsequently

supported the Allied counterattack in the bitter

winter temperatures of January 1945.

The ERY was re-equipped with “Buffalo”

amphibious vehicles, taking part in the assault

crossing of the Rhine in March 1945, ferrying

troops and supplies over the river.

After this their tanks were returned and at the

end of the war they occupied Kiel and Laboe

on the German Baltic coast. The regiment was

demobilised in 1946, to be reformed in the

Territorial Army in 1947.

East Riding Yeomanry camp in 1939/40 (Treasure House collection)

ERY prisoners of war in Germany (Treasure House collection.)

East Riding Yeomanry - D-Day

The D-Day landings began on 6th June 1944. These images show the involvement of the East

Riding Yeomanry in that campaign. Pictures courtesy of East Riding Archives and the Imperial

War Museum.

Above Sherman tanks waiting to go into action,

June 1944

ERY landing during a D-Day rehearsal

ERY tanks moving to the front, January 1945 ERY tanks advancing, October 1944

A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.

Bombs and V-weapons

Leaving aside members of the armed forces who might be on active service abroad, one of the biggest impacts of the war on the population was the air war. In the summer of 1940, the Germans

attempted to defeat the Royal Air Force in the ‘Battle of Britain’ and in 1944 the so-called ‘Vengeance weapons’ (the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket) brought terror to civilian populations far from

the war fronts. Although not in itself a key target area for the German Luftwaffe, the East Riding did see a lot of activity during the Battle of Britain. It lay across the route to the industrial cities of the

West Riding and was adjacent to the port city of Hull, the most bombed city in Britain after London.

Bombing in East Yorkshire

Much of the bombing activity in our area was as a result of

German bombers which had lost their way and needed to

offload their bombs somewhere before making their way

home. Sometimes too, they may have misidentified targets.

Otherwise, it is difficult to explain bombs falling in isolated

rural fields, troubling some livestock, but very few people.

Coastal ports were more intentional targets, and Bridlington

in particular received much attention, with Hornsea and

Withernsea also seeing raids. Likewise, there were deliberate

attacks on the Blackburn aircraft factory at Brough and the oil

terminal at Saltend.

Hull may have suffered as many as 82 air raids, with about

1200 people being killed. In the East Riding, the figure was

much lower – 82 civilians and 39 military personnel (mainly

on airfields, such as RAF Leconfield).

Article from the Hull Daily Mail 7 April 1940

V-1

In general the ‘V’ weapons were not a problem in this

region. They were launched from sites in the Calais

area to concentrate on the south coast of England.

They only had fuel for about 30 minutes flying time

and so could not reach the north of England.

In order to attack industrial cities in the north, V-1

missiles were launched from Heinkel 111 bombers

from off the mouth of the Humber. During such a mass

attack on Christmas Eve 1944, a V-1 aimed at

Manchester fell short and landed in Willerby, causing

damage to houses and a pumping station.

V-1 missiles relatively short range and were also very

inaccurate: when the rocket engine cut out they fell to

the ground like any other bomb. One cunning German

scheme to determine where the V-1s had landed was

to load some with leaflets called V1 P.O.W. Post

which purported to contain letters from prisoners of

war to their families. The leaflets asked finders to post

them on to the relatives; this would enable those who

dispatched to rocket to know where it had fallen.

Photograph of a crashed Heinkel 111H, possibly near

Garrowby. From the Hull Daily Mail 7th April 1940.

Leaflet dropped with V-1 flying bombs

Norah Pinder, air-raid warden

Norah Pinder was an air-raid warden who was interviewed in 1999 as part of a programme of

collecting oral histories. Air Raid Precaution wardens (ARPs) had wide ranging powers (in

addition to the police) to enforce blackouts and to control traffic flow, as well as to watch for

fires, set off air raid sirens, direct people to bomb shelters and help casualties.

