The Secret Move

My grandfather, Ernest Bishop, lived in Bath during the Second World War. He ran his own removal business, which was taken over by Pickfords. When families were being evacuated from London to the country he made many trips from Bath to London to help these people relocate to Bath and surrounds. Most of these trips were at his own personal risk.

In 1941, during the Blitz he was approached to undertake a highly dangerous and very secretive trip. He was asked to transport King Hailie Salasie’s crown jewels from vaults in London to a secret location in Somerset.

None of the family apart from my Grandmother knew the nature of his trip. The day arrived and my grandfather left as usual. He was gone all day and arrived back late in the evening. But this time things were slightly different, there were armed guards around the grounds of the house and especially outside the warehouse where my grandfather stored his lorry. Also my grandfather’s dog, Bob, a Springer Spaniel, was alert to anything untoward.

The following morning my grandfather moved the lorry to an unknown destination and unloaded his precious cargo with the family none the wiser until much later on.

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