Judy Middleton 2003 (revised 2023)
 |
| (Brighton
& Hove under Fire) St Richard’s Road was bombed in August 1942. |
Pre-war Precautions
The Sussex Daily News (23 September 1938)
reported that so many people crowded into Portslade Hall in Abinger Road, for the launch of
Portslade Council’s ARP (Air-Raid Precautions) Scheme that they overflowed into
the lobby and ante-rooms as well as onto benches at the back of the platform.
Mr F.T. Holden, local ARP organiser, said they needed a
minimum of 494 volunteers and perhaps twice that number if proper relief were
to be given. The numbers broke down as follows:
101 air-raid wardens
120 first aid workers
46 for the medical transport service
29 for work in rescue parties
33 for the decontamination service
31 for gasmask assembly
40 for messenger services
54 auxiliary firemen
In addition 67 lorries and 14 private cars were also
needed.
At the close of the meeting 25 ARP badges were distributed
to members of the St John Ambulance Brigade and the Red Cross who had gained
their gas training certificates.
By 13 October 1938 it was stated that the response to the appeal launched on 23 and 30 September had been good and 312 people had volunteered. However, it was also felt that volunteers were not coming forward fast enough.
By 13 October 1938 it was stated that the response to the appeal launched on 23 and 30 September had been good and 312 people had volunteered. However, it was also felt that volunteers were not coming forward fast enough.
It was hoped Portslade Council would obtain a 60% grant
from the Government towards the cost of sandbags and planks for shelters and
trenches.
Later in October 1938 mothers and children lined up at
Portslade Hall to be fitted with gas masks while Red Cross nurses were on hand
to pacify troublesome youngsters. The assembling team made up the gas masks at
the old Portslade Police Station at 108 North Street.
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| copyright © D.Sharp St Nicolas Church Hall in Abinger Road, was let to Portslade Urban District Council for ARP purposes and renamed 'Portslade Hall' for the duration of the Second World War. (The Church sold the building in the 1960s to fund a new Parish Centre near St Nicolas Church in the Old Village.) |
In April 1939 equipment for air-raid wardens was listed as
follows:
26 notebooks
26 torches
26 whistles
26 rattles
11 hand-bells
11 first aid outfits
East Sussex County Council wanted sandbags to be stored in
the area at the equivalent of three sandbags per head of population. This meant
36,000 sandbags weighing a total of seven tons. But Portslade had no suitable
place for storing sandbags, which because of the weight needed to be on the
ground floor. It was suggested a steel garage should be purchased at a cost of
£18-10s. Other equipment could be stored at the old Police Station in North Street.
On 8/9 July 1938 and 9/10 August 1938 a blackout exercise
was held in which all ARP personnel took part.
Air-raid Shelters
Air-raid shelters at the old Windlesham House School were
dug under the playground. They were tunnel-like structures and the boys sat
facing each other.
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| copyright © J.Middleton The 14th Battalion (Hove) Sussex Home Guard 19th Platoon were photographed in 1943 outside what had been Windlesham House School. In the second row, third from left, is Sergeant Deacon; fourth from the left is Lieutenant Howard. |
It was stated that the three schools in the vicinity of
Southern Cross could take shelter in the trenches it was proposed to construct
in Victoria Recreation Ground. However, there must have been a change of heart
because air-raid shelters were created at St Nicolas School. Sandbags protected
the original structures but in 1942 the Ringmer Construction Company erected
brick-built shelters.
In May 1939 it was stated that trenches were to be sited
in the grounds of St Peter’s School (the former St Andrew's Junior School) and the scheme was implemented in the
summer. It was put about that a new drainage scheme was being installed; indeed
there was some truth in the matter because standard 6-foot diameter concrete
drainage pipes around 70 feet in length were used for the six tunnels. A brick
passageway connected the tunnels. Wooden benches for staff and children lined
the tunnels and there were chemical toilets at the end.
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| copyright © D.Sharp St Peter’s School was more than adequately provided with air-raid shelters |
These air-raid shelters remain in existence to this day.
They were opened to the public for the first time on 19 August 1995 as part of
the celebrations for VJ Day. In subsequent years the tunnels have been open for
inspection on one day as part of Portslade Festival. On 26 June 1999 the cost
of admittance was 60 pence per person. By 21 June 2003 two tunnels were on view
and the cost had risen to £1.
The tunnels are reached down a flight of steps on the north side of the school grounds. The air seems surprisingly good and the tunnels do not seem to be damp.
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| copyright © St Peter's Community Primary School St Peter's Community Primary School's Second World War Air Raid Shelters |
The tunnels are reached down a flight of steps on the north side of the school grounds. The air seems surprisingly good and the tunnels do not seem to be damp.
It is estimated the tunnels could have accommodated 2,000
people and obviously it was a larger enterprise than providing shelter just for
the school. It was realised that Shoreham Harbour was likely to become a target
and the tunnels were somewhere the workers and local people could take refuge.
In January 1942 Mr H.F. Parker told Portslade Council that
the town was in a much better position with regard to air-raid shelters. The
considerable chain of surface shelters authorised by the Ministry of Home
Security had now been completed. As many as 677 Morrison shelters had been
delivered and 25 Anderson shelters were in place.
War Effort
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| copyright © Brighton & Hove City Libraries Revd E.P.W. Holmes was vicar of St Nicolas Church from 1933 to 1946. |
Emergency water reservoirs were constructed in Vale Park
and Victoria Recreation Ground.
Revd E.P.W. Holmes, vicar of St Nicolas Church, kept the church
open for twelve hours a day in order that people caught out in the open when
the air-raid siren went would have somewhere to shelter. Mrs Holmes did her bit
by fire-watching at night by the church with a hard hat on her head. In more
peaceful times she became a redoubtable Lay Chairman of Hove Deanery Synod quite
able to keep a roomful of restless clergy and lay members in order.
