When War broke out I was a member of Kingswear Scouts and aged 12. Our first task was to meet the evacuees, who arrived by train from London (Acton) and to take them to their billets – the homes they would be staying in. A section of the local Red Cross under Mrs Melville of Kingswear House, Beacon Road and Mrs Tabb the village midwife, who lived in Cemetery Lodge and brought most of the village children into the world, dealt with the arrival of the evacuees.
After the long journey some of the evacuees were frightened and upset and all were worn out. However, they were made a fuss of given good meals and put to bed. Kingswear School suddenly increased in size – the Classes were doubled and there were extra teachers under Miss Hayward, the Head.
All was quiet for the next 12 months of the “phoney” war and quite a few of the evacuees returned to their homes. Various large houses in Kingswear were requisitioned, including The Priory, The Beacon, Inverdart, The Mount, Mount Ridley, Brookhill, Kingswear Court, Nethway House and the Redoubt (now Kingswear Park).
Kingswear Scouts
During this period our Scout Headquarters, which had been given to the Scouts in 1936 by Colonel Davies (whose wife was a member of the Wills Tobacco Company), with great publicity’ was unceremoniously taken back from us and in its place twelve months later a static water tank was built. It was thought locally that Colonel Davies had hoped for a Knighthood for the gift of the Scout Hut and, when he didn’t receive one, he took the hut back! Our Scoutmaster had been called up, he was a Captain in the Territorial Army and there were no Scouters left to protest about the hut. We lost the best Scout HQ in the West. It had been complete with a collapsible boxing ring, parallel bars, climbing ropes, a vaulting horse, and it included a large hall and other rooms in the quarry where Mount Pleasant Flats now stand.
Cubs and Scouts outside the incredible Kingswear Scout Hut in 1937
Our next Scout HQ was kindly lent to us by Mr Jack Tribble a builder. It had been the Men’s Club before the Kingswear Hall was built. It was above the workshop in an old warehouse in Brixham Road, where the flats opposite the entrance to the Marina Car Park now stand. The 24 Scouts collected paper, cardboard, newspaper and all types of metal every Saturday all through the War, which was stacked in the Garage next to the Ship Inn. The Rural District Council collected it and sold it, the Scouts never received a penny of the proceeds from The Rural District Council. The older Scouts gave their services as messengers and as “casualties” during ARP exercises in the village. The AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service) in Kingswear was formed mostly of Senior Scouts aged about 16. Special permission had to be obtained from the Home Office as they were under the normal age for this service.
The person in charge was Mr King who ran the Riversea Hotel. Other members included Roy Kelland, Raymond Hawke, Nelson Pollard, Ken Allen, Frank and Bert Little, Des and Les Radford, Ted Burrows and Mr Hunt. They had an American Car called a Marquette, which belonged to Lionel Fairweather and a Bedford trailer pump. They spent a great deal of time putting out fern fires in the railway cutting above the Noss. They also helped put out a fire in HMS Cicala (Royal Dart Hotel) but on this occasion no drivers were available, so they coasted down the road from their garage near the village shop. Later a Nissen Hut was built on the roof of the lock-up garages near the village shop, where half the AFS were on duty on alternate nights through out the war.
The first bomb to drop in the locality was in Wilful Murder Field causing no damage. (As you drive into the village from the cemetery, past Castella, there is a left hand bend and then a right hand bend – Wilful Murder Field is to the left on the right hand bend). The second dropped on the two cottages at the entrance to Hoodown Farm Lane, completely demolishing them. The lady from one cottage was taken to Brixham Hospital and her wounds dressed. Next day, a taxi from Higher Garage (Couch & Stoneman) driven by Roy Kelland was sent to the hospital to take the lady to her temporary home, the Old Cricket Pavilion near Fountain Violet Farm. Roy was told to take her via Nethway, so that she couldn’t see the ruins of her old home. Roy told me that she made him stop and take her past the ruins, where she used very strong language about Hitler!
