Recently in World War II Category

When war was declared in September 1939, Dr. William Temple was Archbishop of York.  He and his wife threw themselves into the war effort taking in evacuees and making the Palace and its grounds available to local organisations.  Three years later, in 1942, he was translated to Canterbury. 

The following extract is taken from the Archbishop's biography, William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury: His Life and Letters, by F. A. Iremonger.

On Sunday, 3 September [1939], the Archbishop Temple announced from his throne in the Minster that the country was at war, and that night the first sirens wailed over the city of York.

Changes were inevitable at Bishopthorpe, and were smoothly made.  Towards the end of their time the Archbishop and his wife took to living almost entirely in the north wing of the palace; a pleasant bedroom facing south and west did duty for Temple's study, and a small room near the kitchen, looking out on the garden, for their dining-room.  Mrs. Temple and her invaluable secretary, Miss Sinker, became adept at improvising floor (and bed) space at the shortest notice; a dozen evacuees, including some children, occupied rooms at the end of the north wing and a flat over the garage; members of the Women's Institute made jam in the old kitchen; for a few months the drawing-room was used for A. R. P. lectures, whist-drives, and dances; the Home Guard had a rifle-range for practice in the walled garden; and the local N. F. S. did not disguise their amusement when Temple took part in a rehearsal and lay flat on his front directing the nozzle of a stirrup-pump at an imaginary incendiary bomb. 

An important local achievement was the institution of the York Council for War-time Service, which co-ordinated the work of all the canteens and clubs for the troops organized by many agencies; the voluntary helpers at one of the largest of these centres were organized by Mrs. Temple and Miss Sinker who, on several nights in the week, drove nine miles to the I.T.C. at Strensall; sometimes the Archbishop, who was Chairman of the Council,  came out to the canteen to talk with the men or to hold an occasional service for them in the canteen.

Yorkshire had its full share of attacks from the air; there were two devastating raids on Hull, and one on the city of York; but it was not until they reached Canterbury that the Archbishop and his wife were to know the horrors of an air-raid at first hand.

F. A. Iremonger, William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury: His Life and Letters, (OUP, 1948) pp385-6

Seventy years ago, on 3rd September 1939, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain broadcast to the nation.  It was a momentous yet typically downbeat statement that, apparently, most of the British nation listened to, having been alerted that it would contain the news that it did. 

Mr. Chamberlain revealed that he had not received a response to his demand that the German Government should withdraw their troops from Poland, by the deadline of eleven o' clock a.m. "I have to tell you", he continued, "that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany."

To commemorate this historic anniversary, villagers' reminiscences and photographs showing how they buckled down to life on the Home Front, can be seen in Bishopthorpe Library. 

The Local History Group delved into the Bishopthorpe Community Archive for photographs and memories from recorded interviews.  Many of them reveal the indefatigable spirit and sense of humour which carried the villagers through six years of war.

Take, for example, Miss Carol Woollcombe's recollection of listening to Neville Chamberlain's announcement:

"We were listening to the radio in the study.  My sisters had been to Westmorland, where my aunts and my grandmother lived and they'd met my eldest uncle. And he was one of those chaps who was either up in the attacks or down in the dumps, you know. He was very mercurial. And he got very depressed over this news and my sisters came back and they said, 'Uncle Cecil says we must sue to Hitler for the best terms we can get.' And my mother said, 'What on earth is Cecil thinking of? We shall fight to the death.'

I always remember her saying that. She was going to hit him with a hockey stick, I think."

In Bishopthorpe, like everywhere else, men, women and children on the Home Front adapted to a different way of life; they put up with shortages; saved for the war effort; "dug for victory"; "got on with everything" and "did their bit".  They joined organisations such as the Home Guard, the Civil Defence and the National Fire Service; they raised money for Spitfires and Hurricanes; they knitted much-needed socks for seamen.


If you would like to see more, then visit Bishopthorpe Library where our display will be on show until 4 September. 

Library opening hours:
Monday: 2 - 5 pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 2 - 7.30 pm
Thursday: 10 am - 12 noon and 2 - 5 pm
Friday: 2 - 7.30 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 12.30pm

There are fourteen men from the First World War and ten men from the Second World War on Bishopthorpe’s War Memorial.

I am in the process of carrying out research into the lives of these men who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. In due course, I hope to produce a publication as a tribute to them.

This is one of the men:

Ordinary Signalman GEORGE GRANVILLE HEBDEN (known as Granville), was the son of William and Lily Hebden of School Lane, Bishopthorpe. He was serving on HMS Tynedale while it was escorting a convoy off the coast of Algeria. On 12 December 1943, the ship was torpedoed by the German submarine, U-593. Granville was aged 21 when he died. His name is also recorded on the Plymouth Naval memorial.

As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Victory in Europe and Japan, Bishopthorpe Community Archive reveals life on the Home Front through words and pictures. Visit Bishopthorpe Library to see the display throughout August until 12 September. You can see library opening hours here.
The following photographs are a taster:

The local Home Guard carried out part of their training at Bishopthorpe Palace.

During the war The Garth, in Sim Balk Lane, was designated a sub-station for Leeds signal office at Oakwood. One lady who remembered working there was Mrs Simmons (nee Hill), of Haxby. Mrs Simmons was a private in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and worked as a teleprinter operator. About 30 men and women were stationed at The Garth; the women lived on the premises and the men were billeted in the village.

In May 1943, 'D' Company, 11th West Riding Battalion, Home Guard, celebrated its third anniversary by marching through the village and attending an open-air service in front of Bishopthorpe Palace. The Company included men from Bishopthorpe, Acaster Malbis and other local villages.

Bishopthorpe Women's Institute join the war effort by knitting sea socks.