In 1940 Portslade Spitfire Fund was started with H.F.
Parker as chairman. It had its own distinctive Spitfire badge that could be
obtained from the principal shops. The sum of £80 was soon collected with
Bellman & Son donating £20 and Fred Tate and Frank Hillman gave £5 each.
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| copyright ©
Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove |
On 5 March 1942 the Portslade British Restaurant opened at Ronuk Hall (later Portslade Town Hall). Lord Woolton visited it on 16 May 1942. British restaurants were springing up all over Britain and it was a wartime measure to provide decent meals at a reasonable price.
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| copyright © C. Todd Portslade Home Guard were photographed outside Ronuk Hall in around 1943. Back row, left to right, Bob Partner, Dixie Dean, Len Souter, Arthur Harris and Len Searle. Middle row, Ted Perry, Matt Coomber, Lieutenant Smith, Lieutenant Richards, Sergeant Todd and Corporal Charlie Clarke. Front row, Sid Hibbard, Stan Gibbs and Bill Maynard. |
Warship Week, 31 January - 7 February 1942
Industry and the War Effort
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| copyright © D. Sharp Portslade's 1942 H.M. Motor Topedo Boat 58 Plaque on show in Portslade Library in 2023 |
Industry and the War Effort
Portslade Brewery
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| copyright © A.L Shepherd Portslade Brewery was a hub of wartime activity. |
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| copyright © G. Ellis George Ellis was photographed with his wife and daughter Barbara in 1939. He joined the 10th Army Field Workshop that was based at the brewery. Since he was officially billeted, he enjoyed the privilege of being paid 6d a night to sleep in his own bed at home. |
The firm of CVA Ltd. occupied part of the brewery from
1940 to 1945. Its normal peacetime output was electric irons and vacuum
cleaners. But for the war effort the female employees manufactured shells and
bullets.
Army personnel occupied another part of the brewery. The
10th Army Field Workshop was stationed there under Captain Caffyn
until despatched to France in early 1940 Also in 1940 the brewery was the HQ of
the 5th (Territorial Army) Battalion. Then followed a succession of
Army units that always left the place in a terrible state and John Ramus would
have the task of cleaning it all up.
One of the units was the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
and the Battalion Pipe Band used to play the Last Post in the road outside the Stag’s
Head every evening.
Portslade Home Guard was also based at the brewery. ‘A’
Company occupied the spit of land between Shoreham Harbour and the sea and were
kept busy constructing gun emplacements for their Great War Vickers machine
guns.
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| copyright © Mrs Field The 14th Battalion (Hove) Sussex Home Guard F Platoon D Company was photographed in Drove Road with the brewery on the right. In the front row, third from the left, is Sergeant Field. |
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| copyright © D.
Mepham Canadian Joe Taylor and his bride after the war. |
In 1942 the Edmonton Regiment, part of the 1st
Canadian Division, was stationed in Portslade.
Joe Taylor from New Brunswick was one of the Canadians who
found himself at Portslade and he enjoyed spending his leave with the Mepham
family. He kept in touch with the Mephams after the war too. Taylor’s two
brothers also served in the armed forces and both were killed and it was a
miracle that Joe survived because he spent two long years as a prisoner of war.
He emerged from the experience ill and emaciated but made a full recovery. He
returned to Canada and the Mephams were delighted when he sent them his wedding
photograph and he looked happy and well.
Southdown Motor Services
The Southdown Motor Services Central Works was located at
Victoria Road, Portslade, for many years. The enterprise started off in a small
way but Portslade Council was frequently presented with plans for alterations
and expansions.
By June 1939 Southdown Motor Services was the sixth
largest company in Britain, operating some 700 vehicles. During the war some
160 of them were requisitioned while the workforce was depleted by service in
the armed forces. Those that remained became volunteer firemen or joined the
Southdown Home Guard.
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| copyright © H.G.J. Flowers Portslade National Fire Service was photographed outside Southdown Motor Works in 1941. Harry Flowers is seated in the front row, second from the left. In the background is the ladder belonging to the engine that also boasted a Coventry Climax pump |
The machine workshop contributed to the war effort by
building two armoured cars, parts for Spitfires and Hurricanes and
20-millimetre cartridge cases. They also made intricate parts for gun breech
mountings. This was of course vital work and the place hummed with activity
right round the clock and under blackout conditions during the night. Work was
liable to be interrupted by air-raid warnings or actual raids.
By 1946 there were 426 people in the workforce and the
rate for a skilled worker was £3 a week.
Tate’s Garage
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| copyright © J.Middleton Tate’s Garage has been there since 1919. |
Tate’s Garage at Southern Cross, Portslade, on the corner
of Old Shoreham Road and Locks Hill, started off on the site with small
premises that opened in 1919. It is pleasant to record that it remains in
operation to this day, the business having expanded and diversified but still
run by the same family.
During the war Tate’s continued with their small
engineering section. Tate’s had the distinction of inventing a gun depression
gear for use with the well-known Oerlikon guns mounted on so many ships of the
Royal Navy. Without the benefit of this device, a temperamental Oerlikon could
inflict more damage on the funnel than it did on an enemy target.
Tate’s also went into the ship repair and salvage
business. Their first customer was a tanker Shell Brit that had been
bombed while berthed at Shell Wharf. She was made sea-worthy again.
In late December 1944 during a fierce gale the Polish
steamer Chorzow bound for Shoreham from Port Talbot with 1,000 tons of
coal for the Power Station, went aground on the lea shore west of the entrance
to Shoreham Harbour. The Admiralty made several unsuccessful attempts to haul
her off but at length the vessel was written off as a total loss. On 3 January
1945 the authorities handed over the Chorzow for salvage to the
Tate brothers, described as motor, marine and general engineers of Portslade.