Village children used to play in Mr Roberts’ Hoodown Woods all day. Parents felt quite safe about allowing their children to play out all day in those days. The children liked to scramble after bombs had dropped to see who could collect the most shrapnel. On Saturdays the Scouts used to go to the butchers shop and buy sausages, which weren’t rationed, and cook them with chips on fires made from old cans with holes knocked in them, in which we burnt coal picked up between the railway lines. We also made rafts on which we sailed the creek. Sometimes we fell in, of course, and had to dry our clothes, our cooking and our rafts were based at Brewhouse Beach (Brewhouse beach is in the Creek, below the flats next to Roselands). This land belonged to the Parish and if for a spell, the Station Master kept us off the sidings, Brewhouse was our retreat. On the whole Mr Bovey, the stationmaster, was very good to us. At the time the Station Master was one of the most important men in the Parish. We used to give the engine-drivers a hand to turn the engine round on the turntable, and then they would otten give us a ride on the footplate across the bridge to Hoodown and back to the station. I have ridden on the King George V and several other famous engines while thus employed. Health and Safety Regulations have certainly spoiled a lot of children’s fun!
By mid 1940 Belgian Trawlers had arrived in the river after the invasion of Belgium. The harbour was awash with discarded clogs! When Dunkirk came about fewer than 8 of the trawlers offered to go back and help! Afterwards most were taken over by the free Polish Navy and used as patrol boats. They were fitted with machine guns and a bow-gun of larger calibre. One is said to have rammed and sunk a U-boat. At the time of Dunkirk There was a call for small boats to help evacuate the troops and I remember all the accepted craft moored alongside each other on the quay opposite the NOIC (Naval Officer in Command) office next to the Post Office at Dartmouth (now Fulford’s Estate Agents). There they were issued with Primus Stoves, food, water containers, life jackets, spare petrol etc. They left the river with The Mew (the Railway Steam Ferry) and her skipper. She didn’t go over to Dunkirk but was used to unload bigger ships at Dover. She arrived back some 10 days later.
The NOIC dealt with all the shipping in the river and had a loud hailer, Aldis-light signalling and semaphore flags. These were mainly operated by Wrens (Women’s Royal Naval Services) who sent messages to and from ships in the harbour. When I was aged 13 I use to go out crabbing with Bill Peters on Saturdays and during the school holidays, on his “crabbie” (crab boat) the DH80, which had petrol TVO engine. He lived in the Mill House at the end of Kingswear Creek – he was the person who had the house converted in about 1938. We used to go up as far as the Mansands and Eastern Blackstone, and as far down as Strete and Blackpool. We use to get quite a few crabs and lobsters. I remember that he once put in an illegal salmon net in Robin Hood’s Cove. He wanted me to work with him when I left school, but my father wanted me to have a trade. One evening, when going to the moorings, we saw a body floating by. It was taken in tow by a Naval Picket boat – it was a Norwegian Seaman who had fallen overboard at Sandquay and had been lodged under the floating dock for some three weeks. Phew!
Sometime after Dunkirk the 1st and 5th Commandos arrived and were billeted in the village and in Dartmouth. They were trained at climbing cliffs and land1ng on the beaches and they did 20-mile marches to various places on Dartmoor. After this, raids were made on Jersey; Craft that returned had machine gun bullet holes in them.
Two of the first commandos were billeted with the Isaacs family at Waterhead, Kingswear, and they taught John (a schoolboy) how to strip and service a tommy gun. When the Home Guard were issued with one a year later, John was the only one who knew how to strip and service it so it was given to his father. Mr Jones (the father of H Jones who was awarded the VC after the Falklands War) was in the Home Guard although he wasa US citizen. He provided their transport and imported two .22 rifles from the USA for them as they were short of arms. I also took a letter of condolence from Kingswear Parish Council.
