VE Day Exhibition by Ashford Borough Council

TH A N NIVERS 5 7 Y A ARY VE D

celebration time

Im ages Â© IW M.

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e h T : 5 4 9 1 Y A D E V e r u t c i P l na o i Nat y, 8 May 1945, a D ) E (V e p ro u E in ry Victo ender during rr su n a m er G e th s te ra celeb s of people on li il M r. a W ld or W d the Secon at Nazi Germany th s ew n e th in ed ic jo re had surrendered. n Churchill, at The Prime Minister, Winsto broadcast to the to a BBC microphone about VE Day. © IWM. of nation on the afternoon

Churchill waves to crowds in Whitehall on the day he t broadcast to the nation tha been the war with Germany had won, 8 May 1945. © IWM.

the conflict, the war of d en e th t no s wa it However, 45, end until 15 August 19 against Japan did not impact pan (VJ) Day, and the Ja in y or ct Vi as n ow kn y s felt long after German wa ar W ld or W nd co Se of the . and Japan surrendered r had ended in Europe wa e th at th t en m ce The announ dio itish people over the ra was broadcast to the Br led C interrupted its schedu BB e Th 5. 94 1 ay M 7 on sh announcing that VE fla ws ne a th wi g in m program . Newspapers ran the ay lid ho l na tio na a be Day would l editions they could, and specia as on so as es lin ad he ment. long-awaited announce e th rry ca to d te in pr were ions emotional day that mill an s wa 45 19 ay M 8 Tuesday re ng for. Many people we iti wa en be ng lo d ha of people Europe had stopped in g in ht fig e th at th y extremely happ ents were lebrations. Various ev ce g bi re we e er th d an s, sion, including parade ca oc e th k ar m to d se organi ities et parties as commun re st d an es ic rv se ng thanksgivi t. in this historic momen came together to share

Eager soldiers pulling copies of “Stars and Stripes” from the press of the London Times at 9pm on 7 May 1945, when an extra edition was put out to announce the news of Germany’s surrender. © IWM.

Big Ben at 3pm, the hour when the Prime Minister made his Peace Statement from No. 10 Downing Street on VE Day, 8 May 1945. © IWM.

Crowds gather in Trafalgar Square, London, to celebrate VE Day. © IWM.

Thousands of people massed in Trafalgar Square to listen to the bro adcast speech by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, announcing peace in Europe . © IWM.

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e h T : 5 4 9 1 Y A D E V e r u t c i P l na o i Nat E M I T N IO T A R B CELE

e Division of the British women of the Pictur ation dance in London Office of War Inform soldiers during the the street with American don, 8 May 1945. VE Day celebration in Lon side the building This scene took place out Division. © IWM. of the U.S. Army Pictorial

g through A truck of revelers passin 1945. © IWM. the Strand, London, 8 May

The VE Day celebrations continued after nightfall with the burning of ‘Victory Bonfires’. © IWM.

Revelers give the V for Victory sign as they celebrate VE Day outside the Houses of Parlia ment. © IWM.

Two British sailors and their girlfriends wading in the fountains in Trafalgar Square on VE Day, 1945. © IWM.

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ASHFORD CELEBRATIONS y organised il st a h e er w s ie rt a p t Stree breadth of the d n a th g n le e th s os cr a as no different. country and Ashford w ours and b h g ei n s, d n ie fr y, il m Here fa mptu streets ro p im r fo ed er th a g n childre historic victory. e th te ra b le ce to s ie rt pa . (c) Ashford Borough Museum VE Day Party, Beaver Road

Tennyson Road, VE Day 1945 (c) Ashford Borough Museum.

Penny Moore VE Day Party, June 1945 (c) Ashford Borough Museum.

WI Hall, Faversham Road, Kennington, 1945. “The reason we all look a bit annoyed is because there was no jelly or ice cream.” John Willis, who was 10 at the time. Image courtesy of Robin Britcher.

Church Hall, Christchurch, VE Day, May 1945 (c) Ashford Borough Museum.

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ASHFORD CELEBRATIONS

n Location 1945 VE Day Street Party, Unk now . eum (c) Ashford Borough Mus

these images, – s ie rt a P t ee tr S rd fo Ash n supplied which have kindly bee useum, by Ashford Borough M tions in the are from unknown loca u have any Ashford borough. If yo e you believe er h w on on ti a rm fo n i further ase contact le p n ke ta e er w os ot h these p .uk. heritage@ashford.gov

VE Day, Unknown Location 1945 (c) Ashford Borough Museum.

VE Day Street Party, Unknown Location 1945 (c) Ashford Borough Museum.

VE Day, Unknown Location 1945 (c) Ashford Borough Museum.

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ASHFORD CELEBRATIONS ons As part of the celebrati pe, to mark Victory in Euro de Ashford hosted a para h that processed throug the High Street.

VE Day Parade, Ashford (c) Ashford Borough Museum.

