Tag Archives: Ron Wallis

Ron Wallis: WWII dogfights and planes 1940s

Whilst we were living at Lower Hamstead, there were two things regarding aircraft that stick in my mind. One was watching a dogfight overhead and seeing two aircraft come out of that dogfight.
There was apparently a squadron of Hurricanes intercepted two squadrons of German J38s and ME109s and one Hurricane got shot down in flames and landed at the top of Cranmore.  That would have been Battle of Britain time I suppose, 1941.The pilot bailed out and landed at Thorness successfully.  He was burnt but he was OK.  There was a 109 I think also came down, but I think out in the Solent some place.
And the other thing concerning aircraft was when I was “helping” as a six year old, mother and an auntie, harvesting potatoes in one particular field. There was a sudden roar and I remember mother shouting: ‘Lay down! Lay down!’  And it was a German, it was a Henkel 111 I think. I can remember it had a glazed nose, came in at tree top level, came in off the Solent, and I can remember seeing the pilot in the cockpit as he went past. I just stood and watched it and it roared over the trees only a matter of 200’ high at the most, then it went out towards the Channel and hopefully home, I suppose. He’d done his worst and he was off home as soon as he could make it.  But that was very loud and I can remember seeing the pilot in the glazed cockpit; it just sticks in my mind. You could see the silhouette of the pilot. Mother thought the end was nigh.

Ron Wallis: Thorley WWII 1940s

WWII: a boy’s perspective

From 1941 we were living at Lee Farm, Dad was bailiff for Granny Haigh. Later we moved to Thorley Lodge, then Michaelmas Cottage ( now South Lee) and eventually North View.

I can remember seeing the overturned earth from bombs which dropped adjacent to the railway line just east of the Lee Brickyard.  I imagine they were trying to hit the railway line.  How many bombs it was I don’t know, but I can remember seeing two craters.

I was outside with father one night, because when he was not on Home Guard duty, he used to love being outside watching it all go on, and you could see the search lights and the anti aircraft shells bursting. All of a sudden there was this terrific screech, which you did get occasionally when you had stuff coming down. And there was this bang and the next morning father found this large piece of shrapnel which had gone through the roof of the meal house.   It was about twenty yards away from where we were standing.

There was a gun emplacement at the top of Broad Lane, a bit before you get to Dog Kennel, on the side of the road there where there’s a footpath goes across.  It was only about twelve foot square. Where the Home Guard used to go night time I don’t know, Brook, I think.  Father did have a rifle quite quickly after the Home Guard was formed, although they didn’t have enough to go round. Yes, he was handy with a shotgun. As well as having a couple of shotguns of his own, he did have a revolver and very nice large knife, a beautiful thing, illegal these days.  Him and Bill Welstead were Home Guards.

I would have ten or nine, I remember being fairly close to the old estate carpenters shop and I could hear vehicles coming in through the gates. At that time, closest to Thorley Lodge was a granary and that big stone barn, and alongside that was a double tin barn. I was there playing, and these vehicles came in and scattered themselves around the area in the yard and adjacent fields. There were three or four fifteen hundredweight Bedford type things with lots of aerials sticking out, with canvas backs. One had a solid back, if I remember it was a Commer.  There was at least one armoured scout car, couple of motorcycles and two or three large-ish type jeeps – and the men had an odd uniform with pill box type peak caps for officers.  I didn’t know what they were saying or who they were.  It was only when father took them down a basket of eggs we found out, not what they were about, but who they were – French. They were there probably for two days and then one morning they were gone.  That was a few days before or after D Day June ’44.

We milked in the long stable and the cows would have just been chained up. It was quite a herd.
I think there was about eighteen in the bottom shed and six or seven in the top shed, twenty five milked by hand. One man could milk twelve, they reckon, so there must have been two men milking.
We had an Italian Prisoner of War, Giovanni Azara, he became head milker along with father. Father was always up at half past five every morning and they used to bring ‘Johnny’ over about seven o’clock.
He arrived probably ’42. He had farming experience, I think he was from the Po Valley agricultural area so he knew what he was doing and he loved being with the cows.  He had a terrific pride in his work.  He was lovely chap.  I would think he was about twenty.
You weren’t supposed to allow them in the house or anything.  I must admit mother flaunted the rules a bit towards the end particularly. We had to get permission to give him a crucifix when he left and I can remember him hugging mother and crying because he didn’t want to go home.