I took with me some coloured photos of the harbour and copies of the speech, which was eagerly received by the French who had been in Kingswear. I also met a lady who told me she had been a French member of the Wrens in Broadstone House in Dartmouth. Leon left his medals to the parish, and they were handed over in a moving ceremony by his nephew Ron Perring. The Chairman of the Parish Council received them, and they are displayed in a case in the Trust Room.
Towards the end of 1942 members of the French Navy began to arrive in Kingswear, the men were billeted at Brookhill and on the French depot ship Belfort. The Officers were housed at Longford House (to the left of the ferry slip), these included Philippe de Gaulle, the General’s son, who was a junior officer at the time. One of the Kingswear girls, Iris Crisp, married Pierre Cabellic, and my wife and I have visited them several times in Douarnenez in Brittany. Pierre has photos of his time in Kingswear; one of these photos shows seven junior officers outside Longford, five of whom became Admirals. Reunions are still held in France, and attended by the remaining officers and men who were with us in Kingswear.
On October 7th 1941 I joined the civil defence as a messenger.
Kingswear ARP (taken in Lower COntour Road by the School Gate)
After taking a Red Cross exam I became a member of the First Aid Party and by the age of 16 I was a full member of the Rescue Party.
The MTBs and MGBs (Motor Torpedo Boats and Motor Gun Boats) were moored alongside the depot ship Belfort. Belfort was in the middle of the river off the Royal Dart Hotel (HMS Cicala) and I have a photo showing these ships with MGBs alongside. They also moored alongside Kingswear jetty where there was an electric shore supply to them. They were refuelled at Hoodown (Lime Beach -the beach opposite the railway level crossing from Hoodown Lane). The fuel was supplied to them from 3 big tanks, which were positioned below Hoodown Lane. The existing jetty was twice as long as it is now -it is a great pity it was removed after the War. The torpedo sheds were built on each side of the railway line, the inner one being brick and still in existence. Had a bomb dropped there, Kingswear would have been devastated. The outer one was a Nissen hut which replaced the Old River Dart Steamboat Company depot, and which in about 1999 was replaced by the existing Harbour Commission Store. Also, a pill box (machine-gun post) was erected on the other side of the creek at Hoodown and it was manned firstly by the Commandos and then by the Home Guard. The children called it “threepenny hut” as it was shaped like an old threepenny piece and it is still known as that to “old timers” today.
During the invasion scare in 1940, the War Office set up a Defence Committee of about 22 people, to take over control of the village if the Government were overrun. At this time one of the River Dart paddle steamers was kept with steam up 24 hours a day in case the college had to be evacuated via the railway at Totnes in the event of Maypool Tunnel (the railway tunnel between Kingswear and Churston) being sabotaged. Roadblocks were put up and barricades by the higher and lower ferry slips. Tank traps were fitted across the road at Bridge Road near the Higher Ferry and by the village shop. There were slabs every 2 ft across the road, which could be lifted and filled with explosives if required to demolish the road. There were guns and searchlights at Dartmouth Castle, and torpedo tubes were fitted at Kingswear Court. These were manned by Royal Marines. Mines were put in place across the mouth of the river. A boom was fitted across the harbour entrande from just above Dartmouth Castle to Brookhill rocks. The boom was first made of timber baulks, about 10 feet long, 8 feet wide and 4 feet deep chained together. Afterwards they used steel tanks about the same size instead of wood -with sharp horns fitted! A steam boom defence boat crewed by about 20 men was moored on the Dartmouth side. During day or night when a ship arrived the boom was opened by the boom defence boat. The Lighthouse and leading lights at Gumerock Point, Kingswear, and the one just below the Castle at Bayards Cove, Dartmouth, were controlled from a control tower at Kingswear Castle. From there a lead through the trees was fed to the Light house. This enabled it to be remotely controlled by the marines when required at night.