The Chorzow was a steel-built ship 209 feet in length with a 31-foot
beam. She lay head-on to the shore with a 15-degree list because her cargo had
shifted to port. But within a fortnight the ship was safely berthed at Shoreham
and pronounced sea-worthy in September 1945 before setting sail for Weymouth;
W.J. Streader, a partner of Tate’s, was in charge of the operation.
Another memorable vessel was the French minesweeper President
Briand. She was wrecked on a beach at Shoreham surrounded by land mines
laid as part of the anti-invasion defences. Tate’s had to wait until the mines
had been cleared before getting to grips with the ship. A line of steamrollers
was brought in from Worthing and their winches were used to right the ship
gradually on the spring tides. The tug Harold Brown from Shoreham
eventually towed her off the beach.
Defence
There was a Bofors anti-aircraft gun on waste ground near
Station Road, another at the allotments and one in the grounds of the London
L.C.C. School (formerly Portslade Industrial School). There were anti-aircraft
guns on top of the brewery and at the Southdown Motor Services Garage in
Victoria Road.
Air-raid sirens were located at the old council depot in
Vale Road (where Tozer Court stands today) on top of the brewery and near
Downland Court.
Five Towns Emergency Dispersal Scheme 1940
This was a document setting out the location of suitable
buildings and their facilities should there be an emergency. At Portslade the
following were identified; the numbers refer to the amount of people that could
be accommodated:
First Line Halls (fully equipped)
West Hove Golf Club, Old Shoreham Road, 120
Congregational Church Hall, Station Road, 60
St Nicolas Junior School, 40
(total 600)
Third Line (not fully equipped)
St Andrew’s Church Hall, 50
Salvation Army Hall, North Street, 100
Good Shepherd Hall, Stanley Avenue, 60
British Legion Club, Trafalgar Road, 50
Baptist Church, North Street, 80
Mission Hall, Trafalgar Road, 60
(total 600)
Premises Earmarked in Original Scheme
Congregational Church, Station Road. Church, 150. Hall
100. 3 lavatories, stove but no cooking equipment.
St Andrew’s Church. Church, 200. Hall 100. 2 lavatories,
gas rings but no cooking equipment.
Salvation Army, stove and copper, electric kettles.
Mission Hall, Trafalgar Road, 60, gas ring
Premises not Earmarked but Suitable as Rest Centres
Ronuk, 100
Fryco, 60
Pavilion cinema, 600 seats
Rothbury cinema, 700
Standing Orders for South Downs Training Area
The South Downs became a training ground during the war.
Local people who ventured out on the time-honoured task of gathering
blackberries could find themselves in trouble with armed soldiers. But the
military authorities did realise the importance of the area and tried to keep
damage to the minimum as witness the following information:
The official Standing Orders declared ‘The Water Supply of
the South Coast Towns is largely derived from the South Downs. This supply must
be protected from physical damage and must not be polluted.’ Reservoirs
and pumping stations were put out of bounds while dew-ponds were fenced off.
Latrines and urinals were not to be dug in chalk but must be sited as far as
possible on ploughed land in the valleys.
High-tension cables must not be damaged but some were more
important than others. For example, those running in a north west direction
from Portslade and through Block 5 were ‘vital to the National effort as on
them depend the electricity supply for a large number of war factories as far
as the west of England.’
Buildings were not to be used for target practice except
with the written authority from headquarters.
Addendum No 1 to Standing Orders
‘It must be borne in mind that the extensive use of the
South Downs for military purposes is a purely wartime measure and that after
the war farmers and others will return to live there … it will be therefore
readily understood that the requisitioned area must NOT be left strewn with
unexploded HE shells, mortar bombs, grenades, etc … steps will therefore be
taken by units firing live ammunition to mark the fall of ‘duds’ as far as possible.’
This was of course a pious hope. For example, at Mile Oak Farm when ploughing resumed once more, the bomb disposal unit were frequent
visitors. Likewise, walkers on the Downs were well advised to keep on the
beaten track.
Statistics
It was stated that there was not a single fatal casualty
at Portslade but perhaps this only applied to troops training on the Downs.
On 1 October 1941 there was an incident at Portslade Railway Station when a 35-year old ARP worker Arthur Boxall was injured; he was
taken to hospital and died the next day.
Sergeant J.R. Canham, Home Guard died on 8 December 1940
and was buried in Portslade Cemetery.
Another Home Guard, Ronald Arthur Akehurst was injured
during an air raid in March 1943 and died in May.
It is also worth noting that the Home Guard practised
shooting at Mile Oak Rifle Range and several casualties were reported in 1944.
On 30 May 1942 one man was killed during an air raid.
There were 1,036 air raid alerts
311 local alarms produced 19 incidents
Between September 1939 and November 1944 35 HE bombs were
dropped
During two raids approximately 631 incendiary bombs fell
Incidents
1939 – There was a ‘light’ bombing raid on
Portslade when a stick of bombs fell over an area ranging from the L.C.C.
School (formerly Portslade Industrial School) to Broomfield’s Farm. One bomb
landed in the back garden of 218 Mile Oak Road where John Still’s grandmother
lived. But it made no more than a bucket-sized hole and although her glass
conservatory was only 20 feet away, no glass was broken.
24 March 1940 – An RAF Blenheim Mark1 en route from
France to Tangmere came down near Dyke Hovel on the Downs. The plane landed on
top of some gorse bushes and caught fire. The pilot and navigator were killed
but Squadron Leader George Lapwood, a passenger, managed to free himself just
as three local men arrived on the scene. Gerald Winter, one of the men, pulled
gunner L.A.C. Oultrum from the burning wreckage.
The Brighton Herald (28 February 1942) announced
that Gerald Winter, general foreman of East Sussex Agricultural Committee, had
been decorated by King George VI with the George Cross for rescuing the crew of
the bomber that crashed at Portslade.
