Life on the South Coast
Mum in Dover
Mum was brought up in Dover, and attended the Folkestone Commercial College until 1939, learning about typing, short-hand and book-keeping. When the war started, she joined Dover Food Office, which organised the rationing system in the area on behalf of the Ministry of Agriculture. We have a photo of her office and co-workers as her then manager was moving to another job.
Examination of the photo shows, most obviously that there were no computers – these only became available to Government Departments, Universities and then to large companies in the late 1940s / early 1950s (and then just one or two per company, there were nor screens).
There were mechanical adding machines, and slide rules and logarithm tables for multiplications and divisions.
Most companies and some homes had phones, but you had to ring the operator and ask them to manually connect you to any number outside your immediate area. However, there was also telex (the telegraph) which allowed you to send written messages through special telephone cables to almost any other organisation in the world with a telex machine, certainly across the then extensive British Empire.
Grandma in Dover
My Grandma lived in Dover throughout the War, and served with the Salvation Army as “Secretary of the Home League“ (and doubtless other roles). Starting with the Battle of Britain, Dover was a key target for enemy aircraft and shipping; it was a key strategic town and defended the narrowest part of the English Channel as well as being an invasion target and was the nearest town to enemy forces (just 22 miles from Calais) Dover rapidly became known as “Hell-Fire Corner”.
Dover Castle was a key position – it has many deep tunnels from WWII, WWI and the Napoleonic Wars.
Although Mum evacuated to Bodicote (as described elsewhere), Grandma stayed in Dover partly out of duty (she was a life-long Salvation Army member – a Captain during WWI and had been awarded a medal then by General Bramwell Booth, the second leader of the Salvation Army.) Also, she was one of twelve children all of whom reached adulthood, and many of whom settled in the Dover area. She didn’t talk about her experiences during the War (but the picture of the just-bombed Burlington Hotel at the top of this item illustrated what was probably a daily occurrence. (The Burlington Hotel and surrounding area had been totally destroyed by 1945.)
Just After the War in Dover
Mum went to stay with her many relatives in Dover once the European War had finished on 8th May 1945, staying for several weeks, but sending frequent letters back to her husband (my Dad). In one of the letters, she reports on the condition of Dover (see extract); the report reads:
“I walked through some of Dover’s back-streets and I had to rack my brains to think what buildings had been up before I left.
Everywhere you look is flat and the different views one gets of the castle is amazing. You could see it from about two places in the town, now you can see it practically whichever way you look.”
Mum took me to Dover in about 1953, and even as a four-year-old, I was struck by the number of flattened sites, and the concrete, barbed wire and other wartime residue, particularly on the cliffs.
Shared by Malcolm Rogers, their son and grandson
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