An oral history interview with Alan Oakenfull. Interview Date 28/02/2014
Alan Oakenfull was born in London in 1932 but by 1939 the family were living in Southampton. His mother had died a few years earlier and his father was about to be drafted into the army, so Alan and his siblings had to be evacuated. They were taken to the Central Station in Southampton, along with about 40 other children from the school, and a train took them to Lymington. Alan recalls that they weren’t happy where they were billeted and after three months, they were moved to Bournemouth where things were no better and eventually after about a year they were moved to Wilverley Park House in Lyndhurst, which was for children from problem backgrounds. Alan describes what living in Lyndhurst was like at that time and recalls the French soldiers being billeted nearby following the evacuation from Dunkirk.
Alan gained a scholarship to the Itchen Grammar School, which had been evacuated to Andover, so he then had to move there. He recalls the local Home Guard training and watching dogfights over the town. His father was invalided out of the army and settled in Lower Pennington, so in early 1943 he moved back to live with his father, who had joined the Home Guard and also become an ambulance driver. Alan was transferred to Brockenhurst County High School and describes school life and he also joined the Lymington Town Sailing Club, which provided an opportunity to observe the build-up of shipping in the Solent prior to D-Day.
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Interviewed by: Helen Wallbridge
Transcription by: Helen Wallbridge
Audio Editor: Cosmic Carrot
An oral history interview with Fred Norman Bennett. Interview Date 21/04/13
Fred Bennett was born in New Milton and moved in 1942 to Ashurst Lodge. He later worked for Kroll in a factory making pieces for Merlin aero engines. His fondest memories, though, are interactions as a youngster with the American Troops who would give gifts, food, sweets etc. and take the children on trips to the cinema in Southampton.
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Interviewed by: Sue Jackson
Transcription by: Dru Owen
Checked by: Liz Ralf
Audio Editor: Cosmic Carrot
An oral history interview with Dennis Leng. Interview Date 08/06/13
Dennis Leng joined the RAF in 1936, initially being trained as a wireless operator at RAF Wyton before being transferred to RAF Cardington to train as a barrage balloon operator, which was his occupation during the war. He was stationed briefly at Beaulieu airfield prior to being demobbed in December 1945. He does not remember much about his time at the airbase.
Initially in 1939 he was posted to 924 Squadron who were responsible for setting up barrage balloons around Manchester. Early in 1940 the squadron were posted to Le Havre in France to support the defences there. On evacuation they were re-equipped and posted to Southampton. Dennis describes the construction of a barrage balloon and its deployment, and also their operations in the Southampton area. He witnessed a couple of aircraft crashes in the West End area. He also got married during the war and they used parachute material for dresses and shirts. On leaving the RAF he became a teacher and eventually taught retarded children.
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Interviewed by: Sue Jackson
Transcription by: John Martin
Checked by: Sue Jackson
Audio Editor: Cosmic Carrot
For further reading and articles on Beaulieu Airfield please visit: Beaulieu Airfield Overview
An oral history interview with Cynthia E Carter. Interview Date 21/06/13
Cynthia Carter was 11 years of age in 1939 and was living on a farm at Ellingham. The family had to evacuate the farm during the harvest in 1940 when much of the land was used to construct Ibsley aerodrome. The family moved to Dorset and she then went to school in Bournemouth. She remembers the buses towing a gas generator behind them and how underpowered they were.
She describes the construction of Ibsley aerodrome, the constant noise of aircraft coming and going and some of the incidents that took place there. Cynthia describes what it was like to work on a farm during the war and the effect of food rationing. She also observed military activities during the build-up to D-Day, was horrified by the piles of rubble on a visit to London, and saw the bombing damage in Bournemouth. After the aerodrome was demolished and the concrete runways removed, her father found a Stone Age axe head whilst deep ploughing the land.
You can find out more about Ibsley Airfield in this overview article, which has links to other articles relating to Ibsley Airfield.
Photo:
Ringwood Home Guard, No. 2 Platoon. Circa 1944
Cynthia’s father William Sampson. Middle row 3rd from left, wearing a beret
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Interviewed by: Sue Jackson
Transcription by: Sue Newman
Checked by: Gareth Owen
Audio Editor: Cosmic Carrot
An oral history interview with Ronald Mintram. Interview Date 14/11/2012
Ronald Mintram was born in 1934 and was five when war broke out. He recalls such things as, his first school (Fawley Infant School), nightly bombing raids by the Germans and other memories of growing up in Holbury.
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Interviewed by: Dave Larder
Transcription by: John Martin
Audio Editor: Gareth Owen
An oral history interview with Herbert S Simmons. Interview Date 03.06.14
Herbert Simmons was born in Iowa, USA, 1922. Came to Lymington in April 1944 as a Communications Sergeant. He was based briefly at Lymington Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) with the 81st Fighter Squadron. His role was as part of the ‘directional finding (DF) station’ working to locate lost pilots mainly returning to Lymington ALG from missions. A lost pilot would ‘ping’ a signal that the DF team would receive and record the planes position. This was then plotted on a map and the information and bearings for home would be relayed to the pilot. Herb comments that technology progressed so fast that their manual methods were fast superseded. Herb goes on to talk about his landing at Omaha Beach four days after D-Day.
Photo HSS_035.
