"Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come." Carl Sandburg

Bit of history:  For Great Britain, World War Two began in September 1939.  Following Germany's invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany.  Nottingham was bombed on May 8th. and 9th., 1941, by the Nazi German Luftwaffe.  On May 8, 1945, Winston Churchill announced VE (Victory in Europe) Day, and for Britain the war was finally over.

King George VI shakes hands with British Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain as he left No., 10 Downing Street following the
declaration of war with Germany after the invasion of Poland in
September 1939.

Erik,
     Momma was 12 when the war started in 1939 and turned 18, fourteen days before the war ended.  Through the years she has shared many "home front" memories.  Enjoy!
                                     
                                   --Mom


                                                                                                                 

     "I remember the Sunday morning that war broke out.  It was 11 am., September 3, 1939, and we were all gathered around listening to the radio.   I was scared because we had seen pictures of the bombing of Poland (Germany invaded Poland in 1939), and we knew we were in for some of the same once the war got going.

     Dad was already in the Special Constabulary, an unarmed volunteer organization.  He was given a blue tin hat with Police stenciled on it, a night stick, a band to wear around his upper arm with "Special Constabulary" printed on it, and a military style gas mask.  That first night the sirens started wailing.  Oh, it was the most awful sound to my young ears.  Dad took off to patrol the streets with his partner.  I was sleeping in Mam and Dad's bedroom on a single bed pushed up against the outside wall of the room.  Shaking with fear, I jumped over into their bed and snuggled up to Mam.  

     After that I would not sleep in my own bed because I had visions of being blown into the street if a bomb dropped.  Mam and Dad moved the furniture around and placed my bed as far away from the window as possible.  Things were pretty quite for a few months, and then, a huge gun was placed on a nearby hill in a wooded copse (a small group of trees).  We called it Big Bertha; when it fired the doors and windows rattled.  Those living nearest to it even had windows broken!  The authorities came out with a lace covering with glue size on it.  We cut it to size and pasted it to the inside of the windows.  It stayed there until the war was almost over.   "

                                                                                                              --Joan  Shelton

Special Constabulary tin whistle

World War II tin armband

Special Constabulary tin hat

military-style, World War II gas mask
and carry bag

Bit of history:   "During the Second World War besides their normal duties such as subduing drunken brawls and arresting boys who stole apples, they (the Special Constabulary) were trained to deal with a wide range of eventualities such as first aid in case of injury, initial coordination of the security of aircraft crash sites, clearing people from the vicinity of unexploded bombs, handling of unignited incendiary bombs and checking compliance with lighting regulations."