In June 1986 Mr Lapwood, aged 67, appealed for more
information about the incident in the Evening Argus. Retired nurse,
Sister Helen Tookey, remembered nursing Mr Lapwood for burns at the Royal
Sussex County Hospital where he remained a patient for four months. John
Connor, a freelance journalist, from Hangleton Valley Drive, had a piece of the
plane, a metal dial, which he had picked up as a souvenir as a 13-year old boy.
The Tangmere Military Aviation Museum said they had the ammunition feed-roller
from the plane.
30 June 1940 – Two bombs fell on West Hove Golf
Course and one or two fell on Sharpthorne Crescent.
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| (Brighton
& Hove under Fire) On 8 October 1940 a bombing raid left severe cracks in the tower of St Michael and All Angels, Southwick. |
13/14 September 1940 – In a raid a stick of five
bombs fell on the Fairway Crescent area damaging 25 Fairway Crescent where
Derek and Jim Whatmore and their parents lived. They all escaped unhurt and
even the cat turned up later unscathed. Eventually, the Government awarded the
Whatmores £21 as compensation for the damage. Another bomb exploded on the
allotments not far from a Bofors gun site. An unexploded bomb was found just
over the wall in Goatcher’s field in Mill Lane and there was another bomb in
Mill Lane. A large, unexploded 1,000 lb bomb was dug out of a garden in Helena
Close.
26 September 1940 – Four bombs fell on the Portslade Gas Works, wrecking the coal stores but the retorts were not hit. The only casualty
was a horse killed in the wreckage.
8 October 1940 – As dusk was falling three Heinkel
HE 111s flew low over Portslade following the railway line west. Eric Masters
said they were firing all over the place. One bullet went straight through the
plate glass window of the hairdresser’s shop at 30 Trafalgar Road. The large
mirror on the wall beyond was peppered with bullet holes. There were at least
40 explosions and severe damage in Southwick with one woman being killed.
10 October 1940 – During a German raid two
Spitfires of 92 Squadron collided over Portslade. Flying Officer John Drummond
was injured by machine-gun fire and bailed out of his aircraft. But his plane
was at too low an altitude and he was killed. Meanwhile, his plane collided
with another Spitfire with Pilot Officer Desmond Williams at the controls and
he also died. Drummond’s plane crashed into Jubilee Field, at the junction of
Easthill Road and Easthill Drive. Williams’s plane landed in Hove.
It
is quite remarkable that after all these years an eye-witness account
of the two Spitfires colliding was published in the Argus
(27
December 2019). John Noble, now aged 90, was an 11-year old boy
living in Portslade when he saw the incident, which unsurprisingly
left an indelible impression on his memory. He has come forward now
because he wants to know the name of the pilot and where he lived.
Noble would also like to see a plaque placed at the scene of the
crash in memory of the pilot.
The German air-raid took place at 8 a.m. and young
Noble was alerted by a curious noise that sounded like a cat
scratching at the front door but was actually machine-gun fire. He
looked up and saw a German bomber flying at less that 1,000 feet over
Hove golf course, being attacked by two Spitfires. In his opinion,
the two pilots were unaware of each other and collided. He watched
one Spitfire peel away towards West Blatchington while the other
plane turned on its back. He could see the pilot struggling to
extricate himself but he seemed to be caught by the leg. Noble then
‘ran up Burlington Gardens, across Mill Lane, and down the path
that leads to St Nicolas Church to Goatcher’s Field. The pilot had
been thrown clear on impact. Canadian soldiers stationed around the
perimeter of the field had covered his body with his parachute. The
wrecked Spitfire was on fire and .303 ammunition was exploding in the
heat of the flames.’
For those on the ground at Portslade, it was the worst day as regards air-raid warnings because there were four of them.
For those on the ground at Portslade, it was the worst day as regards air-raid warnings because there were four of them.
18 November 1940 – Nine bombs fell on Shoreham
Harbour; one of them dropped on a boat in the canal, killing 17-year old
butcher’s boy William Wood who was delivering meat to the vessel.
On that day Mr and Mrs Mower were married at Hove Registry
Office, after which they visited a photographer in Station Road, Portslade, to
have their wedding pictures taken. Then it was back to Middle Street, Portslade
to enjoy their wedding breakfast with family and friends. Before they had even
sat down at the table, a German plane flew across the canal and machine-gunned
up Middle Street. Then the boat was bombed. Mr Mower, as a trained Red Cross
and St John’s Ambulance man, went out side to offer assistance when a large
piece of shrapnel shot past him and struck the front door. But the Mowers
survived and were still living in Portslade in 1994.
21 November 1940 – An explosive bullet from an
enemy plane hit the south side of the roof on St Nicolas School, breaking a
tile.
24 November 1940 – A Whitley aircraft crashed in Applesham
Way.
1 October 1941 – There was an incident at Portslade Railway Station. Arthur Boxall, a 35-year old ARP member was injured and died
the following day.
25/26 March 1941 – The Gas Works were again bombed
but with little effect.
24 April 1942 – There was a daytime raid.
26 April 1942 – There were two hit-and-run raids
and although two bombs were dropped, no damage was caused and there were no
casualties.
30 May 1942 – One man was killed in an air attack.
August 1942 – Bombs fell on St Richard’s Road
causing some damage. Nearby St Andrew’s Church was also affected.
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| (Brighton
& Hove under Fire) St Richard’s Road was photographed after the bombing raid in August 1942. |
24 August 1942 – It was reported that a
Messerschmitt 109 was shot down into the sea after it had bombed Portslade.
Apparently, the bomb fell on Bellman’s, Station Road, where it bounced, flew
over the rooftops on the other side of the road and fell on a house in
Worcester Villas where Joan Shepherd ran her dancing school. The students and
their teacher were sheltering under the stairs and survived although some
wreckage landed on Joan’s legs.
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| (Brighton
& Hove under Fire) The bomb that hit this house in Worcester Villas, Hove on 24 August 1942 had bounced from Station Road. |
November 1942 – It was reported that two German
planes flew over St Nicolas School and the air was full of machine-gun bullets.
