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Thomas Dickinson's Memories
The first memory I have of world war two was when the proprietor of the local shop, Mr L. Jarron, came down the street shouting that war had been declared. Everyone was standing at their doors.
As the war progressed air raids became more frequent so the school I attended, Whickham County Council, introduced a code of practice which was that if an air raid finished after midnight you did not have to attend until 1pm the next day.
Air raid shelters were built next to the school and our gas masks were often tested for different kinds of gas that may have been used by the Germans. Barricade blocks were built on certain roads. These were made of concrete and there was just enough space for one vehicle to pass through. There was one on Broom Lane near my home and others at Fellside road and Sunniside.
The government introduced a scheme so that you could get extra clothing coupons if your feet were over a certain length but I never qualified.
As the war progressed, when you reached the age of 13 you were allowed to "potato pick" in the autumn. I think that it was for either 25p per day or 25p per week. It was hard work!
There were a few air raids when bombs were dropped in our area, notably one in Tait's farm field at the top of the street where I lived. A number of houses had their windows shattered. The day after the raid we used to go into the bomb craters to collect shrapnel (pieces of the bomb). In an air raid on Sunniside a bomb killed a Mr George Shanks. The bomb was a direct hit on his home.
My father was a coal miner and one of the shifts he worked finished at 11.30pm; if an air raid was on and they were bombing South Shields, he would take me to the bottom of the street and show me the flares, fires and guns being fired at the German aircraft.
There was an army camp on Fellside Road, which had an anti-aircraft gun; there was also one at Lobley Hill and the noise was terrific. There were also barrage balloons situated around the area, one in Beech Grove (below Whickham Church) and one at Fellside. There were also static water tanks where gallons of water were stored in case of fire from the bombs. During the blackout people were shouted at by the wardens, for showing lights from windows.
Once my mother took me to Whickham pictures, now the gym in Church Chare, and when we came out it was pitch black. Instead of walking up Broom Lane to our house we ended up in Duckpool Lane.
I never saw a banana, until near the end of the war. A schoolboy brought one into the schoolyard it was black. His father, a soldier, brought it from abroad.
At the end of the war we were all introduced to a famous person. It was Maurice Chevalier, the French singer and film star. He was introduced by our Head Master, Mr Kennedy, who had been a prisoner with him during the First World War and who had taught him to speak English.
I keep remembering things since starting this story such as when an air raid was in progress we either went to a public shelter which was about 75 yards from our house or to a single bed under the staircase which was supposed to be the safest place if we were bombed.
Sweets and chocolates were rationed to 4ozs a week so when we went to the pictures we used to buy a half-penny carrot at H. Hutchinson the fruiterers, Front Street, Whickham, now a bank.
Another event in the war was just after Dunkirk, hundreds of soldiers were sent to Whickham and district. I remember them seeing some of them sitting and lying in the fields below where The Gibside is now. My father once brought a couple of soldiers home for lunch.