February 2008 Archives
Drive safely
Posted by Ray on February 6, 2008 8:59 AM
Driving with the safety of pedestrians in mind is an obvious priority and there are many instances of gung-ho drivers charging up and down streets at great speeds as to bring fears to parents of the safety of their young children - but can you Remember When driving was a simple task and not a dangerous obstacle course.
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My RAF days
Posted by Ray on February 11, 2008 10:37 AM
By Doug Ross, Hebburn
I did my National Service with the RAF from June 53 to 55. After being kitted out during the first week of entry at RAF Padgate it didn’t seem so bad as expected.
Most of our time was spent marking every bit of our kit with your service number, and spit and polishing the toe-caps of your new boots, until you could almost see your face in them.
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Attenshun!
Posted by Ray on February 11, 2008 11:25 AM
We asked for stories on your National Service days and they came thick and fast.
Did the endless barrack square drilling, bulling your kit and hut inspections do you any good?
Did it make a difference to your life in civvy street. Where were you posted to and what did you get up to?
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What was it like shopping during rationing?
Posted by Ray on February 16, 2008 9:31 PM
We seem to have it really easy these days, shopping that is, if you can afford it, that is.
The shops are full of goods, the supermarket shelves are full of food. You just have to make your choice!
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Are we becoming letterless?
Posted by Ray on February 26, 2008 1:16 PM
Are emails destroying the art of letter writing?
I ask this because it is obviously easier to send half a dozen emails, practically keeping a diary of events than waiting awhile and writing a letter full of news of events that have taken place.
I have just put a story together for Remember When, concerning a couple in the Second World War. The lady in question, Joyce, was introduced by letter to a pen pal, George, a Royal Navy sailor who was at sea.
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That's witchcraft
Posted by Ray on February 28, 2008 9:26 AM
Listening to Radio Five Live on my run-in to work the subject of witchcraft came up. Various events from history were discussed and it ended with the presenter saying that the last person to stand trial in Britain for witchcraft did so in 1944, meaning how could we have been so daft in 1944 - it seems we were dafter than he thought.
At a seance in Portsmouth in late November 1941, Helen Duncan, a spiritualist medium from Callander, Scotland, announced that she had contacted a dead sailor who had told her that his ship, HMS Barham, had recently been sunk (with the loss of 861 lives).
The Admiralty were trying to keep this fact quiet from the Germans who hadn't realised they had sunk the battleship and the British, on the grounds of keeping up moral. Relatives were later told of the loss of their loved-one's but also told not to tell anyone else on the grounds of national security.
Duncan was not arrested in the aftermath of the Barham incident but later, in 1944, superstitious intelligence officers learned of the event and feared that Duncan might reveal plans for the D-Day landings.
To make sure she was kept quiet Duncan was convicted under the British Witchcraft Act of 1735 and sentenced to nine months in prison.
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