We didn’t have holidays.  Gracious no.  Went to Grandmother’s and Auntie’s for tea on Sunday.  We weren’t short of food. Father could go and shoot a few rabbits, there were plenty about.

I remember there were two old ladies, spinster ladies, the Misses Vaudrey. They lived over at Cranmore somewhere.  And they used to come two or three times a week with mashed fish and stuff to feed the farm cats.

There were some celebrations I remember, I’m sure it was VE day. My grandmother and two of my uncles lived at Marks Corner, and I can remember going up there and there was a great big long table laid out with lots of goodies. Some of the soldiers in Parkhurst Forest were Canadians but I think these were Americans; they seemed to provide all the goodies.  We had a big party to celebrate.  But I don’t remember any parties going on in the Yarmouth area. I think it was just a sigh of relief.  Ron Wallis b 1935

Ron Wallis: Thorley 1940s, 1950s

Wellow Institute Darts Champions 1971 - 72

Wellow Institute Darts Champions 1971 – 72 From left: Geoff Bishop, Charlie Courtney, Mike Smith, Ralph Smith – all Thorley men with Archie Pocock, Glad and Vic Whittingham from Wellow

We used to go up to the Wellow Institute playing billiards or cards or whatever, the lads and myself, and I came down one night back with my bike, I must have been fifteen, and it was a dark night, just gone ten o’clock, just a little bit of light. I had my head down looking at the ground, and all of a sudden, there was this shape in front of me and ‘bang’. The front wheel went straight between Charlie Bryne’s legs, Ron Hillier was helping him home.  Yes, they’d had a couple, or several, and I went over the top of Charlie Bryne – didn’t do the bike a lot of good, but it did me a lot more harm, it really hurt.  Charlie got up, the air was somewhat blue.  Apart from bruises up his back he had nothing wrong with him.  I got home and put my bike away and I’d taken the top off one of my ankle bones.
And I thought: ‘I’ve hurt my head’.  There was all blood and went to see Dad, who was listening to the radio and he come and had a look.  He said, ‘Mother, I think you’d better come and have a look at this.’ So mum came out in the kitchen – ‘ Oh, I don’t like the look of that’.
Poor old Gran, who was staying with us at the time, she came out and she put it right. She got the scissors out and then cut my hair away and put a plaster on it.    The damage to my ankle made me limp for a while.  Charlie Bryne, he was fine.
Ron Wallis b 1935

Ron Wallis: Thorley, WWII,

We moved over to Thorley, in the event of the army taking over the farm at Lower Hamstead in 1941.
I transferred straight to Thorley School with Miss Kitty Pearce.  There was David Holtom and Ivan Winsor from Wellow, Daniel somebody from Wellow, a girl Welstead who lived in New House, and a couple of Bellman boys who lived up Hill Place Lane. The school closed quite quickly after I got there – I’m sure it wasn’t my fault!  And then we got transferred to Yarmouth in 1944.

Thorley School late 1930 with Miss Kitty Pearce, teacher

Thorley School late 1930 with Miss Kitty Pearce, teacher

Whilst we were at Thorley School there was the occasion when we heard the roar of aircraft outside, and this Hurricane was low on fuel and it had landed in the field opposite the school. It got refuelled and took off again later in the day. Ron Wallis b 1935

Ron Wallis: Shops, 1940s

Lower Hamstead was where I was born and brought up for the first six years.  Twice a week, two vans used to come through from Yarmouth – one was with the groceries from Harry Mills, the Grocers, and the other one was with paraffin and candles from Harwoods the ironmongers and hardware store.  The driver of Harwoods van, as far as I remember was a tall, slimmish man and a flat cap and brown smock, a man called Ted Elderfield. Ron Wallis b 1941

Ron Wallis: 1940s Free Time

My out of school hours were all taken up with helping Dad with the farm, playing around the farm buildings, so I never did mix with those Yarmouth chaps.  I knew them well enough.  I had some very good friends.  The radio specialist down at Yarmouth – Westons – Reggie Weston, the son, was probably my best friend at Yarmouth School, and the other one who was a very good friend is Roger Smith, Bill Smith was his dad and he was a Yarmouth postman and lived in a little cottage just off St James’s Street.

 I was needed  back at home helping with the milking, and in summer I spent quite a lot of hours driving the tractor.  It took me back last weekend when I went to watch the ploughing match.  From the age of nine I was driving a tractor.  To start it, you had to wind it up, make sure you didn’t have your hand round the back.  Ron Wallis b 1935