Herb sitting on the wing of a Spitfire, northern France 1945. He is holding a 45 Cal “Burp Gun”.
Photo HSS_037. Landing in France D-Day 6 June 1944.
Talks about the landing and seeing hundreds of dead soldiers on the beach.
Photo HSS_039. Plane P47 Thunderbolt “Freda Belle II”.
The pilot’s name was Alex de Graaf. The name of the plane is Freda Belle II, as Freda Belle was Alex’s wife, who he had married just before the War.
Herb is second in from the left.
Tommy Asburry, centre of photo.
Ignatius, wing maintenance man.
Photo HSS_041 Winter of 45.
Herb centre.
Left (Cherokee Indian)
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Interviewed by: Dave Larder & Gareth Owen
Transcription by: Sue Jackson
Checked by: Gareth Owen
Audio Editor: Cosmic Carrot & Gareth Owen
An oral history interview with Hugo Du Plessis . Interview Date 25-11-13
Hugo Du Plessis was at boarding school prior to and at the beginning of the war, but returned home to join the local Home Guard that had been formed by his father who was a local councillor. Hugo was then called up and joined the Fleet Air Arm in January 1942. Following a period of training in Scotland he was posted to the Testwood Training Squadron, Southampton. This enabled him to visit his family home near Lymington and was able to observe what was happening in the Forest during the war and its effect on the local estates and population. His narrative provides a window on what it was like to live in this area during the war years and its aftermath.
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Interviewed by: Colin Gibson
Transcription by: John Martin
Checked by: John Martin
Audio Editor:
Cosmic Carrot
An oral history interview with Joanne Vera Bowman. Interview Date 06/08/13
Joanne Bowman was born in 1927 and was initially living in Coventry at the start of the war. As a consequence of the bombing of that city, they first moved to London only to experience yet more bombing, and so Joanne was evacuated down to Foxlease, the Girl Guides house in Lyndhurst. She was on a one year course to learn something about gardening and remembers the Dig for Victory campaign and the enjoyable time she had at Foxlease. She describes her daily routine, the effects of rationing and the social life at the time, including what Lyndhurst was like then. She also recalls the American troops camped out in the area who threw them sweets and gum.
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Interviewed by: Sue Jackson
Transcription by: Krystyna Truscoe
Checked by: Gareth Owen
Audio Editor: Cosmic Carrot
An oral history interview with Mrs Edwina Bright. Interview Date 17/05/13
Edwina Bright was born in 1935 and brought up in Fritham, living on their family farm throughout the War. She describes the daily routine of rounding up the cows that were allowed to roam out on the Forest and selling and distributing the milk. They kept pigs and chickens and ran ponies on the open Forest. They also grew their own vegetables, so the family did not go short of food during the War. Edwina goes on to recall the siting of ack-ack guns and searchlights in the area and the Canadian lumberjacks that came over to build the log cabins and other accommodation for personnel on Stoney Cross airfield.
They had evacuees from Southampton staying with them during the War and she remembers the children attending school with her in Bramshaw, where they observed tanks and lorries passing the school. She describes what school was like in those days and seeing the Italian POWs going to the sawmill at Sloden and recalls the Ashley Walk bombing range and Millersford. A stray bomb was dropped not far from their farm and caused considerable damage to properties in Fritham. Edwina remembers the build-up of troops prior to D-Day. As children they found the activities on Stoney Cross airfield quite fascinating and recalls much of what she saw at the time. She gives a good description of local life during that period and how they dealt with rationing and the black market.
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Interviewed by: Sue Jackson
Transcription by: John Martin
Audio Editor: Cosmic Carrot
An oral history interview with Dionis M Macnair. Interview Date 01/12/12
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Dionis Macnair was born in Burley in 1930. Whilst returning from abroad they stopped off in Gibraltar at the time war was declared and had to be evacuated from there at short notice when France was invaded. The boat they were on was supposed to land them at Portsmouth, but due to bombing, they eventually landed at Tilbury in London. She remembers the effects of the blackout there before they travelled to stay with a grandmother in Wales where they spent the summer of 1940 before returning to Burley in the autumn of that year. Dionis provides quite a lot of detail regarding life in that part of the Forest during the war including their social activities, mixing with the troops and the blackout. She recalls the restriction of movement due to petrol rationing and her mother joining the Voluntary Aid Detachment.
She also recalls the Forest being full of troops and tank manoeuvres and the build up to D-Day. She remembers the trees being felled for timber (primarily by Italian POWs) and ploughing up the Forest to try to grow food and the long term affect it had on the areas involved. Like most people, they kept pigs and she recalls collecting pig swill and the black market in pig meat. Apparently there was a considerable reduction in the number of deer on the Forest as well! They had evacuees billeted on them and Dionis remembers food rationing and what they had to grow themselves, including preserving fruit and vegetables.
Dionis also mentions the collection of blood from the ponies in order to create the vital tetanus vaccine for the injured troops. From Burley they could see the bombing of Southampton and recalls bombs being dropped in the Forest. Dionis also mentions cycling during the blackout and the dangers of slit trenches hidden by the heather whilst out riding their ponies.
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Interviewed by: Susan Jackson
Transcription by: Leander Johnson
Checked by: John Martin
Audio Editor: Cosmic Carrot
Further articles on New Forest Knowledge relating to Dionis McNair and her mother Eleanor Ruth Dent
