George Gills War Memories

In 1928 I, George Gill, came into the world, born in the same house which my family still live in today. The address then was 3 Cow Close, later it was given the street name Linden Cottages.

My Father came from West Cornforth and my mother came from Pine Road Ferryhill, My stepsister was called Elizabeth, she was a lot older than me (Elizabeth died 20 year ago).

Everyday I tried to run away, up the backs.  I ran behind Gladstone Crescent, passing Barkers and Kenmirs Buildings. A teacher used to be waiting for me at the top of Kenmirs Buildings, under the arch to catch me and take me back to school. (This was a daily event that went on through my school years). I was so scared by this my mother use to get my cousin Arnold Stoker to take me to school as I knew I was going to get the stick every day for running away. The teachers were really strict in those days. Then, when I had had the stick at school my dad smacked my backside to for running away from school.

My teachers were Miss Jefferson, Miss Wilson, Teddy Elves, Boss Tullick, Amy Parkin, Flora Parkin, Boss Thompson (from Darlington), Head Mistress = Junior  - Miss Price, Head Mistress = Infant = Miss Beaty.

When the air raid sirens used to go off when I was at school we were taken to the air raid shelter, which was at the back of the school.  It was very damp and cold inside.  I was very scared of the bombing attacks and the evacuees used to be crying with the rest of us, because they missed their parents as they had been moved away from the cities.   The school uniform was short trousers a shirt and cap and the girls wore a pinafore dress.   We got barley sugar sweets at school off the council, and there was no dinner hall so we had to come home every day for our lunch.

Mam used to make me nice dinners and always made sure I was well fed. We got plenty of eggs and bacon off our granddad at Pine Road as he had a farm, also mam made us big Stottie cakes which were the size of wagon wheels.  Mam use to cook on the fire, and that’s where the kettle was boiled for the hot water when we wanted to go in the bath.

I was in my next-door neighbours, the Collingswood’s, when the beginning of the war was announced on the wireless (now the stereo).  We had to have shutters at our window so that no lights could be seen from inside the house.  I used to stand on the farm wall outside of our house, looking over towards Newcastle and see search lights going up to the sky, you could see bullets been fired up to the German Planes; Then a cloud of smoke would form when the plane was struck.

Learning to ride a motor bike, aged 13, down the bottom of Coxhoe.  A Hurricane Hawk plane flew over low and crashed into Willow farm and hit the big hen cree.  Pit men who were waiting to be picked up to go to work ran over to where the plane crashed yet the pilot was dead.  He was discovered to be Polish.

One day I was outside my house with my father and a German plane came up the fields (he was so low you could see the pilot). He then turned left at the top of Cow Close and followed the T.M.S. bus to Kelloe.  The bus turned its lights out and the plane missed bombing the bus and bombed along Kelloe Front Street.  There was also a house hit yet no one hurt.

German planes came over to bomb Coxhoe quarry but there was a mist and they bombed Quarington Hill Churchyard and near by houses, there was a couple of people killed this time.

One night when I was a bit older my friends and I went to the Regal Picture House at West Cornforth and the air raid siren went off, we went to the air raid shelter in the Market Place. Unfortunately it was full so we had to run home and go into the shelter my dad had built. (Ferryhill got bombed that night)

The air raid shelter dad and his friends built were right outside my house, it was made lovely, like a bungalow, with padded walls and it had seats in. We used to have to spend 3 hours a night in the air raid shelter yet no one ever complained.   If we were in the house and we couldn’t get to the air raid shelter we would hide underneath the stairs until the all clear was sounded.

Some times on a night I use to go down to Blakey’s fish shop down Cornforth Lane and help her out.  I used to take fish and chips up to Bogma Farm for the soldiers who operated the search lights etc.  Mrs. Blakey also use to make the soldiers Sunday Lunch.  

Starting work at age 14 at Forster and Armstrong’s Horticulture Warehouse, Linden Terrace I earned 10 bob a week so I used to go down to Mrs. Blakeys and get a fish for a penny and chips for a halfpenny and if you took a bundle of newspapers you got a bag of chips for free.

When the war ended there was a street party down Cornforth Lane, and they got the piano from out of school, put it outside on road and people played the piano and danced the entire night long.