Mr R.J. Figgins became the new head of St Nicolas School in 1940 and he was
soon frustrated at the disruption caused by the frequent air-raid warnings when
the children went into the shelters. In February 1941 he decided that lessons
would continue unless there was definite danger. He took to the roof with his
binoculars to scan the skies while two boys acted as spotters. The boys soon
became experts in recognising different aircraft.
May 1943 – Several pieces of shrapnel from
anti-aircraft guns fell into the playground of St Nicolas School, breaking
another tile on their way.
1943 – An incendiary bomb set the roof of
Loxdale alight but the flames were extinguished successfully. It is said that
blackened timbers are still visible in the attic.
Perhaps it was the same attack when incendiary bombs fell
on St Marye’s Convent. It seems the nuns were aghast at the firemen tramping
through their space and were inclined to be obstructive although the men were
only doing their duty and endeavouring the put out the flames.
6 June 1944 – A Douglas Havoc medium bomber
crashed at North House Farm. The plane was badly damaged but the crew were not
injured; they were Lieutenant Charles Mish (pilot) C.J. Clarke and R.F. Chustz.
It was stated the RAF mounted guard over the wreckage to deter sightseers and
souvenir hunters. But Bert Hyde, a farm worker at North House Farm, maintained
it was he who had to guard the wreckage all night long. He should know because
the aircraft landed on top of one of his precious haystacks that he had built
and thatched in the time-honoured way.
13 August 1944 – Five 12-year old boys were
injured when a phosphorous grenade exploded while being examined by a group of
pupils at the L.C.C. School (formerly Portslade Industrial School). All of them
suffered burns and three were left in a serious condition. It was thought one
of the boys discovered the grenade while playing on the Downs.
Home Guard
A fascinating incident was recorded in the Kent & Sussex Courier (14 July 1944) concerning Captain Gerald Howard, Home Guard, of Portslade, but a native of Tunbridge Wells. The article, under the startling title ‘Punch on Jaw Saved Life’, set out the gallantry that resulted in him being awarded an M.B.E. and runs as follows:
‘While instructing a live practice he saw smoke coming from a grenade, primed with a four-second fuse, in a Private’s front trouser pocket. Without hesitation Capt. Howard punched the man on the jaw, pulled the grenade from his pocket, and threw it out of the throwing bay. It exploded on the parapet, and Capt. Howard received minor injuries.’ (With thanks to Hugo for drawing my attention to this incident)
Gas Works
Not only was the Portslade Gas Works bombed but in July 1940 two
colliers were lost although they were sailing in a protective convoy. The Pulborough
was sunk first and the Portslade followed the next day. On that same
day the Power Station lost their collier Henry Moon but her sister ship Arthur
Wright managed to survive although she too was hit.
An old sailing ship Six Sisters was sunk in the
canal as an invasion precaution.
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| copyright © D.Sharp Raymond Sharp back home in Portslade on leave from the army, aboard the Six Sisters with Portslade Gas Works in the background |
Evacuees
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| copyright © Mrs Field This formal notice dates from June 1942. |
St Nicolas School was already overcrowded in the 1930a but
matters were made worse when Norbury Manor Junior Mixed School was evacuated to
Portslade. The only way to juggle the available space was for one school to use
the building in the morning while the other one had to wait until the afternoon.
The rota was changed every week. By October 1939 both schools had the use of
the Rothbury Hall and the Methodist Church Hall, both in Franklin Road.
Sometimes, if the weather permitted, lessons could be taken in Victoria Recreation Ground. When Norbury School left Portslade, there was a short
breathing space before Latchmere Senior Boys’ School arrived in Portslade.
However, the discomfort was short-lived because after the Dunkirk evacuation
took place, it was realised that the south coast was no longer a safe place.
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| copyright © G. Fuller Evacuation label Form A was issued for young Kenneth Fuller of Crown Road. |
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| copyright © Mrs Field Evacuation label Form B was issued for Sylvia Field of North Road. Her mother was a member of the WVS Emergency Food and Shelter staff. |
On 11 March 1941 all schools at Portslade were closed
while the authorities decided what was best to do with the children. In the end
there was a voluntary scheme whereby parents could choose to have their
children evacuated to a safer area. Some went to Sowerby Bridge in Yorkshire
and remained there from May 1941 until 12 December 1944. But most Portslade
children stayed put.
The boys from Loxdale also went to Sowerby Bridge and then Loxdale became an officers’ mess.
The boys from Loxdale also went to Sowerby Bridge and then Loxdale became an officers’ mess.
Wartime Romances
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| copyright © D.Sharp Wartime weddings between soldiers and airmen from overseas to Portslade girls took place at St Nicolas Church. |
The arrival of Canadian troops in Sussex must have sent
many a young female heart fluttering. Some romances culminated in marriage. The
following military information was gleaned from formal ‘Permission to Marry’
documents at St Nicolas Church, Portslade, which had to be signed by a superior
officer. The first one was signed by Major D.G. MacLauchlan of the Calgary
Highlanders and enabled Lance Corporal O. Sween to marry Emily Christine
Austin. Other potential husbands who wanted to walk up the aisle at St Nicolas
to wed their sweethearts came from the following outfits:
Calgary Highlanders
4th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment
Edmonton Regiment
Canadian Reinforcement Unit
1st Anti-Tank RCA
Queen’s Rifles of Canada
Perth Regiment
North Shore Regiment, Canadian Army
Loyal Edmonton Regiment
Counter Intelligence
Australian Air Force
Wartime Jealousy and Murders
1943 – The Willard family lived in Albion
Street, Portslade. Pop Willard worked at the Picturedrome cinema in
North Street as a cleaner, odd-job man and chucker-out of unruly customers. His
formidable wife helped him in the performance of the latter duties; she was a
strongly built woman of whom the local children were in awe. If a youngster
misbehaved in the cinema she would lift him up by the scruff of his neck before
ejecting him into the street.