The first Royal Navy MTBs and Gunboats were based at the Yacht Hotel Dartmouth and moored in the river below. After the hotel was narrowly missed by a bomb, which demolished a boathouse, they were removed to buoys off Kingswear jetty and also used the facilities alongside the jetty. There was a NMFI, Chandlery Store, which serviced the forces in the Priory garden. The manager was called Mr Simpson. He lodged with my wife’s grandfather at Paignton.
Royal Air Force Radar Station, AME (Air Ministry Experimental)
This station was at Coleton Fishacre on the site, which is now a car park. It was on the left of the main gate to Coleton Fishacre House. This was one of a chain of early warning stations around the coast of England. They saved us in the Battle of Britain. Very few people nowadays seem to know anything about it. There were several big buildings there and a huge rotating aerial. The Germans tried to bomb it on several occasions. I can remember looking for bombs through the fields when one exploded quite near the station. The first radar station there was in a caravan in 1939 shortly after the war broke out. One of the operators was Ken Burford who was a Hoover agent for Torbay after the war. Coleton Fishacre was closed by the time I left the Army, but there was a radar presence near the top of Hillhead opposite the present day caravan park, until mid 1950’s. At Various times the radar station was guarded by RAF Regiment armoured cars. In 1941 the Germans were raiding Plymouth regularly and Nethway House was taken over by Plymouth City and a children’s home was moved there. As far as I can remember the children were between 4 -12 years old. They were very lucky, because bombs aimed at the Radar Station dropped in the next field.
I started work with the Urban Electric Supply in September 1941 as an apprentice with the large wage of 8/6d (approx 42p) a week. One of my first jobs was to locate a fault on the Light House Control line previously mentioned. Not long after, I helped collect an electricity transformer from Kingswear Goods Yard. It was placed on a Railway Lorry and delivered to Brownstone camp. These gave supply to the two coastal guns and searchlights at Brownstone, which were manned by the Royal Artillery – protecting the coastline and entrance to the river. Also about this time, we wired out Broadstone House in Dartmouth for the Wrens. Up to that time the lighting had been by gas. I remember there was one French Wren there, the one I met at Leon’s funeral.
Air raid shelters were built under the archway that gives access to the Priory, one in the road below the School and one on Ridley Hill opposite the steps to Higher side terrace. Static Water tanks were fitted, one below Spittis Park, one on the waste ground next to the Co-op (now Zannes cafe), one opposite Alta Vista (now Nonsuch House), Church Hill and one next to the air-raid shelter on Ridley Hill. They were about 30 feet long 8 feet wide and 5 feet deep. One massive one was built in the grounds of the Quarry (now Mount Pleasant flats). This must have been as long as the flats 25′ wide and 7′ deep, built on brick. The back wall can still be seen at the back of the flats. Children used to swim in it. The static water tanks were fed by a 6″ iron pipe, which ran from Collins’ Quay up Church Hill in the left hand side in the gutter up to Ridley Hill and the Quarry. There was another pipe to Fore Street and Spittis Park.
In 1942 a services canteen was manned by WVS in the garage of Little Ravenswell owned by Mrs Gregory, whose husband had been Governor of the Bank of India. When it became too small it was moved to the bottom floor of Mrs Lipscombes House, Carlton Lodge, in the High Street.
One morning in 1942 a plane came down the river dropping bombs. One just missed the tanker “Berta” which was the harbour oiler, another one landed in the mud just off the railway footbridge (opposite the Dairy), one on the railway jetty and two more on “The Chalet” (Church Hill) garden and garage. Another fell very close to Brookhill (the Free French billet). The Chalet garage on Church Hill was very close to “Alta Vista” where a fifteen year old schoolgirl in whom I was interested lived. “Alta Vista” is now “Nonsuch House”. I went on to marry the schoolgirl some years later.
