Liverpool's War - Part 3 of 3

FOOD/DIET
One good thing to come out of the war was the improvement in the range and quality of food and dietary standards. In part this was brought about by the rationing system, the movement towards ‘grow your own’, the lack of availability of imported foodstuffs.

“Dried Egg” — I think that this was initiated by the Americans and was not universally welcomed but because it was cheap and available we ate our fair share.
“Spam” — Same comments as for Dried Egg
“ Dried Milk “ — This was a home grown product but again cheap, available stored longer
“ Brawn “ — A home product — personally detested — but again it was often the only thing not under the grocer’s counter.
“ Cod Liver Oil — Orange Juice — School Fresh Milk (FREE) — these were introduced by the Government free of charge and as they were available for all at school the health of the nation improved dramatically during the war and just after.

THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
The Fate of H.M.S. “ Thetis “
This could be regarded as the longest and most critical battle of the Second World War, and many Merseysiders considered that it started 3 months earlier than the official date in September 1939. In the early days of June 1939 “ H.M.S. THETIS “ was the most modern and the most highly technically designed submarine in the world. She had just been finished at Cammell Lairds shipyard in Birkenhead. Many local men had worked on her and the civilian public had great regard for her. She slipped into the River Mersey that day in the country wide confidence that a few days working trials would herald the latest addition to a growing and feared navy.
To everybody’s horror and before everybody’s eyes she sank. Desperate measures were taken and even though part of the vessel was still showing above the water it was not possible to save her. Every person on board perished.
Many people were distressed because they had relations on board or had worked in the construction of the “ THETIS “ and there were hundreds of different theses put forward to say that there had been sabotage, that there were too many people on board, that there were many people on board who should not have been so.
Arguments sprouted up then and continued to do so until years after the end of the war. Even in the 1950’s you could hear such discussions on most pubs at the week-ends.

Further casualties
The “ Athenia “ was torpedoed by a ‘ U ‘ boat within days of the declaration of war and not much later “ H.M.S. Hood “ met the same fate with only 3 men out of approx . 400 surviving.
The German navy could not match ours and so reverted to concentrating on attacks on the Merchant Marine. Liverpool had a total of over 2000 vessels registered at the port and there were thousands of foreign registered ships coming in and out of Liverpool. In fact approx 2000 vessels were lost to the ‘ U ‘ boats.
The Headquarters of Western Command was transferred to Liverpool in February 1941 and it may still be there in some form.
A LIGHTER NOTE
During the war there was a shore based station in the area of what is known as Mann Island and it was named “ H.M.S. Eaglet “ and again I think that it still exists. Time after time it would be announced in a broadcast by “ Lord Haw Haw “ or a similar broadcaster that Liverpool had taken a heavy beating overnight and that one of our ships - “ The H.M.S. Eaglet “ had been sunk with all hands.
It was the centre of good humoured chat next day in work. If the Germans had to fall back on the same old lies so often then they must not have any truly good news.“ Q.E.D “ They must be losing.
ANOTHER LIGHTER NOTE
I had a great aunt Mary who was about 70 — 75 years old just before the declaration of war and she suffered from ‘Second Childhood” as it was called then .She kept us children amused by her childish sayings.Then one day whilst reading the paper about the trouble Hitler was making she announced sonorously “ THIS MISTER HITLER IS BECOMING A DAMN NUISANCE. WHY DOESN’T SOMEONE PROSECUTE HIM?”

THE HORRIFYING TRUTH
Although only a child I had followed the narrative of the war as far as I was able, at school, in the papers and on the wireless. Details on the radio news must have passed over my head but when I saw the photographs later in the newspapers I could not believe what I saw. At first because all the people were skeletal I thought it was some sort of ghost story, but the photos of the mass graves dispersed that idea. My parents did try to distract my attention away but not too successfully. As the truth developed that these people had been persecuted and wholly murdered not for any fault, misdemeanour, or wickedness on their part but solely because they believed in a different religion, I realised that knowledge of their state must have been obvious to the political leaders of this and other countries and that it was deliberately withheld. Not that the populace would necessarily have been able to do more but by doing what they did they became tainted by the guilt of the Axis countries.

Sorry to end on such a down beat.