Mr and Mrs Willard had a daughter who was christened
Annette Elizabeth Frederika Christina but was usually called Nan; she was a
popular and friendly soul. She married Mr Pepper who by 1943 was a prisoner of
war in Germany.
Annette Pepper, aged 30, lodged with her eight-year old
daughter Valerie, in a house in Mile Oak Road, Portslade. Canadian soldiers
stationed at Portslade proved an irresistible attraction for the lonely
Annette; she formed attachments with two of them They were Sergeant William
Archibald Rendall of the Edmonton Regiment, and Charles Eugene Gauthier of the
regiment De La Chaudiere. She had known Rendall since 1941 but he was later
posted back to Canada. She met French-Canadian Gauthier in 1943.
When Rendall was posted back to England, he fully expected
to take up with Annette where he had left off. Rendall went to look for
Gauthier and they met accidentally in the same café where Annette and Gauthier
had first met.
The two men agreed it would be more civilized to talk over
the situation at Annette’s home in Mile Oak Road. It was a difficult meeting,
which ended when Annette told Gauthier she had never loved him and Rendall was
the man for her.
Gauthier was enraged by her rejection and left the house
abruptly. He headed straight for the brewery where he chatted to the soldier on
duty there. He left but soon returned and managed to steal the Bren-gun from
the top of the building.
At 8 p.m. the same day Gauthier was back outside Annette’s
home. When the occupants realised who it was, they slammed the door in his
face. But Gauthier fired three shots through it and one bullet wounded Rendall
above the right ankle. Rendall managed to hobble out of the back door to a
neighbouring house.
But Gauthier got in through the back door and shouted to
Annette to come downstairs and talk to him. But she refused, saying she feared
she would be shot. |Only when he gave his word of honour that he would not harm
her, did she venture to the top of the stairs. But as soon as she appeared he
fired a bullet through her neck and as she tumbled down the stairs, he fired
three more shots at her.
The sound of gunshots alerted the Home Guard unit based at
the L.C.C. School and soon Captain J.W.C. Hadfield, R.C. Hotston and J.A.
Doughty surrounded Gauthier.
Annette, who was six weeks pregnant, was buried in
Portslade Cemetery on 18 March 1943.
On 2 April 1943 Gauthier appeared at Hove Magistrates
Court where Gerald Paling outlined the case for the prosecution. On 12 July
1943 Gautheir’s trial began at Lewes. But the jury was deadlocked and there had
to be another trial that took place on 25 July 1943 at the Old Bailey. This
time the jury found Gauthier guilty of wilful murder; an appeal failed in
August. On 24 September 1943 Gauthier was hanged at Wandsworth Prison.
1945 – Charles Elphick served with the Royal
Corps of Signals for five years during the war, three of them abroad. He was
not called up immediately in 1939 because he was aged 36 and a married man living
at Abinger Road, Portslade. His wife Jessie Eileen grew lonely and bored during
his long absence and decided to bring a little glamour into her life by
attending dances.
It was at a Brighton dance hall that she met Michael
Niescior, a Polish ex-sailor who worked as a chef for the Polish Rest Home for
Sailors at 98 Marine Parade. By April Niescior was ensconced in the marital
home; Jessie wrote to her husband informing him that she had a boyfriend.
Later that year, Elphick came home on leave. He walked up
Abinger Road and into his house. There he found a strange man sitting on his
bed while his wife was in the bath. The next day Jessie and Niescior left to
take up lodgings in nearby Gardener Street. But Jessie, perhaps with a twinge
of conscience, returned home to the Abinger Road house to cook her husband a
meal; a fortnight later she returned home.
The Elphicks then took a holiday to Hastings and
endeavoured to patch things up. But it seems Jessie was unable to make up her
mind between the two men. At any rate when they returned to Portslade, she
began to see Niescior again.
On 21 October 1945 Niescior arrived outside the Elphick
house at 11.20 p.m.. He banged on the door for admittance but Elphick could see
through the glass panel that Niescior was armed with a knife. He rushed to the
kitchen to pick up a large scaffolding hammer. Meanwhile, Jessie had opened the
door and soon she found herself in the middle of an armed fight with the men
lunging at each other around her. The mêlée continued outside the house until
the three of them fell over a low garden wall in a heap. Jessie managed to
extricate herself and she intended to get on her bicycle to fetch the police
but Niescior stopped her. Jessie thought her husband was dead because he was
lying in the road with stab wounds. But he tried to struggle up before
collapsing.
Meanwhile, neighbours heard the commotion and sent for a
doctor. Elphick was taken to Southlands Hospital. On 22 October 1945 Niescior
was charged with wounding but when Elphick died, he was charged with murder at
11.35 a.m.
Elphick was aged 42 at the time of his death. He had
numerous wounds including a 4½ inch cut on the right side of his face and an
incised wound in his skull of 2 ½ inches.
Niescior appeared at Hove Magistrates Court on 20 November
1945. H.F. Parker (chairman) W. Durrant and Captain Wales were sitting on the
bench that day; Stanley Cushman defended Niescior.
On 10 December 1945 Niescior’s trial began at Lewes. It
lasted two days and the jury took only 45 minutes to decide he was guilty of
murder. On 14 January 1946 there was an unsuccessful appeal and on 31 January
1946 Niescior was hanged at Wandsworth Prison.
Memories
George Goble
He grew up in Ellen Street,
Portslade, and served as a dispatch rider with the Queen’s Royal
Regiment during the war. He was present at a historic event, and said
sadly, ‘I lost a lot of mates when we went in on D-Day.’ After
the war he married Peggy and they lived in St Leonard’s Avenue.
