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East Anglia at war, 1939-1945
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
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December 6, 2015
This is a really excellent book, and is essential reading for anyone interested in what went on in East Anglia during the Second World War. I live in Essex, which saw a lot of action, and those of you also interested in the parts played by Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire (including the then Huntingdonshire) will not be disappointed.
The book was written by Derek E. Johnson, who moved to East Anglia as a teenager after his London home was blown up in the Blitz. He witnessed a great deal of military, naval and air activity during the war which fired up his interest in the subject. After the war, he served in the Royal Military Police as a War Dog Handler in Greece during the communist uprising/invasion. In the 1960s he opened an antique shop in Clacton-on-Sea, Pennyfarthing, which specialised in arms, militaria, coins and medals. This in turn inspired him to conduct more research into the goings-on during the war, and he wrote several specialist books on both world wars and on collecting. He also contributed to the TV series, East Anglia at War.
The reason this book is so good is that Johnson conducted a huge amount of research. He not only examined government, MoD and regimental records but also tracked down many local people who had fought, flown, guarded installations and witnessed action and accidents, as well as people who had served on the ‘Home Front’ and in secret research. Every chapter includes stories from ordinary folk caught up in the war, how life changed and what they had to witness and put up with.
The book covers every aspect of the war:
Children were evacuated more than once, a logistical nightmare;
Home defence: ‘stop lines’ were constructed (hundreds of concrete pillboxes, mines and barbed-wire, concrete and steel beach defences);
The Home Guard – ‘Dad’s Army’, men who went to work as usual during the day and then put on their uniforms for guard and patrol duties every evening/night – exhausting;
The Secret Army: farm workers, postmen and other ‘essential workers’ who were not drafted into the forces but would stay put in the event of a German invasion. Those recruited to the Secret Army were trained in guerrilla warfare and provided with hidden underground bunkers with Tommy guns, grenades, explosives, etc. with which they were to sneak out at night and conduct hit and run operations against the occupying force. Their life expectancy was measured in weeks. (Fascinating!);
Civilian life: rationing of food, clothing and fuel; the constant danger of bombing; having to house refugee children, and caring for people affected by enemy action;
Women’s war work: women played a major part in WWII, both in the forces and doing many jobs considered ‘men’s work’. They worked in munitions factories, fixed motor vehicles and worked on farms (The Women’s Land Army), and so much more, proving they were just as effective as men. They also ran the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) and, together with the Women’s Institute (WI), organised people and provided hot food and drinks to so many in need, including driving tea vans/lorries out to soldiers on lonely guard duty;
The war at sea: local convoys, mines and mine clearance, the German submarine and E-boat threat, it’s all covered here;
The air war is particularly well represented in this book, with details of every RAF and American airbase in East Anglia (in a Glossary at the back) with the names of the squadrons based at them, as well as fascinating stories from several pilots. The impact of the USAAF arriving in 1942 is also discussed – not only militarily but how they impacted the local communities socially, i.e. they were considered by many Brits ’overpaid, over-sexed and over here’!;
Industry at war: Ford at Dagenham, Marshalls of Cambridge, Paxmans of Colchester and Marconi of Colchester and Chelmsford are particularly mentioned, and contributed a lot to the war effort;
Radar installations and secret weapons are discussed, including the original Chain Home system and, later in the war, secret weapons development at Bawdsey, Shingle Street and Orfordness. This includes a disturbing section regarding the development of an anthrax bomb that Churchill was keen to use – thank goodness it was never used.
At the back of the book there are potted histories of the Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk regiments, as well as a list of the locations of camps where German PoWs were held.
The book is liberally sprinkled with photographs and illustrations of government advice posters, ration cards, maps and a couple of enemy aircraft recognition cards, and all these add to the enjoyment of the book. Especially interesting are the many personal stories, which really bring to life the way it must have felt to live through those times in those places. I have read this book at least twice now and thoroughly enjoyed it both times, and I’m sure I will read it again in the future.
Mine is the Second Edition, which has more information than the original. Five stars.
The book was written by Derek E. Johnson, who moved to East Anglia as a teenager after his London home was blown up in the Blitz. He witnessed a great deal of military, naval and air activity during the war which fired up his interest in the subject. After the war, he served in the Royal Military Police as a War Dog Handler in Greece during the communist uprising/invasion. In the 1960s he opened an antique shop in Clacton-on-Sea, Pennyfarthing, which specialised in arms, militaria, coins and medals. This in turn inspired him to conduct more research into the goings-on during the war, and he wrote several specialist books on both world wars and on collecting. He also contributed to the TV series, East Anglia at War.
The reason this book is so good is that Johnson conducted a huge amount of research. He not only examined government, MoD and regimental records but also tracked down many local people who had fought, flown, guarded installations and witnessed action and accidents, as well as people who had served on the ‘Home Front’ and in secret research. Every chapter includes stories from ordinary folk caught up in the war, how life changed and what they had to witness and put up with.
The book covers every aspect of the war:
Children were evacuated more than once, a logistical nightmare;
Home defence: ‘stop lines’ were constructed (hundreds of concrete pillboxes, mines and barbed-wire, concrete and steel beach defences);
The Home Guard – ‘Dad’s Army’, men who went to work as usual during the day and then put on their uniforms for guard and patrol duties every evening/night – exhausting;
The Secret Army: farm workers, postmen and other ‘essential workers’ who were not drafted into the forces but would stay put in the event of a German invasion. Those recruited to the Secret Army were trained in guerrilla warfare and provided with hidden underground bunkers with Tommy guns, grenades, explosives, etc. with which they were to sneak out at night and conduct hit and run operations against the occupying force. Their life expectancy was measured in weeks. (Fascinating!);
Civilian life: rationing of food, clothing and fuel; the constant danger of bombing; having to house refugee children, and caring for people affected by enemy action;
Women’s war work: women played a major part in WWII, both in the forces and doing many jobs considered ‘men’s work’. They worked in munitions factories, fixed motor vehicles and worked on farms (The Women’s Land Army), and so much more, proving they were just as effective as men. They also ran the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) and, together with the Women’s Institute (WI), organised people and provided hot food and drinks to so many in need, including driving tea vans/lorries out to soldiers on lonely guard duty;
The war at sea: local convoys, mines and mine clearance, the German submarine and E-boat threat, it’s all covered here;
The air war is particularly well represented in this book, with details of every RAF and American airbase in East Anglia (in a Glossary at the back) with the names of the squadrons based at them, as well as fascinating stories from several pilots. The impact of the USAAF arriving in 1942 is also discussed – not only militarily but how they impacted the local communities socially, i.e. they were considered by many Brits ’overpaid, over-sexed and over here’!;
Industry at war: Ford at Dagenham, Marshalls of Cambridge, Paxmans of Colchester and Marconi of Colchester and Chelmsford are particularly mentioned, and contributed a lot to the war effort;
Radar installations and secret weapons are discussed, including the original Chain Home system and, later in the war, secret weapons development at Bawdsey, Shingle Street and Orfordness. This includes a disturbing section regarding the development of an anthrax bomb that Churchill was keen to use – thank goodness it was never used.
At the back of the book there are potted histories of the Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk regiments, as well as a list of the locations of camps where German PoWs were held.
The book is liberally sprinkled with photographs and illustrations of government advice posters, ration cards, maps and a couple of enemy aircraft recognition cards, and all these add to the enjoyment of the book. Especially interesting are the many personal stories, which really bring to life the way it must have felt to live through those times in those places. I have read this book at least twice now and thoroughly enjoyed it both times, and I’m sure I will read it again in the future.
Mine is the Second Edition, which has more information than the original. Five stars.
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