Norah Pinder’s husband was seconded to Hull Fire Brigade and she was often on her own at

their cottage in Skidby during air raids. ‘He was in Hull most of the time’. If the sirens were

sounding when the Hull bus reached Skidby, then the driver was put up in her house and the

bus went back after the raid. Trained medical personnel were also sometimes called into Hull if

there had been a heavy raid with lots of casualties.

Norah recounted stories that showed that stray bombs falling could have consequences both

serious and comical:

‘Yes, light bombs, fire bombs. They were fire ones. And it set most of the trees alight up there.

We found one at the top of our garden. One that hadn’t gone off. There were quite a lot of

incendiary bombs dropped….There was a big one dropped, that’s down at the bottom of Church

Rise [in Skidby],…..there was a big one dropped there at Cherry Trees.’ (‘Mr Dixon (a

neighbour) fell on an incendiary bomb, on his face, it was a mess. There was an old lady at the

end cottage….she always used to put her fur coat on every time the sirens blew and she always

had a light on - I used to say - turn that light off. [She replied] When I’ve put my coat on!’

Presumably the lady wanted to look her best if she was an air raid casualty! Remembering that

Norah was an air raid warden, the lady’s behaviour must have caused her some annoyance as

she was charged with ensuring there was a blackout. Norah Pinder interview, ERYC Museums

collection)

Bombs fall on Bridlington

PC Jackson of Bridlington

showing off an unexploded

bomb (from a private

collection)

Attack on RAF Driffield

At around midday on 15th August 1940, about 50

Junkers JU88 bombers attacked Driffield

aerodrome killing seven ground crew, including a

member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, five

members of the East Yorkshire Regiment, a Royal

Artillery gunner and one civilian. 169 bombs were

dropped and twelve Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

aircraft were destroyed. The attack was part of a

larger operation in which German bombers based

in Denmark planned to attack a number of airfields

in the north of England. Fighters from Leconfield

and Church Fenton (now Leeds East Airport)

prevented most of the force reaching its intended targets. The only successful attack was that

on RAF Driffield.

One survivor of the attack was an airframe fitter

who was in the guardhouse having ‘borrowed’ a

Fairy Battle single engine bomber for a ‘joy ride’.

The guardhouse was demolished in the Luftwaffe

attack but the offender walked away unharmed.

It is noticeable that the fatalities in the attack were

all ground crew. Because of the risk of attack most

of the aircrew, including overseas pilots from

Canada, New Zealand, Poland and Australia, were

billeted in and around Driffield, including 20 at

Sunderlandwick Hall which burned down on VJ Day

in 1945. The present hall hosts the Driffield Golf

Club.

Aerial view of Driffield airfield

Hangar, Driffield airfield

The threat of bomb damage to key public services was recognised and local authorities took

precautionary measures where they could. For example, in Pocklington a series of dwarf walls

were built across the Beck, allowing water to be collected in pools. This would provide an

emergency supply of water should the water mains be damaged in a raid. Control centres were

set up in larger towns and useful supplies stock piled there. Recently some WWII era canvas

stretchers were found in the basement at Bridlington Town Hall and two have been added to

the Museum Service’s collections. Whilst local authorities struggled to maintain some basic

services, much of their business in the war years inevitably related to the conflict.

Bridlington Battle Honours

In 1942 a plaque was presented to Alderman T.D. Fenby JP,

Mayor of Bridlington and chairman of the Air Raid Precautions

committee, which listed the bombing raids on Bridlington for the

period October 1939 to October 1941. Forty three separate

incidents are itemised for the two years.

The list distinguishes what weapons the bombers were delivering.