A drawing by Michael Wise, an 11-year-old school boy’s view of VE Day in Ashford (c) Ashford Museum.

VE Day Parade, Ashford (c) Ashford Borough Museum.

TH A N NIVERS 5 7 Y A ARY VE D

Life on the home front

the Home Fro n o e nt Lif

Home Guard and Civil Defence tion-Leader, (Left) J.C. Beadle M.C., Sec 1940. “Local Defence Volunteers” Captain, Right) W.G. Rushton, later . rd” Gua me Smarden Platoon, “Ho Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

d the impact of bombing an on si va in of at re th e Due to th eers to join the Home nt lu vo on ed ll ca nt me rn the gove fence duties such as de l vi ci in d ne ai tr be to Guard and bulance driving. am d an d ai t rs fi , ng ti gh firefi

Civil Defence consisted of the Air Raid Precautions, St.John First-Aid Detachment, Special Constables and the Fire Service.

unteers Smarden Local Defence Vol sy of rte cou ge Ima pocket book. y. iet Soc y tor His Smarden Local

Sydney E. Small (centre) with sons E.J. Small (left) and L/ Ac. Arthur L. Small (right). Image courtesy of iety. Smarden Local History Soc

Smarden Fire Service. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

Wartime Special Constable s. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

Kennington Home Guard 1940: Peter Howard, seated far left, later joined The Buffs Regiment (Royal East Kent Regiment) and was awarded the Military Cross. Image courtesy of Robin Britcher.

“To begin with they were the ‘L D e f en ce V ocal olunteers’ ( L D V ) , with no rif les, no uniform, o n ly their L brassard ( DV armband) . A y ear or so a the Home f t er Guard pro p e r w a s in being with unif orms, rif l , e s , ammo an was enlist d all, I ed (not to o willingl auxiliary y) as paid , plus my typewriter, Company for B , of which S m a r d e n and Hoth , Pluckley f ield form e d a platoon, every af te and rnoon rep o r t e d at Compan H eadquar y ters in the r o o m n ext the pos o f f i ce . T h t e H.G. was kept hard training at it; in the Sch ools durin and every g the week Saturday , rif le pract Pluckley ise at Brick Wo rk s. As D near, we b -Day drew ecame of f i c i a lly par t of Army, an the d were res p o n s i b le for post a night g ing uard at th e railway bridge in Godinton Park.” M. R athbo ne, Smard en.

ge courtesy of Tenterden Home Guard. Ima al History Society. Tenterden and District Loc

n the Home Fron o e f t Li

Air Raids Bombed, Beaver Road Primary School h Museum oug Bor d for March 1943 (c) Ash

The Ashford Railway Works was a prime target for German bombers. In fact, during the war, there were some 4,000 air raid alerts and bombs regularly fell in the vicinity.

The worst incident for Ashford came on 24 March 1943 when an air raid that lasted just three minutes, killed 50 people and seriously injured a further 77. Two spotters saw enemy aircraft flying from the Mersham area directly out of the sunlight. They sounded the danger signal and the staff at the railway works had only 25 seconds to find cover.

New Street bombed, March 1945 (c) Ashford Museum

Although the railway works was the main target, the surrounding areas were also badly hit. The worst of the damage occurred in Milton Road, New Street, Hayward’s Garage, Dover Place, New Rents, Star Road, Hardinge Road and Kent Avenue. ch 1943 Hay wards Garage bombed, Mar (c) Ashford Borough Museum

bed March 1943 Dover Place, Kent Arms bom (c) Ashford Borough Museum

During the raid, a bomb also fell on Beaver Road Primary School, formerly located on the corner of Beaver Road and Victoria Road. Thankfully, the sirens sounded in time and the children were already in the playground shelters. Two classrooms which 80 girls had just vacated were completely destroyed. Long before the all clear sounded, parents and friends rushed to the school to find the children unscathed. Miss Adams, the Head Teacher, received an award for her actions, which ultimately saved the lives of the schoolchildren. German pilot Paul Keller, nicknamed the “Bombenkeller” (bomb shelter), led the attack on Ashford. Keller did not survive the raid, his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and he crashed in Godinton Road.

Heinkel bomber that crashe d on Spearpoint Rec in May 1941. Image Courtesy of Robin Bri tcher.

Road, Wrecked houses in Grosvenor of sy December 1942. Image courte Robin Britcher.

on the Home Front e f i L

Buzz Bombs On 13 June 1944 Britain came under attack from a strange new German weapon, a V-1 flying bomb. The allies called it the “buzz bomb” or “doodlebug” d. because its engine produced a very loud buzzing soun The V-1 was essentially what we now call a cruise missile. It was used for bombing London, but it also caused great devastation throughout Kent.

