After my boss George Smith was killed in early 1942, I continued driving the furniture van as the other partner 'Gussy' Lark gradually wound up the business.
I was working at Cromer one day when I had a very sharp pain in my stomach, it had gone in an hour but later that night it came back worse. Dr. Lawson was sent for. He said I had symptoms of appendicitis, and I was taken by ambulance to Cromer Hospital and prepared immediately for an operation as it was acute.
I had ten days in Cromer Hospital and a week at Mundesley convalescing, along with wounded soldiers and airmen. We all wore light blue shirts and a red tie.
My father was going to sea after crabs with another fisherman by the name of Bob “Butterballs” Grice, who said to my father that “It will do young Henry good to come to sea with us.” I couldn’t do much at first but I got better at the job, helping with baiting up and hauling the crab pots, and got paid.
During this time my call-up papers had arrived, although I wasn’t able to go for a month or so. I was to report to the Stoker’s Section of the Royal Naval Patrol Service (RNPS) at Lowestoft for six week’s training. Father didn’t want me to go as a stoker and obtained a letter from the Fishery Officer, Mr. Hannah, of my work on Sheringham beach, fishing for crabs and lobsters, so that I could join the Seaman’s Section of RNPS.
By July we were working the crab pots between Sheringham and Weybourne. One morning, with all the boats at sea, we were off Weybourne Watch House, it had been raining with low cloud, when we heard the drone of an aircraft. We knew by the sound that it was south of us, then a minute later we heard this loud explosion. It was in the direction of Sheringham.
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| Looking West from Skelding Hill C: Blakeney Church, P: Blakeney Point, W: Weybourne Watch House, O: Old Hythe |
All the boats left their gear and made back to the town as fast as we could go. When we got near the town we could see this huge cloud of black-like smoke. We left the boat on the sands, as others did, and when we got to the prom and Beach Road we were told that it was Beeston Road and that houses had a direct hit. There was an awful smell in the air. When we got to the bottom of Co-op Street we couldn’t see the family’s house, no. 32, but when we got to Teddy ‘Fiddy’ West’s shop, he said to my father “they are all alright”.
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| Beeston Road 2016 |
As we made our way toward home, we were told it was No. 36 , two doors from Myrtle House, that had been hit and that our house was still standing and that mother had been seen.
When we got to Myrtle House it looked a wreck, all the windows with frames were blown in and ceilings were down. Plaster, bricks and stones were off and the walls badly damaged. The big wooden shed in the yard was completely flattened.
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| 32-36 Beeston Road - July 1942 and 2016 |
In the house at this time was Granny “Joyful”, mother and brother Jack who had been in bed. They all got into the table air raid shelter in the middle room. That first bomb killed two adults and a baby. The second bomb dropped in Priory Road killed Billy Hannah, the Fishery Officer who had just written the letter for me to the Navy. In another house a Mrs Martins and her daughters were killed.
Henry’s cousin May also witnessed the aftermath of the bombing and wrote the following in her book “Shannocks at War”:
“…houses beyond Myrtle House (Granny’s) were completely demolished and there was debris everywhere. I ran into hers, picking my way over all the bricks, mortar and timber that lay there. Fortunately, her house wasn’t joined to those that had been destroyed and she was alright.
… the one at the far end had Mr. and Mrs. Farrow living there, with my friend Peggy and her two brothers… it wasn’t until later in the day that we heard that Peggy and her baby and her mother had been killed……
Later on that day we heard that old William Shepherd Hannah had been killed instantly with his daughter, Elsie, and granddaughter, Christine and also Mrs. Martins and her two daughters.”
We had to move out salvaging what we could – everything was full of dust. Jack and I went to sleep at Aunt Gladys’s (mum’s sister). Mother and father went to live with Aunt Myrtle (father’s sister) and we cleared up what we could during the day.