The least deadly event was the dropping of leaflets over a wide

area to the north of Bridlington on 4/5 August 1940. Types of

bombs were mostly high explosive (H.E.) and incendiary bombs

(I.B.), designed to cause fire. There were also 2 Parachute Mines,

2 Oil Bombs, 2 “G” mines and one Sea Mine.

The most severe bombing was in May 1941. On May 3rd-4th six high explosive and 160

incendiary bombs fell on the ‘cemetery, near Baker’s Café, Sewerby Drive’ and on May 11th-

12th 14 H.E. and 500 I.B. fell on ‘South Pier, South Side Beach, King Street, Windsor Crescent,

Manor Street, New Burlington Road, Hilderthorpe Road’.

Sketch showing bomb damage in Bridlington

harbour (Sewerby Hall collection)

A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.

Women at War

Amy Johnson

One celebrity pilot in the ATA was Amy Johnson (1903-1941), the first

woman to fly solo to Australia. She joined the ATA in May 1940, based at

RAF Hatfield, with the rank of 2nd

officer. Initially Amy ferried training

aircraft such as Tiger Moths to squadrons in the north of England and

Scotland. On 5th January 1941 Amy’s Airspeed Oxford transport ditched

in the Thames Estuary (she had probably run out of fuel and lost her way

in bad weather) and an attempt to rescue her

was unsuccessful. A pigskin bag found at the

crash scene and the ATA badge from her

spare uniform are amongst relics in the Amy

Johnson collection at Sewerby Hall near

Bridlington.

Air Transport Auxiliary

The role of the air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was to ferry

newly produced planes from factories and airfields to RAF

bases for active service. The women’s section of the ATA

was created in January 1940, led by Pauline Gower, initially

consisting of just eight female pilots. Initially confined to

delivering training and transport aircraft, the Women’s ATA

had to overcome considerable prejudice about female flying capabilities before being able to fly

large bombers and also the famous (and fast) ‘Spitfire’ and ‘Hurricane’ fighters. From 1943

female ATA personnel had the same pay as the men, a first for that period.

ATA women wore a dark navy blue tunic, RAF type shirt and black tie and slacks (skirts were

only worn off duty). RAF wings were worn on the tunic, along with rank indications. Some

wealthier pilots did unofficially sew brightly coloured linings into their tunics!

Service in the ATA was far from routine. Although operating mostly in the UK, they were still

flying in a combat zone, with no radios, and usually unarmed. ATA pilots were therefore

vulnerable to being shot down by the Germans or by their own side if misidentified by anti-

aircraft positions on the ground. In all 174 ATA pilots were killed during the war (about 15 were

women); their courageous services freed up large numbers of trained RAF pilots for front line

roles.

Amy Johnson’s ATA badge

Dorothy Robson - ‘Bomb Sight Bertha’

After studying for a Physics degree at Leeds University,

which was remarkable for a woman in 1940, Dorothy

Robson joined the Ministry of Aircraft Production. She

was initially based at Farnborough, where the work she

undertook was so secret, that not even her parents

knew about it. Dorothy became an expert in the

development of the bomb aiming equipment and,

because of her diligence, commanded respect

wherever she worked.

Dorothy was later sent to work predominantly on the

Bomber Command airfields in the north of England.

Her job led to her being nicknamed Bomb Sight Bertha, although she was also referred to as

the girl with the laughing eyes, which illustrates the affection felt for her by the crews with

whom she worked.

On November 3rd

1943, a week before her 24th birthday, Dorothy was testing a bomb sight in a

new Halifax bomber (‘Hetty the Hefflump’), flying out of Holme-on-Spalding-Moor airfield.

Tragically, the plane crashed onto the Wolds at Enthorpe near Market Weighton and Dorothy,

along with the crew of five, were all killed. It is a measure of her dedication that she had

insisted on being present for the test, in order that the equipment was thoroughly checked.

The Land Army

The Women’s Land Army (WLA) was originally established

during the First World War, but was reconstituted during

WWII. It’s primary purpose was to ensure an adequate supply

of food for the home population as a large proportion of the

male workforce in the countryside was called up for military

service. The WLA were eventually involved in all aspects of

agriculture including driving tractors and other machinery,

planting crops and looking after animals. Sometimes they had

to work alongside German and Italian prisoners of war and

although fraternisation was officially banned, relationships

could (and did) develop.