In
1994 he joined the Royal British Legion, becoming the standard bearer
on special occasions such as Remembrance Day services. Mr Goble
became a very familiar sight at the north end of George Street, a
lean, smiling figure, smartly dressed, displaying his six medals, and
selling poppies every year. He died at the age of 85 on 12 October
2009, just days before he was due to take up his customary pitch at
George Street with his tray of poppies and collection tin. (Argus
21/10/09)
Paul Martin
He
was educated at St Nicolas School, Portslade, which he left at the
age of fourteen, and embarked upon his working life, starting as an
errand boy for the Co-op Laundry. In 1942, when he was seventeen
years old he joined the Royal Marines. He served aboard HMS Ramillies
and saw a bit of the world in the seas around Africa.
However,
there was drama in store and two weeks before D-Day HMS Ramillies
sailed
to Scotland to prepare for Operation Neptune. She arrived back in the
English Channel on 5 June 1944, took on ammunition at Portsmouth on
the 7th
and arrived at the Normandy beachhead on the 8th
anchoring near HMS
Rodney. Apparently,
the Ramillies
was not carrying a full crew complement, which meant that only two of
the four gun turrets could be manned at the same time. But Ramillies
fired
some of the first shots in the campaign, courtesy of Martin and his
fellow gunners with the 15-in guns. Observers aboard Ramillies
saw
German torpedoes approaching the vessel but she managed to turn in
time and the torpedoes then passed between Ramillies
and HMS
Warsprite.
But it was a close shave.
The
guns were busy trying to silence German defences, and the Bennevile
Battery in particular, while on the 11th
the target was 200 German tanks near Caen. From the 11th
to 14th
the Ramillies
kept
firing to support the assault by the 6th
Airborne Division. Ramillies
was
exceedingly fortunate not to have been hit by enemy fire. Finally, on
the 18th,
having expended 1,000 rounds of ammunition, Ramillies
returned to Portsmouth.
In
1946 Martin left the Forces having with six service medals. He
married Joyce in 1953 and there were two children of the marriage. In
July 2004 Paul Martin was aged 80, and he could not help wondering
how his 19-year old grandson would have fared in the circumstances he
experienced as a youngster. (Argus
3/6/04)
Charlie Todd
 |
| copyright © C. Todd The Todd family at war; left to right, Charlie Todd (Home Guard) Muriel Todd (Land Army) Jack Todd (Regular Army). Front row; Evelyn Todd (London Fire Service) and Bessie Todd (Land Army). |
Charlie Todd wanted to join up as soon as war was declared
but his carpentry skills were too much in demand. Instead he was kept hard at
work at the Lady Bee Yard in the engine rooms of various vessels including some
MGBs, MTBs, MLs and torpedo boats.
On 15 June 1940 he joined the Home Guard. His unit was E
Company F Platoon 14th (Hove) Sussex Home Guard. The unit included
63-year old Private Allen, and ex-Army Dixie Dean who always wore his campaign
medals and was meticulous about the shine on his boots.
They drilled with rifles from the Boer War era; the
weapons were around 6 feet 6 inches in length with a 16-inch bayonet on the end
but surprisingly enough they did not weigh more than the standard Enfield
rifle. Their HQ was Portslade Brewery.
This unit of the Home Guard were responsible for six Guard
Posts in Portslade:
1. East Tower, L.C.C. School, Mile Oak Road
2. Waterworks, Mile Oak
3. Dyke Hovel (around halfway between New Barn Farm and
the Dyke)
4. Gas Works and beaches
5. Portslade Railway Station
6. Foot of Station Road
On One occasion, not long after Dunkirk, those in duty on
the Downs during the blackout were horrified to hear what they interpreted to
be boots marching along the road. Further investigation revealed that the
culprits were cows happily pulling up clumps of grass to chew.
Then there was the time the blackout was pierced by
hundreds of tiny lights. The men of the Home Guards seriously considered the
possibility that the lights were attached to German paratroops. But a large
colony of glow-worms was found to be responsible.
A Messerschmitt 110 was shot down over Shoreham but the
pilot landed safely in a turnip field in Erringham. He probably never realised
how lucky he was because the area was festooned with trip-wires placed at
intervals of 100 yards. Charlie Todd witnessed the incident, jumped into his
two-seater Morris and arrested the airman.
The Home Guard’s training ground was Slonk Hill and live
ammunition was used. On occasions the 49th Edmonton Regiment of
Canada, who had not yet received formal training, came to observe the Home
Guard’s Training Programme.
There were also initiative tests such as when C Company
had to travel at night from Shoreham across the railway line and to the Gas
Works without being spotted by Southwick Home Guard.
Early in January 1944 Charlie Todd volunteered for secret
work, which he continued to do for the rest of that year and some of 1945. He
worked through the night at Portsmouth, travelling every day from his home in
Portslade. He helped to construct shuttering into which reinforced concrete was
poured. Each section measured 118 feet in length, 30 feet in width and 60 feet
in height. These sections became part of the famous Mulberry Harbour.
Mulberry Harbour
It is interesting to note that the Mulberry Harbour’s
antecedent was connected with Portslade because the first major trial of the
Bubble Breakwater took place on Portslade beach. The site was especially chosen
because the experiment required a plentiful supply of electricity, some
adjacent workshops, and a secluded beach. A pump-house was constructed on the
shore.
But before the beach could be used, it had to be cleared
of mines and unhappily during the process one man was killed. The ‘Wheezers and
Dodgers’ then devised a method whereby loaded pipes were rolled over the sands
thus activating the mines without any danger to personnel.
Then, with the assistance of thirteen divers, the team
were able to proceed with the experiment. It was unfortunate that the weather
chose that moment to take a turn for the worse. The plan of the Bubble
Breakwater was simple enough; it was 1,200 feet in length and was positioned
600 yards out to sea, roughly parallel with the shore. There were 400 feet of
pipes, six compressors and a high-voltage electricity supply. But the rough sea
kept tearing the pipes from their moorings and there were many other
difficulties.