Kingswear’s defences had by now progressed from a pill-box overlooking the river and railway at Hoodown (still there) to a Nissen Hut and a Bofors Gun in the field hedge above Major Parkes House. Also there was a Bofors Gun at Noss, Vickers Gun on the riverside by Britannia Halt, and barrage balloon in the sidings (now the Marina car park). These had come too late to stop Noss shipyard being bombed on September 18th 1941 -there were 29 people killed with many badly injured. My 17 year old brother, Bert, was killed in this attack by four Focke Wulf fighter-bombers, which came down from the valley from Hillhead. They bombed and machine gunned the yard and sank ships in the river. The Anti Aircraft Guns and Balloon were fitted after this raid. After the Noss bombing, several barrage balloons were placed around the area. One was at the side of the creek near my parents house, one was at Noss Point where there used to be allotments. Another was placed at Ballast Cove near Britannia Halt and others on ships in the river. One very windy day the Barrage balloon on the creek sidings broke adrift and blew through Kingswear trailing its wire and wrapped itself round and round the overhead cables supplying both the radar station and Brownstone Gun site. After lunch that day the entire electricity staff had to go up with the RAF balloon experts to unwind it, and re-connect the supply.
On another morning, a Destroyer came in and dropped anchor by the Higher Ferry. When she came to leave and was lifting her anchor, she must have found it rather heavier than expected. She had lifted and fractured the cables, which fed the whole of Kingswear, the Radar Station and Brownstone. We had to get a large flat barge and the Noss tug, as well as extra men from our parent company in Cornwall to lay a spare cable and then repair the old one. This took about a week altogether. I remember being given extra money for working about 18 hours a day, which I wasn’t supposed to do at my age.
On the 8th of May 1942 the King and Queen arrived at Kingswear at 10:30am for a visit to the college. Lionel Fairweather (representing the Parish Council) was presented to the King & Queen, and Mr Bovey the Station Master was also presented. When they left at 1pm they thanked Mr Bovey and the Special Constables for the arrangements made at the station.
One Saturday morning in 1943 at about 11 am, I was in Lower Contour Road, planes approached and several explosions ensued. Being in the First Aid Party at the time although only aged 15, I went down to Mr Fairweather’s garage where we kept a Commer Brake ambulance, which had two stretchers, which we had recently been allocated. Mr Charles Bovey (not the station master) was in charge of the First Aid Party. We went immediately to Dartmouth where the bombs had fallen on the Town Arms and the Bank in Duke Street.
Bomb damage to The Butterwalk, Dartmouth
We were directed to the Duke Street incident and were involved in digging out bodies, helping injured people and retrieving some of the money in buckets.
The bombed Bank in Duke Street, Dartmouth
We were involved there on the Saturday and Sunday until about 7pm. On the Sunday the last bodies were dug out of the Bank. In those days there was no “trauma counselling” (!) for 15 year olds. If you were working as an adult you were expected to behave like one!
With the build up of American, British and forces of other nationalities in the area, in preparation for D-Day, an officers’ club was thought to be necessary in Dartmouth. The Merry Monarch Cafe, which was the building where the museum is now, and had been closed since the outbreak of war, had been completely renovated for this purpose. This had been done by a very aristocratic lady Mrs Colthurst and her daughter. The club had been fitted with up-to-date catering equipment and crockery. It was due to open on the day of the Duke Street bombing, but of course it was completely wrecked. Mrs Colthurst was not put off by this catastrophe, and she straight away found that what is now Cranfords (the Old Dartmouth Chronicle Shop) was empty, and she took it over. As soon as the bomb damage had been cleared up Cranfords was renovated using undamaged equipment from the Merry Monarch. The Officers’ Club opened there in due course, and continued until the end of war. After the war Mr Pikett ran it as a restaurant. No one seems to know anything of its history as an Officers’ Club.
In the latter part of 1942, slipways were built at the Higher Ferry and opposite the Avenue Gardens. Most of Coronation Park was paved, and large hangers built to service landing craft. A big winch was fitted opposite the floating Bridge Inn and this hauled the craft up the slipways. Workshops were built at the Higher Ferry and, at Lower Noss Point, grids were fitted to beach landing craft for underwater repairs. The two cottages and the Old Britannia Inn (near the Higher Ferry) were taken over and used by the Americans. The narrow road (Bridge Road) from Hillhead down to Britannia Halt was widened. That is when the stone walls on the left hand side were built, before this the road was very narrow.