The WLA met considerable opposition in some quarters, with

many farmers for example feeling that women would simply

not be strong enough for farming work. It is certainly true that

with women volunteering from all walks of life, some found

their new circumstances harder than others.

Surviving accounts tell of the comradeship and the

laughs that were had, but also make clear the

unremitting hard work and often basic living conditions.

Despite the initial prejudice, the WLA kept the country

fed through the war and proved its worth.

WLA enrolment card: conditions were a bit hard!

Land girls, Market Weighton

Rat catchers

Official recognition was a long time coming – it was not until 2007 that surviving members were

awarded a badge for all their efforts.

Women’s Voluntary Service

Originally created in 1938, the organisation became the Royal

Voluntary Service from 1966.

Set up by the Government, its original aim was ‘the enrolment of

women for air raid precaution services for local authorities’ and

more generally, to spread knowledge in civilian circles as to what to

do during and after air raids.

Technically, there were no ranks in the WVS, but there were titles.

The organisation was split into 12 regions, with almost 2000

centres during the war. Women from all classes of society joined.

This social diversity did raise some issues with regard to uniforms.

In June 1939, a suit uniform, hat and overcoat could be obtained, but as these were made by

Harrods, they were rather expensive for working women! Uniforms therefore remained optional,

and many wore their own clothes with just a WVS badge for identification.

WVS members were employed in a wide variety of roles and were an important and much

appreciated resource. For example they staffed canteens for those fighting fires, drove

ambulances and operated information points during air raids. They also greeted returning

soldiers, handing out clothes, food and drink.

Service in the WVS counted as war service and members were therefore eligible for the

Defence Medal after the war ended.

Eileen Medford – recollections

We went out to whatever farm we had to go to, either picking potatoes, weeding carrots on

your hands and knees – awful job that, I think that’s why we’ve all got bad knees now, all the

kneeling in the damp grounds.

I more or less worked along with the men. I had a good set of men to work with and I worked

the same hours as they did… So I worked then amongst…, you know doing everything on the

farm, I was just the same as an ordinary man – tractoring. Some of the men at some of the

farms weren’t [O.K. with girls coming in]. They were, you know, resentful because they were

girls from towns. Granted some of them had never seen a cow in their lives, they were terrified

of them.

I was lucky, I worked with horses. I had big shire horses to work with, 18 hand shire horses.

They were big horses. They were a pair of old horses, well I say old, they were knowledgeable

horses. They knew what to do if you went to put a head collar on one of them he would

immediately lift his head as high as he could do, where he should have put it down – he knew

what he was doing. And when it was towards dinner time he knew it was it was dinner time and

he would stop and wouldn’t go any further….

I worked on threshing machines, yes. Most of the girls had to carry caff as they called it, that

was the husks and all the stuff that came out the bottom. You had to bundle it up, put it on your

back and carry it away. Well I did do that occasionally...but mainly I was allowed to work on the

machine, I was insured to do that you see. We used to carry corn, we used to do all sorts.

Eileen Medford was originally from Hull and commuted by train to Market Weighton when she

joined the Land Army. Later she lived in a Land Army hostel and then on one of the farms until

she married at the end of the War. These recollections were recorded by Jayne Fisher in

January 2008.

Factories

With men in the services many of

their jobs had to be done by women.

Women worked in ship building,

factories and particularly munitions

They had to learn new skills such as

handling machinery and welding as

in this painting by Bernard Casson

which shows factory workers in Hull

making military vehicles. (Beverley

Art Gallery collection)

A Skidby volunteer team exhibition about WWII, to mark the 75th anniversary of VE day.

