Weedon Bec - War Memories

"Many children from London were brought to Weedon, and 'billeted' with village families. We had one boy with us - George Knowles from the Tottenham area, but we lost touch after he returned. With so many children in the village, the school was overcrowded so the children were split into two integrated groups (of both evacuees and children from the village), one group attending in the mornings, the other in the afternoons - with homework to be done while we were off (which seldom was!). During the War, the Headmaster was Mr C. L. Wood." - Bob.

When children brought in the harvest - "Spud-picking" otherwise known as 'potato flinging' "Another memory of WW2 school days was 'spud picking.' During the potato harvesting season, local farmers would turn up at school with a tractor and trailer to collect 20-30 children to help with the harvest, in the last 2 years of school, we were allowed to go. Each child did 10 days picking. We discovered that by impaling a potato on a pointed stick (which the farmer had used to mark out the rows we'd have to pick from!), and swinging it over our shoulders, a potato could be made to travel an enormous distance, lots of fun - and if you got really lucky, perhaps it would hit someone on the back of the head! We all had a great time, and best of all we earned some 'fag money' (since we couldn't use the money to buy sweets), of course, no shopkeeper would sell cigarettes (and woodbines at that), to 12 year-olds, but soldiers stationed at the Depot would get them for us from the (unofficial) NAAFI." - Bob.

"One day word went round that a lorry full of sweets had overturned between Dodford and Weedon, resulting in a mass exodus of children to the heaven-sent mountain of goodies! Within an hour it appeared as though a plague of locusts had stripped it." - Bob.

"A really vivid memory was shortly after the withdrawal from Dunkirk. We had a main line station in Weedon at that time and I remember seeing some of the wounded veterans doing their best to march up to the barracks to recuperate." Bob

The Depot in Weedon put the village in a rather unique position during the war.

"Very little enemy action actually occurred in Weedon, but on one night of the Coventry raids a lone German bomber deposited its deadly cargo in a field belonging to Jimmy Russell, shattering his hen roosts, killing many chickens, but causing little other damage. The only other action I can remember in the village occurred on a Saturday morning, my Mother and I were walking in West Street when we heard machine-gun fire; we dashed for shelter in an entry between 2 houses. A lone German plane came from the west, started firing into the Depot, then apparently flew and fired along the railway line. We know the late John May also remembered this, as he was a messenger in the Depot, riding his pedal bike and dodging the bullets at the time; and we know a Mother and child at the allotments [what is now the Jubilee playing field alongside the railway] had to throw themselves down on the ground." - Bob.

"A number of Italian POW's were held in a camp in West Street and I remember seeing them on 'Church Parade' - marching to the Catholic Church."

"During the 1000 bomber raids on Germany, planes from RAF and USAF bases around the area used to get into formation in the skies overhead. One evening as the sun was setting I saw 2 bombers collide, and saw the parachutes deploy as the crews bailed-out, the planes crashed near Rugby." - Bob.

"From the high ground in Farthingstone Road, it was possible to see the glow in the sky as Coventry burned." - Bob.

"Weedon has always been a busy village because of the military connection. In the wartime 1939-45, the Ordnance Depot was a very busy place, providing small arms, rifles, etc., for the Army, also a REME() Workshop for repair of all small arms.

A.T.S., R.A.O.C., R.P.C were stationed here, although it was a sad time we had some happy days, as dances were held once or twice a week in Storehouse 2, also E.M.S.A concerts for the troops which we were all invited to attend.

There was also a very good NAAFI shop where we could buy all our groceries.

Also we had the Royal Horse Artillary here, it was a wonderful sight to see the horses parade through the village every day, looking so smart.

We had a very busy Goods Depot here and a railway station which was very busy, troops going on leave from there and returning back after their holiday. Also a train came into the Depot every day to collect and deliver small arms; that was a wonderful sight.

My Mother had the telephone exchange in the front room of our house in the High Street. It was a busy exchange with two telephone switchboards, all hand-operated. My Mother slept downstairs every evening all night, as four sub-Depots used to ring in every four hours to the Ordnance Depot to check all was well. The Home Guard stood outside all evening to check everything was in order.

The Security Police who stood at the entrance to the Depot lived on the High Street in wooden houses, which now is Regents Park.

At one time a branch of the canal came into the Ordnance Depot, but was closed many years ago.

There were a lot of Public Houses in the village to cater for all the troops. Every year the Army had a lovely day on the Polo Field with the horses performing etc., which was very popular.

Sundays, the troops attended a Church Parade, which was a very colourful sight, the church being full of soldiers." - Beryl.