The American Rangers (their version of Commandos) arrived somewhere about this time. They used our Scout Hall (and paid us!). They were trained by our British Commandos and used to show the Scouts their weapons and equipment.
I remember the first time we saw amphibious vehicles in the village. They went down to the ferry slip and across to load into a landing craft in the middle of the river. Mrs Brodie the ferry manager’s wife ran after them and tried to get them to pay the ferry fare. We saw the landing craft come in and out of the harbour for several months. We also saw the damaged landing craft come in after the notorious raid by the E-boats when in excess of 600 American servicemen were lost. We did not know of the number of casualties then of course – it only came out years later in the 1980s.
Landing Craft at Britannia Halt
Prior to D-Day, June 6th 1944, you could almost have walked across the river on landing craft, most of which were flying barrage balloons. Overnight, they all disappeared! Next day we heard on the news of the landings in France. There had been many rumours, but it was amazing how little people knew and if they did know, how silent they remained for the most part. We all had it drummed into us – “Be like Dad -Keep Mum“! Except for a few coming back for repairs, over the next weeks the harbour became much quieter, and life began to return to normal.
KINGSWEAR HALL
Kingswear Hall (telephone number Kingswear 83), which had been the Headquarters of all the Civil Defence activities, and also held dances in aid of various charities and war efforts, began to wind down its work. Then money was raised from dances etc to begin a “Welcome Home” fund for the members of the forces. Each returned serviceman was given a brown leather wallet and a pound note. I was the last one to receive this, as I had been the last person to join up before the war ended. Some of the incidents, which occurred involving Kingswear Hall up until March 10th 1941 there had been 260 alerts. In the Kingswear Postal Area there had been:
150 Fire Watchers
22 Special Police
15 Red Cross Nursing detachment 18 National Fire Service
22 Air Raid Wardens
8 Rest Centre Workers (Wesleyan school room)
20 Members of Defence Committee
8 Members of the First Aid Party
8 Members of the rescue Party
2 Doctors in the village
57 Stirrup pumps issued
28 this was the total number of cars in the parish
Eighty five servicemen returned. They were sent Christmas Cards each year by the Civil Defence Committee.
Many other people will have many other memories of War Time Kingswear and Dartmouth. These are the still vivid memories of a 12 -18 year old who was greatly involved in the combined effort made by one and all, in a time of great national emergency. What a pity that more of this spirit does not seem to exist in the present day.
At the end of the war the Civil Defence Members who had served 3 years were awarded the Defence medal. I was pleased to be so honoured. When I was 18 I joined the Royal Engineers, did a training course in Hull and became a leighterman (seaman). After this I did a deep sea diving course with the Royal Navy at Portsmouth.
Reg in diving suit - this photo appeared in the Daily Mirror !
Following this I was posted overseas to Italy. I helped to run a ferry service for the Army in Venice. I was living on the little island of San Giorgio in Venice.
Reg in Trieste, Italy in 1947
For several months I was in Trieste where I met two local people, Les Radford a neighbour, and Bert Craddock from Dartmouth.
I returned to Venice then to Hamburg 1018 Port Operating Company and ended my army career in another country where they spoke a foreign language -Stranraer, Scotland! There, the Royal Engineers were engaged in dumping ammunition into the sea north of Ireland. I was employed checking the ships that were moored alongside the jetty. I slept in a little hut near the end of the jetty. When I was there in 1948, there were still German prisoners of war there. They worked on the jetty.
Later that year I returned to Kingswear and resumed my job as an electrician. On the whole I felt that I had benefited from my years of Army life.
Reg Little 2011
Kingswear History Remembered
Reg Little, Kingswear Historian - Blog (1927 - 2016) 