MARY PICKER

Since my husband-to-be, Stuart, was a member of the Territorial Army, he had to report immediately war was declared in 1939. He was sent first to Catfoss RAF Station and then to Stow on the Wold. After a weekend leave Stuart joined his regiment, the East Yorks, and left for France. That was the last time we saw Stuart for four years.

News was scarce and limited but then came the retreat from Dunkirk and one awful day we heard that Stuart was missing presumed dead. However our hopes rose when a local doctor told us that Stuart had been alive when they left the beaches but his leg had been shattered and he needed urgent attention.

Time passed until late September 1940 when the Red Cross gave us the news that Stuart was in a German prisoner of war hospital. Later a letter came from Stuart himself; it was labelled "Opened & Censored" and half the contents were blacked out. We did learn the German doctors had given him good treatment.
Other aspects of prison life were very grim - in fact without the support of the Red Cross parcels he would not have survived. Stuart was eventually repatriated with other badly wounded prisoners shortly before the war ended.

In the mean time life on the farm carried on though not so smoothly as in times of peace. Rations and the delivery of food stuffs were difficult as the younger men were called up and labour often short. Later in the war Italian prisoners were available to help with the harvest but communication with them was dificult and I always felt nervous with them on the tractor with me.

The blackout made feeding the animals and finding the lambs outside a problem using only small torches. Bombers from local RAF stations flying low over the farm in their scores frightened the animals as did the air-raid sirens and anti-aircraft guns. Incendiary bombs falling on the farm caused small fires as well as killing sheep.

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The retreat from Dunkirk was so sudden and rapid the Army had no bases to receive the returning soldiers and many men were billeted on farms, sleeping in barns and granaries. We had twenty of them for ten days or so. We helped to feed them until their rations arrived. Every morning they were out at six o'clock for water from the farm house, but soon found the milking shed and helped themselves to the lovely warm milk.

Later two RAF men were living with us for five days dismantling a German airplane which had been shot down near the village. The pilot had been killed and was buried temporarily in the churchyard.

The farm was not our only concern, brother Tom as a member of the Home Guard was out at night particularly during air-raids. Later on when the bombing was especially bad I drove and helped with a canteen serving hot drinks to the bombed people of Hull - all out in their night clothes at 4 o'clock in the morning.