Aliens — friend and foe

Whilst the Second World War pitted nations against others, it also brought different peoples and cultures together on a scale which had never occurred before in Britain. As British service men and

women landed on foreign soils across the world, foreign nationals including refugees, allies and prisoners of war arrived in Britain, including the East Riding.

Thousands of people from overseas found themselves in the East Riding between 1939 and 1945, indeed the number of inhabitants across the East Riding who did not come into contact with foreign

nationals at some point during the war must have been very few. Memories of French, Italians, Germans, Polish, Americans and Canadians loom large in the recollections of locals who lived through

this time, and they provide an insight into the curiosity, amusement and empathy that was often felt towards those from other countries who found themselves far from home amidst the conflict.

Prisoners of War

The Riding’s largely remote location and rural economy made it favourable for the holding of

enemy prisoners of war. There were camps at Welton, Goole, Bishop Burton, Rudston and

West Cowick. The first POW’s held in Britain were German pilots, aircrew and naval personnel,

however, these were only small in number. The first major influx of enemy prisoners occurred

from July 1941 when Italians captured in the Middle East arrived on British shores.

The arrival of these Italians allowed the Government to begin alleviating the labour shortage

particularly within agriculture. Gordon Bulmer recalls encountering Italian POWs at South Cave

as a teenager in 1941:

“We went down into the woods and said “what

are we going to eat” and they said “well

there’s some pigeons here” so one of them

had a catapult so I said “well you shoot a

pigeon and we can roast it” y’see? …this was

going down into South Cave in the woods

there and then suddenly this man appeared

and he was an Italian prisoner of war … their

camp was on the way down that hill into

South Cave on the left hand side. They had

some Nissen huts, they were working on the

lands of the farmers and he said “don’t do

that” this Italian, he said “come and have tea

and a cake with us” and we went into this

camp and all the chalk in the area they’d

carved it into beautiful statues did the Italian

prisoners and he said “sit down and he said

the only thing is we can’t buy anything in the

shops because we only have prisoner of war

money and we can only use that at sort of the

NAAFI but we could use it if you could change

one of my notes for one of your notes”. So I

think we swapped a pound coin or something

can’t remember what it was a pound note I

suppose it was in those days and he gave us

this prisoner of war money for it.”

After the Italian surrender on 3 September 1943, some 100,000 Italians volunteered to work as

‘co-operators’. They were given freedom and mixed with local people. Ted Williamson from

Hornsea recalled how he encountered Italian ‘co-operators’ in the Holderness area:

“When the Italians changes sides, well they surrendered, all their prisoners were effectively

released and they all found bikes from somewhere and I used to see dozens of them at

Thorngumbald and the Germans were at Roos and I think the Italians were at Burstwick

somewhere and they [the Italians] all used to come into Withernsea ‘cos they used to get 10

bob a week pocket money and I suppose they could have a drink and chat up the local lasses.”

In Britain, the Italians were joined by German POWs just over a year later following the D-Day

landings in the summer of 1944. Although there was an initial reluctance to utilise German

labour for the war-effort some 70,000 were working across Britain by March 1945. Ted’s wife,

Joyce recollected German POWs working in the Holderness area and how bonds were formed

between locals and captives:

“The Brown’s they had three German prisoners of war who worked at the Church Farm at Sunk

Island and I remember one of them was called Karl and I remember my mother saying that he

was a lovely lad was Karl and when they started to repatriate them to their own country Karl did

not want to go home! But they made him go back, but some of the prisoners of war did stay.”

Allies

Amongst Britain’s allies, it was the French who

were the first large overseas group to arrive in

Britain. After the evacuation of Dunkirk

between 26th May and 4th June 1940,

thousands of French found themselves in

Britain. Betty Atkinson related her memories of

the ‘Free French’ who resided in Hornsea:

“We had Free French [in Hornsea],...for quite a

while. I don’t know why they ended up in

Hornsea they were just landed on us and we

just took it for granted like. They used to do

exercises in the park, you know? and they

weren’t any bother a lot of the girls went with

‘em.”