June In the early morning of 24 t Wood’s Ber 1944 a buzz bomb fell on Smarden. e, bungalow, Burnt House Lan al Loc Image courtesy of Smarden History Society.

tion A buzz bomb fell on Corona 4. Villas on 29 Aug ust 194 y Mrs E. Ledger and her bab . urt Joh n were saved and unh n Image courtesy of Smarde Local History Society.

b o mb of a buzz The result Farm Luck hurst crashing at 1944. 29 Aug ust Corner on arden tesy of Sm Im age cour ory Society. Local Hist

to fix The Royal Dragoons trying z bomb buz a the dam age caused by , eld hfi at Hothfield Place, Hot of sy rte 28 June 1944. Image cou y. iet Hothfield History Soc Luckhurst Farm Corner fro m the other side, 29 Aug ust 194 4. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

29 August 1944, Fairview Villas completely destroyed by the same buzz bomb at Luckhurst Farm Corner. And before the war. Images courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

“I remember the fi rst night of the bu zz bombs - like nothing so much as a quick succession of diesel trains, on ly just overhead. It was a dangerous night for us, for all the soldiers round about were firing with every thing they’d got. Day af ter da y, night af ter nig ht they went on. Most of us were sleeping downstairs now or in shelters . Our people were trying to shoot down the buzzers outside th e towns, where the populati on was less dense .”

L . R athbone, Sm

arden

on the Home Front e f i L

Women at Work aged between 18 and n me r Wa d rl Wo nd co Se e During th rces and this would Fo d me Ar e th in ed ed ne 41 were factories and farms. in bs jo r ei th om fr ay aw take them rce, women worked fo rk wo e th in ge ta or sh e To fill th s and many others on ap we ng ti uc tr ns co s ie or in the fact rk on farms. joined the Land Army to wo Land Army girls working at n Hamden Grange Farm, Smarde e where around 350 women wer trained in milking during of the war. Image courtesy iety. Soc y tor His al Loc n Smarde

Driver Joan Sharpe (Mrs Sydney Millen) attached to the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, Repton Manor, Ashford. She was a driver for Army Officers, called up in 1939. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

Land girls working at Vesper Hawk, Smarden, c.1944. (Left) Florrie Bennett and (Right) Tilley Stevens, Women’s Land Army. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

Leading Wren Audrey Batt (Women’s Royal Naval Service), with her sister, December 1944 to January 1949. Audrey Batt spent two yea rs on H.M.S. Somerset and two years on H.M.S. Gan net, Londonderry. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society. Lucy Morris (later Mrs Re lf), Women’s Land Army. Worked at her home at West Hoy, Sma rden. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

y Sybil Batt (front), Land Arm 1942-1946, was a tractor er driver and carried out oth n. rde farm work at Bobbing, Sma n Image courtesy of Smarde Local History Society.

W/O Julia Davis, Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, who joined at the outbreak of the war and served at a Kent aerodrome. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

Kate Rofe, munitions worker. Kate was employed at a factory at Foots Cray (London Borough of Bromley) that constructed spitfires for the war effort. Photo taken before the war. Image courtesy of Smarden Local History Society.

in the Britain was on, and we “And now the Battle of peared under it. A. A. guns ap er th ra or it, in re we Weald s, with the fights all over our head in various fields. Dogaking in the cold upper air m ts us ha ex of ct fe ef ic dramat ped and e fighters as they swoo white streaks around th see of the sky. We used to ue bl e th t ns ai ag ed irl sw s; bombs with the bailed out pilot parachutes descending ll.” us at night; shrapnel fe nd ou ar ed on tis jet re we

L. R athbone, Smarden. ntrails edral with co St Paul’s Cath the ove it during in the sky ab M. IW ain, 1940. © Battle of Brit

The Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, July - October 1940, is without doubt the greatest air battle in history. The battleground was the skies above Kent and the orchards, fields and villages below where hundreds of aircraft crashed. RAF P-51 Mustang takes off from a wet runway during a test at the Ashford air base, 21 October 1943. © IWM.

the Battle The first major incident of tember 1940 of Britain occurred on 2 Sep s and Spitfires when more than 70 Hurricane hter and bomber intercepted 250 German fig planes over Ashford. Later, on 15 September 194 0, now celebrated as the Battle of Britain Day, waves of German bombers and fighters flew above the Kent countryside bound for London. 21 squadrons scrambled to meet the fray and by nightfall the RAF had sho t down 61 German aircraft, 34 of which were bombers, for the loss of 26 fighters. In the whirling dogfight tha t ensured, the skies were filled with curling tracers, smoking aircraft and the crackle of ammunition. For the peo ple of Kent who watched from below it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe .

Two German Dornier 17 bombers over West Ham in London during a raid on the first day of the Blitz, 7 September 1940. © IWM.

A Heinkel He 111 bomber fly ing over the Isle of Dogs in the East End of London at the start of the Luftwaffe’s evenin g raids on 7 September 1940, the first day of the Blitz. © IWM.

A formation of German bombers, 1940. During Britain, the Heinkel’s punish ment was one of