GILL BAGULEY
''When war was declared I was just 6 years old. I can remember the feeling of anxiety in the grown-ups in my life, especially in my Mother who had a huge change of life-style thrust on her in the previous five years. After eight years of marriage during which she had moved house four times because of my Father’s job, produced three small children, me being the youngest, she found herself widowed with little or no income. Her solution was to move from the south coast to Norfolk to buy a village shop in Sprowston with housing attached so that she could be at home to care for us. This was a successful choice, until the war started. ''
Gill aged about 6
This house in Glenburn Avenue was formerly the shop where Gill lived with her mother, sister and brother during the war.
The doorway into the shop has been bricked up but is clearly visible on the photo.
BLACKOUT
Blackout regulations were imposed in September 1939, before the declaration of war. These required that all windows and doors should be covered at night with suitable material such as heavy curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent the escape of any glimmer of light that might aid enemy aircraft. The Government ensured that the necessary materials were available.[External lights such as street lights were switched off, or dimmed and shielded to deflect light downward. Essential lights such as traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted covers to deflect their beams downwards to the ground.
War time in the shop
''The war brought many changes. Blackout curtains in a shop with three large windows was a daily nightmare. Sheltering under the stairs every night was uncomfortable. Hearing planes overhead, followed by the noise of bombs falling was terrifying. Eventually we upgraded to a Morrison shelter in our living room, which also became the dining table. So much bombing in Norwich missed the centre and landed in places near or us. Mousehold Heath, Salhouse and Wroxham Roads, were all damaged and Boulton and Paul’s factory just a couple of miles away had a direct hit. ''
Listen to Gill talk about the outbreak of war by clicking on the link
Glenburn Avenue in the 1930's
Looking towards Wroxham from the corner of Glenburn Avenue
Sprowston Road in the 1930's
FIRST WW2 AIR RAID on norwich TARGETS sprowston
Norwich was first bombed by German planes on 9 July 1940.The raid, carried out by three Luftwaffe bombers began shortly before 5pm and the Sprowston Grange home of Barclays Bank director Charles Hammond found itself an unlikely first target . Hammond was attending a board meeting of the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital at the time, but two of his household staff, parlour maid Kathleen Le-Good and cook Iris Fortescue, had just settled themselves by a bay window for afternoon tea. Kathleen recalled: “I’d had just one bite of a bun when there was this terrific bang.” In that moment the house shook and windows shattered, showering them with glass. “We rushed into the corridor and stood there shaking, holding on to each other. It was a terrifying experience.” They scrambled outside only to find the ground around flailed by machine-gun fire . Fortunatley they escaped unharmed, but 60-year-old Kate Lovett who lived at the nearby Grange Cottage was fatally injured when one of the bombs demolished her home as she sheltered beneath a table.
Quite why the Grange was picked out is unclear, though Kathleen and Iris were among several local people to speculate that the intended target was Sprowston Hall which had been taken over by the military.
Next to be attacked was Barnard's Iron Works on Salhouse Road which manufactured gunshells and parts for the Hurricane bomber . Four men were killed and by the end of that afternoon, 22 more people had died. Many buildings had been destroyed or seriously damaged including Thorpe train station and the Boulton and Paul works at Riverside.
Five women who were walking up Carrow Hill after finishing their shifts at the nearby Colman's factory were killed when a bomb exploded above their heads. Maud Ballam, 40, and Bessie Upton, 36, were killed instantly. Bessie Playford, 19, died later that day at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and Gladys Sampson, 18, died the following day.Maud Burrell, 37, clung to life for three days before dying of her injuries.
Despite the horrendous loss of life, very little information about the air raid appeared in the press.
Sprowston Grange photographed when it was the Georgian Hotel. The first bomb to hit Norwich fell here.
GILL AT SCHOOL
''I was a pupil at the Notre Dame School in Norwich as was my sister who very reluctantly took charge of my daily journey as she also attended as a pupil. The crowded bus from Sprowston each day meant that it was not uncommon to see distressed people, mainly young women, who had received news of a loved one’s death. I found this very bewildering .At school we seemed to spend more time in the cloakroom in the basement, than we ever did in our classroom. It was here that we prayed endlessly, were given rosaries, and practised wearing our gas masks. Walking down Surrey Street became another world… the piece of land next to the school was the victim of bombing as was All Saints Green, and the bottom of Surrey Street where it met St Stephen’s where Debenham’s now stands was a huge crater which was a lovely playground with its mountains of rubble. Although it was off limits I would scramble down the slope and play hide and seek there with my friends. Nobody bothered us and told us that it was unsafe. The great adventure for all the young boys including my brother was the collecting of shrapnel, which was prolific. ''
Listen to Gill talk about school by clicking on the link
Bomb damage to Orford Place where Debenham's is now
Part of Bond's department store before it was bombed
Scout Week on the blitzed Curls site at Norwich.