Eventually, the Admiralty was informed that if some type
of artificial harbour were not forthcoming, then the Allied invasion of Europe
would have to be called off. Fortunately, Robert Lockner then had a brainwave
that ultimately resulted in the construction of the Mulberry Harbour.
John Knight’s chief memory of preparations for D-Day was
the ‘enormous drum-like structures, higher than a house, floating in Shoreham
Harbour’. They were in fact concrete caissons waiting to be towed across the
Channel to form the Mulberry Harbour.
The Brotherhood Family
The Brotherhood family moved to Portslade in 1929. The
three young brothers, Basil, Leslie and Lionel, sang in the choir of St Nicolas Church. During the war Leslie served out East. In 1946 he was on his way home
when they stopped at Hamburg. Whilst there, for the price of two cigarettes, a
German called Rudolf drew a likeness of Leslie that was amazingly accurate. In
1997 the drawing re-surfaced unexpectedly among some papers and it was returned
to their sister Ethel Brotherhood.
Ethel followed the dictum of her father ‘Never volunteer
for anything but if you are called up do the best you can.’ Thus Ethel stayed
at home until 1942 when she was called up. She became a skilled civilian
engineer fitter, working mainly on Spitfires at Lyneham. She received extra
rations because she was engaged on essential work and they were very welcome.
All the same, she found her war work a terrific responsibility
Leslie Hamilton (1918-2000)
 |
| copyright © O. Hamilton Les Hamilton married Olive King on 3 February 1940. The bridesmaids are Olive’s sister Mary and her cousin Joyce Funnell while the little girl is Patricia Church. |
In 1939 Leslie Hamilton was called up and attached to the
44th Home Counties Territorials. But he was determined to marry his
sweetheart Olive before he was posted abroad. They had met the previous year at
Hove Bandstand on the sea-front where musicians provided live music for dancing
on summer evenings. The couple married at St Barnabas Church, Hove, on 3 February
1940. He received two telegrams on his wedding day; one offering
congratulations, the other ordering him to report back immediately, which he
ignored.
When he rejoined his unit on Monday, he found everything
packed up ready to go to Norway. But Norway collapsed and instead they were
sent to France. Hamilton was part of RASC (509 Company) but it was a short trip
and he soon found himself being evacuated from Dunkirk.
Another part of his wartime duties was spent in Tripoli
where he served under General Sir Brian Robertson at HQA1. It was while he was
there that he decided that he wanted to enter local politics once the war was
over.
Raymond Sharp (1923-2001)
 |
| Copyright © D. Sharp Raymond Sharp, age 17, enrolment card into the East Sussex Local Defence Volunteers which was signed by Officer Commanding Hove Home Guard, Lt Colonel A. D. Winterbottom. |
Mrs Sharp thought the best way forward was to get her sons
into reserved occupations. Fortunately, she knew the Station Master at Hove Railway Station and Raymond started working at the Station Office.
When Raymond was 17, he headed for Hove where he enrolled in the LDV (14th Battalion, Hove) and was attached to the Portslade Home Guard.
When Raymond was 17, he headed for Hove where he enrolled in the LDV (14th Battalion, Hove) and was attached to the Portslade Home Guard.
 |
| Copyright © D. Sharp Raymond Sharp in the uniform of the Royal Engineers |
Many years later when his
grand-daughter enquired what he had done in the war, he wrote the following:
‘I joined the railway company and we used to patrol the
railway line from Olive Road to Portslade cattle arch; to me it was all great
fun. During the apple season I used to rescue apples from the trees that grew
near the railway bank in people’s gardens.’
Not quite so idyllic were his stints guarding Portslade
beach and Gas Works with veterans from the Great War. Many a cold night was
spent shivering in that area while wishing he was back at the railway station.
When Raymond had time off from the Railway, he used to help his father who was a roof-tiler. One of his most interesting jobs was to repair the roof of the Church of The Good Shepherd on Shoreham Beach. In early 1941 this was a highly restricted area. Much of Shoreham’s Bungalow Town was demolished in anticipation of a German invasion, The Good Shepherd was one of the few buildings left intact. Raymond had to obtain a special permit from Shoreham Town Hall to enter the area to work.
When Raymond had time off from the Railway, he used to help his father who was a roof-tiler. One of his most interesting jobs was to repair the roof of the Church of The Good Shepherd on Shoreham Beach. In early 1941 this was a highly restricted area. Much of Shoreham’s Bungalow Town was demolished in anticipation of a German invasion, The Good Shepherd was one of the few buildings left intact. Raymond had to obtain a special permit from Shoreham Town Hall to enter the area to work.
Mrs Sharp must have been most disappointed when her
precautions came to nothing because when Raymond turned 19 he was conscripted
into the Army and joined the Royal Engineers. But at least he survived his tour
of duty and came back in one piece. He went to North Africa with the 1st
Army and when that campaign ended, he took part in the invasion of Italy. He served in Italy until the end of the Second World War. After a month's leave in Portslade he returned again to Italy to guard the Italian-Yugoslav border at Trieste. He was finally demobbed at the end of 1946 and married Elizabeth Bradford in St Nicolas Church Portslade in 1947.
Victory in Europe Day 1945 in North Road Portslade
Victory in Europe Day 1945 in North Road Portslade
 |
| copyright © J.Middleton Victory in Europe Day 1945 was celebrated in style at Portslade with street parties bringing neighbours together to celebrate the end of the war. This photograph shows a party in full swing in North Road. |
Cluett, L.G. Brighton & Hove Under Fire (c.
1945)
Encyclopaedia of Hove and Portslade
Evening Argus
Middleton, Judy More Memories of Old Portslade (1991)
Middleton, Judy Portslade and Hove Memories (2004)
Sussex Daily News
The Keep
DB/B53/8 – Blitzmerg. Five Towns Emergency Dispersal
Scheme 1940
DB/B53/47 – Military Locations November 1941 to August
1942
page layout & design by D.Sharp