A LIST OF MY RELATIONS WHO SERVED IN THE WAR
Grandfather — Jimmy McKernan Merchant Navy — North Atlantic
Great Uncle — Eddie Mckernan Merchant Navy — North Atlantic
Uncle — Hugh Carter Admiralty — Scappa Flow
Aunt — Phoebe Carter Admiralty — Scappa Flow
Uncle — Jimmy Delaney Merchant Navy
Cousin — Jimmy Delaney Merchant Navy
Uncle — Joe Carter Army — North Africa - Italy
Uncle* - Jimmy Thompson Army — North Africa - Italy
Uncle* - John Thompson Army — France - Germany
Uncle* — Eddy Rawlinson R.A.F. - Canada
Cousin — Bert Small Guards — North Africa — Italy - Austria
Uncle — Danny Lawson Navy
Aunt — Lily Lawson Land Army
Uncle — Willy McGrath Fire watch
Cousin — Arthur Jameson France - Belgium - Holland
Uncle — Bob Roberts France - Belgium
Father — Tom Carter A.R.P./C.D.
NOTES
My grandfather and his brother Eddie had been all over the world at sea for over 50 years and 60 years. They had been rescued from the North Atlantic having been torpedoed. The Admiralty later prevented them from going to sea because they were too old! They were miffed-they were only 65 and 75.
My cousin Jimmy Delaney was about 16 when he joined the navy and he was on his maiden voyage with his father (same name). The ship was holed and sunk in the North Atlantic. Young Jimmy was pulled into a lifeboat by his father who refused to accept he was dead although he did appear so. After recuperation he went on a Russian convoy in the winter and again was in the water just short of Archangel or Murmansk. After a stay in a Russian hospital he was put on a ship going to Britain. Just outside Russian waters he was in the drink again. He went back to sea again and stayed for about 40 years.
Uncle Bob had been a professional soldier — a company sergeant major - was sent to France as soon as war was declared. On the retreat to Dunkirk he was surrounded by the Germans. He went to a Belgian farm house and was given some peasants clothes. They burned and buried his uniform and rifle.
He made his way by night to the beach. He was one of the last to rescued and brought home to England. However because of the shelling and heavy bombing he went stone deaf for the rest of his life.
Bert Small, my cousin by marriage, joined a guards regiment at the start. He was in North Africa and on the first day of his first battle he was caught by an Italian mortar shell in the back. He was taken prisoner of war and put in an Italian Field hospital. Thereafter following each successive defeat he was taken by the Italians to their hospital .During his stay he attempted 3 times to escape but was re-captured each time. Eventually after moving along the North African coast, on to Sicily and then Italy and finally after travelling over some months from the toe of Italy northwards he ended up in Austria. He escaped in a stolen ambulance and was shot at in No Mans land by the Americans.
“ Uncle “ Eddy Rawlings, a family friend, spent most of the war in Canada as a pilot instructor to R.C.A.F.
Happily none of them came to great harm and they all returned home safe and sound.

My father, Thomas Carter, was aged 31 when war started, well below the highest call-up time. However he knew that he could not join the armed forces because of a childhood injury which left him partly incapacitated. Therefore he joined the Civil Defence earlier than the start of the war as a full time regular. When war came he was in charge of a wide area of our local district.
Hours of the day did not seem to matter as you would always see him about his “ parish “ during every night time raids.
You would also often see him about his “ parish “ during the day time
I can remember clearly going on an errand one bright afternoon and joining a happy throng taking great interest in my father and his crew dealing with the fire caused by the delayed explosion of an incendiary bomb which had stayed hidden in the loft of a 3 story house. The equipment was very basic, just a few buckets of water, some bags of sand and the odd fire extinguisher. In addition to actually attending the blaze itself they were responsible for the safety of onlookers, the clearing of any obstacles in the way of the fire engines and/or ambulances, and of warning the police etc. But it was almost a daily occurrence at one period.
One night, during the May 1941 blitz, I believe, my father and his second-in-command pulled a very badly injured man from the debris of a blazing house. Bombing that night was particularly heavy — tramlines were down, there were craters in the roads, road traffic was crawling, ambulances were just not available in that level of demand, phone lines were down, flares and bombs were still falling.
The man’s injuries were of such an extent and nature that most cars or vans were unable to take him. My father and mate had to dodge frenetically in and out of the traffic to find a vehicle with a luggage rack or similar and running boards. Having accomplished this they were obliged to put the poor man on the roof rack, stand on the running boards and hold on to their passenger with one hand.
They arrived at Stanley Road Hospital to find there was no space for him. They were obliged to run after the car, commandeer it again, and take the injured patient to Walton Hospital; much further away .There was no way home but to walk.
On the next night they had to take another injured resident to Walton Hospital but the journey was by ambulance. On the walk back home his second in command, in the dark, failed to see the crater made by an unexploded land mine. He fell down. My father retrieved him and they then spent the remainder of the night informing the unknowing residents of the bomb.
Another little episode was that one evening as the Air Raid Warning was in action the second in command’s sister slipped and fell down a steep stone staircase. Her head was badly injured. Again there was no transport available. My father carried the lady all the way to Stanley Rd hospital on his back, despite his ‘gammy’ leg
Years later that same lady together with one of our family tried to convince him to write to the War Office to obtain a medal or two for all the things, such as the above, he had done.
He refused on the grounds that it was his job and that it was a team effort anyway.
SAN FERRY ANN you might say.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my sister, Doreen, who contributed many memories. I would also put on record her enthusiasm, encouragement and help.

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