Gill used to play here with her friends
PHOTO COURTESY OF EDP
LIVING IN A SHOP
''The evenings at home were very sociable. My mother kept the shop open as long as possible, and she was always busy. Rationing meant more work as cheese, butter sugar, and eggs all had to be weighed exactly. Items like bacon, cake, jam and many tinned goods were in short supply and a great deal of tact had to be used when selling them, as customers became very difficult to please if they thought they were not being treated fairly.
As my mother had been an accountant before her marriage, adding up and collating the ration points was something she enjoyed doing. The table would be covered with these paper coupons and this routine took place monthly.
The other memory I have is of the weekly bartering that went on every Friday evening in our shop. Everybody who had local businesses met in out shop to settles their dues. There was the butcher, the baker the newsagent, the greengrocer and the haberdasher. They would keep me awake with their banter ‘’ You had 6 sausages and I had carrots and potatoes so that evens out’’ I had been the errand girl who had done the shopping but I was never given money for the items, it was always settled at the end of the week. No wonder money means so little to me!! . My brother spent most of his wartime taking shopping to customers in the village. One great loss was our phone which was considered a luxury by the Post Office and was taken away. Somehow orders for food were received still, but it was yet another sacrifice the war demanded. ''
Click the link to listen to Gill talking about the shop
A shopkeeper stamps a ration book . 1943
RATIONS
At the start of the Second World War in 1939, the United Kingdom was importing 20 million tons of food per year, including 70% of its cheese and sugar, almost 80% of fruit and about 70% of cereals and fats. The UK also imported more than half of its meat, and relied on imported feed to support its domestic meat production. In order to disrupt the flow of these imports the Germans attacked shipping bound for Britain, with the intention of starving the nation. To deal with food shortages, the Ministry of Food instituted a system of rationing. Each person had to register at chosen shops, and was provided with a ration book containing coupons. Purchasers had to present ration books when shopping so that the coupon or coupons could be cancelled.
A wartime ration book
This is a typical weekly food ration for an adult:
Bacon & Ham 4 oz
Other meat value of 1 shilling and 2 pence
Butter 2 oz
Cheese 2 oz
Margarine 4 oz
Cooking fat 4 oz
Milk 3 pints
Sugar 8 oz
Preserves 8 oz per month
Tea 2 oz
Eggs 1 fresh egg
Sweets 8 oz per month
CUSTOMERS IN THE SHOP
''Sprowston was surrounded by aircraft stations. The nearest was Rackheath where the American Army Air Force was based. The GIs came to us regularly and were always friendly, generous and kind. In return for some cigarettes they would supply me with chewing gum, and for my mother they would bring nylon stockings – sheer luxury. One famous visitor to the shop was Douglas Bader. He was stationed at Coltishall not far from us. He even offered to show me his ‘’tin leg’’ but I was too frightened to accept the offer!
The local poacher called quite regularly. He always wore a huge brown coat and from the inside pockets he would produce dead rabbits, and miraculously one Christmas a chicken. The air wardens would gather at our shop, which was a great comfort. They were especially good when one of the plate glass windows was shattered by a bomb blast . They rallied round and repaired it for us.''
Listen to Gill by clicking on the links.
LOCAL AIRFIELDS
Rackheath airfield was laid out on agricultural land between the two settlements of Rackheath Parva and Rackheath Magna. It was opened on 11 March 1944 for the use of the United States Army Air Force and was manned by the 467th Bombardment Group from Utah .Planes from Rackheath were involved in bombing campaigns in Germany and France.
The airfield at RAF Coltishall was completed and entered service in May 1940 as a fighter base. During the Second World War, Coltishall operated the Hawker Hurricane. One notable fighter pilot was Douglas Bader.
Rackheath airfield pictured from the air in 1946
Squadron Leader Douglas Bader pictured in 1940
Sprowston ARP Wardens
Sprowston Civil Defence Team 1940
GILL'S THOUGHTS ABOUT LIVING THROUGH THE WAR
''My recollection of the war time years was one of acceptance, I had never eaten a banana so did not miss them. There were always sweets stuck to the bottom of sweet jars that were not sale-able, so they were extracted somehow and I was the beneficiary. Sugar, sifted from the bottom of its hessian sack could be used by us, and cracked eggs meant a healthy breakfast. For a child of my age, living in a grocery shop made the war bearable in many ways. I was unaware of the danger we were in, although a rare trip to Mundesley and seeing a land mine washed up on the beach was very salutary.''
Gill talks about the end of the war. Click the link to listen to her.
GILL IN KETTLESTONE
Gill has lived in Kettlestone since retirement.
Here she is in her garden with a friend and below, talking to a neighbour in the village hall.