From the very early stages of the conflict the RAF and Fleet Air Arm also included personnel

from outside of the United Kingdom. The open and flat expanses of land in the East Riding,

coupled with the region’s close proximity to occupied Europe made it suitable for the

establishment of airbases and therefore the

arrival of a large number of foreign pilots.

Many of these were exiles from Nazi-occupied

Europe and also some American emigrants.

James Hardy of Beverley reminisced about a

particularly dramatic episode involving a

Polish pilot:

“One night my dad said to me, come and have

a look here, they’ve shot a Jerry down! and

we went outside to see this plane coming

down in flames and the next day we went to

look and it [the plane] was in a field opposite

Figham, he’d crashed in there and the pilot

had bailed out and he was a Pole – a Polish

pilot and he was in a [Hawker] Hurricane [aircraft] and they took him in and they thought he was

a Jerry.”

The number of foreign allies on British soil swelled hugely following the entry of the United

States into the War, particularly from 1942. Over two million American servicemen passed

through Britain during the Second World War. In the East Riding, Beverley was a major station

for Americans. Beverlonian Barbara Oxtoby remembered:

“We saw the Americans [in Beverley] and we lived next door to Mr Brantano’s which was a

garage and these Americans used to all come and collect there at the garage – why? I don’t

know and I was really shy, I’d be about 2 or 3 [years old] and they used to try to talk to me but I

can remember them offering me a stick of Wrigley’s chewing gum and we’d never seen that

before.”

The village of Cottingham too was well-known American base. Dorothy Catterick remembered

her intrigue seeing the ‘Yanks’:

“The Americans came [to Cottingham] which was a big thing and they were near to us ‘cos they

were at The Lawns – what is now The Lawns and we used to see them marching which, to me,

was the most humorous thing – they marched and they chanted and they’d go so many paces

one and then huh! So many paces the other and we just thought that this was so strange ‘cos

we’d go to the end of Park Lane as they were marching down Hallgate.– it was the time of “got

any gum chum?” and they gave nylons out to their ladies.”

Vivienne Wray also remembered the Americans in Cottingham:

I remember my dad saying “now don’t you dare ask them [American troops] for gum’! My mum

used to have some [American troops] to Sunday lunch and they used to bring something with

them – they weren’t on rations like we were – they’d bring a couple of chickens with them and

my mum would cook them and they [the soldiers] always needed a bath because there were no

baths were they were situated

Migrant Workers

POWs were not the only foreigners to work on the land during wartime. Former Land Girl

Gwendolyn Pinder explained how non-native migrants worked alongside British labourers at

North Ferriby:

“Erna was a Land Girl – she was Austrian, but lived in Ferriby, she came from Austria [before

the war] as an au pair and she married Tom Cooper. There were quite a few Irish men working

there, they’d come from Ireland to work on Market Gardening – tomatoes and cucumbers

because it [North Ferriby] was quite a big area for market gardening.”

West Indian serviceman Billy Strachan (far left) was stationed in

Brough during the war.

“Softies”

The Italians used to serenade us. They had

a cook with them making coffee in the field.

They were at Storwood camp, they were

very artistic and they made beautiful

fountains there. They used to make ‘gold ‘

rings for farmers 'wives (brass of course)

and they used to rub them on their trousers.

They had these uniforms with round

patches like targets so they could be shot

when escaping., a patch on their leg and on

their back They were real softies though….

They were happy days.

Muriel Berzins - oral history, Guildhall

collection. Model plane hand-crafted and given to Joan Burnett and her sister

by prisoners of war who worked on their father’s farm at Cottingwith.

Storwood POW camp was at Cottingwith.

Womens’ Land Army girl Lena (Laverack) marrying an American

soldier at Welton church November 1944

German prisoner of war farm worker and horse

Land Army girls with Italian prisoners of war.