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FLAMBOROUGH

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Watime Diaries of Flamborough

War Time Diarys of Flamborough
By
Tim Hepworth

Picture the scene in 1941 when I was 11, the village was approached down Crofts Hill which, at the bottom, still showed a Village Pump. St. Oswalds Church was next with the Rev. Edward Peters going about his daily duties. On entering the village, the first signs of the War was the sight of windows criss-crossed with tape to prevent the glass shattering by bomb blast. In Chapel Street, Mr. Brady from the bakery started up his motorcycle and box sidecar to begin his daily delivery of bread to the villagers. He could always be recognised as wore his cloth cap back-to-front. This was a popular form of transport as fishermen could be seen riding them to North Landing, or Nothsee as it was known then. Waiting at the rear of the Dog & Duck was a blue East Yorkshire Bus, driven by villager Fred Kingston, for Bridlington bound passengers. If you waited a quarter of an hour you could catch the White Bus Company's 28 seater Bedford driven by villager Gilbert Readhead. He was the one that drove the first bus at 7.15 every morning (except Sundays) for the duration of the War. They also had two other village drivers, George Chadwick and Basil Scales but now they were in the Army.

Walking past the Ship Inn, there was a notice saying "Sorry - No Beer" but a look through a window showed several fishermen sitting at the semi-circular bar enjoying a pint. Nobody bothered about this as the villagers regarded them as heroes anyway. Further down the main street were Fish & Chip shops and Readhead's paper shop. It was Pallister's Fish & Chips that boasted locally caught cod on the menu. That, along with the beef dripping, created a taste never to be enjoyed again! There was always a queue inside and three black-out curtains made entry difficult.

Further down the street, near the Rose & Crown was the one and only air-raid siren. This was sounded very often as enemy aircraft came over the still lit lighthouse and then down the County to bomb Hull. When this happened the fireglow could sometimes be seen.

Past the Village Green (also with Water Pump), just before the South Landing and Lighthouse crossroads, stood the imposing Village Hall. This was the scene of many wartime activities which kept the villagers together during the conflict. Details of various events there will be the subject of my next edititon from the wartime diaries.

This website has been set up by Flamborough Community Environmental Action Group with funding through:

English Nature and The Shell Better Britain Campaign.