June 1940 was a pivotal month in World War II for the United Kingdom, as it marked a critical phase in the war following the German invasion of Western Europe, the fall of France and Dunkirk, paving the way for the Battle of Britain, and yet.......
Bert Gummery. Bert, aged 82, who lives in Bonds Court in the city centre’s Hill Street, was one
of the first evacuees to arrive at the school in 1940. -
“We were all put into houses named after districts in Coventry – I was in Earlsdon house – and we slept in house dormitories in bunk beds. We had lessons each day and played a lot of sports and games, especially football and cricket. I can remember us marching down to the village to church and also going to a cinema in the village. It was strict; you had to behave yourself just like at ordinary school, but we enjoyed it and mother used to visit every month from Coventry.”
" I was then evacuated with about four other boys who'd been bombed out in the Coventry raid to a place called the Wyre Farm Camp School. It was near Cleobury Mortimer and adjoining the Wyre Forest in Shropshire. The camp consisted of about ten wooden dormitories, probably with about thirty or forty double bunks in them, with a hall and a refectory. It was built as an NCC (National Camps Corporation site; we named it the 'Nazi Concentration Camp'! "
"A convoy of battered buses pull up at the camp gates some 200 kids got their first eyeful of the timber huts that were to be their home from home. Dennis Whiteley aged 14 at the time can remember the air of mounting excitement as they piled out of the vehicles and formed up in ranks to march the last few yards.
The date was June 17th 1940 and the 200 were pioneers – the first batch of young Coventry evacuees to reach the safety of Wyre Farm Camp in the quiet corner of south Shropshire.
The evacuees themselves devised an initiation ceremony for newcomers that involved crossing a river ford in the middle of winter stark naked. For Dennis Whiteley, big for his age, and from Stoke Heath all this was part of the adventure. But he does remember homesickness overcoming some of his fellow evacuees.
“Most of us loved it but there were one or two who decided to run.” He says, but the farthest anyone got was Kidderminster. The local bobbies on their bikes used to pick them up on the roads.
It wasn’t long before the evacuees became a familiar sight in the quiet byways of Cleobury Mortimer, marching through the village every Sunday on church parade and then crowding into the village shop to buy cakes and pop. Relations were good on the whole. More than one Coventry kid ended up returning to marry a village girl.
The war seemed very distant although Mr Whiteley does remember nights when they could see the red glow of fires over Birmingham. And there was the day a roared in low over the camp, dropped a small parcel and performed a low level loop the loop. It was the cook’s fighter pilot son delivering her birthday present."
With the Lufftwaffe’s attack on Britain already underway, Coventry was looking an increasingly dangerous place for children in the summer of 1940. To the city’s education authority, the rural isolation seemed a safer bet.
"We were put to work clearing fields for football and cricket pitches and I remember trips into the forest to cut wood for goalposts. I spent two years there and it was brilliant…" The first headmaster was noted for his enthusiasm for the cane and even after he left discipline was rigorously applied.
During the hard winter of 1940 the boys had to manhandle sledges over snowdrifts every morning to pick up the bread from the nearby railway station. Even in the hardest of weathers they were to be found running around in plimsolls and shorts.
“Most of us loved it but there were one or two who decided to run.” He says, but the farthest anyone got was Kidderminster. The local bobbies on their bikes used to pick them up on the roads.
It wasn’t long before the evacuees became a familiar sight in the quiet byways of Cleobury Mortimer, marching through the village every Sunday on church parade and then crowding into the village shop to buy cakes and pop. Relations were good on the whole. More than one Coventry kid ended up returning to marry a village girl.
The war seemed very distant although Mr Whiteley does remember nights when they could see the red glow of fires over Birmingham. And there was the day a roared in low over the camp, dropped a small parcel and performed a low level loop the loop. It was the cook’s fighter pilot son delivering her birthday present."
From The Coventry Telegraph "A war Time Home from Home - Peter Walters interviews Dennis Whiteley - early 1980's
of the first evacuees to arrive at the school in 1940. -
"I was one of the first intake of evacuees there. I remember arriving at the school clutching a jar of jam – we were all allowed to take a jar of home-made jam with us with our name on which were able to have at meal times. I also recall a photographer taking our picture; I have kept a look-out in the Telegraph in the hope that the photo might appear, but it hasn't. I would love to see a copy if anyone still has one.”
Below - Coventry Telegraph 12th July 2010 - quoted from above.
" I was then evacuated with about four other boys who'd been bombed out in the Coventry raid to a place called the Wyre Farm Camp School. It was near Cleobury Mortimer and adjoining the Wyre Forest in Shropshire. The camp consisted of about ten wooden dormitories, probably with about thirty or forty double bunks in them, with a hall and a refectory. It was built as an NCC (National Camps Corporation site; we named it the 'Nazi Concentration Camp'! "
Doug Bukin - former wartime pupil.
"The summer of 1940 was rife with rumours of invasion. There was, however, one which was peaceful and unopposed. This was when about 200 12 year Coventry boys (actually it was less than 200 - about 160 and I think they would be between 12 and 15) descended on Shropshire. Their destination was Wyre Farm Camp school on the outskirts of the sleepy town of Cleobury Mortimer. They had been evacuated because of the worsening situation in France.
On arrival at the camp on Monday June 17, there was a brief ceremony led by the Rev Richard Lee and the Union Jack was raised. After dinner the lads were distributed to the four dormitory huts according to the district of Coventry from which they came. The four huts were Gosford, Radford, Earlsdon and Stoke.
At first the lads were viewed with suspicion by the locals, but they soon got used to the invaders. In an area with many apple orchards, there was scrumping. the farmers, like Mr Donaldson dispensed their own justice. A clip round the ear was usually sufficient. The odd serious misbehaviour was dealt with very severely by Mr Donaldson.
They were allowed to make a foray into the Wyre Forest to collect wood from which goalposts were fashioned under the supervision of Mr Griffiths. One Sunday, every month, was visiting day (in the war years they weren't allowed home during the holidays so visiting day was more often than later on). Parents and relatives came in a fleet of coaches. Although the lads were pleased to see their parents they were really more interested in the contents of the bulging shopping bags carried by mum. Only too soon the coaches departed and although the lads would be the last to admit it, there were many a damp eye."
.....................
From the Coventry Evening Telegraph in 1983, after the school had closed and entitled "Invaded - by the Kids from Coventry", describes the opening of the school -
"The summer of 1940 was rife with rumours of invasion. There was, however, one which was peaceful and unopposed. This was when about 200 12 year Coventry boys (actually it was less than 200 - about 160 and I think they would be between 12 and 15) descended on Shropshire. Their destination was Wyre Farm Camp school on the outskirts of the sleepy town of Cleobury Mortimer. They had been evacuated because of the worsening situation in France.
On arrival at the camp on Monday June 17, there was a brief ceremony led by the Rev Richard Lee and the Union Jack was raised. After dinner the lads were distributed to the four dormitory huts according to the district of Coventry from which they came. The four huts were Gosford, Radford, Earlsdon and Stoke.
At first the lads were viewed with suspicion by the locals, but they soon got used to the invaders. In an area with many apple orchards, there was scrumping. the farmers, like Mr Donaldson dispensed their own justice. A clip round the ear was usually sufficient. The odd serious misbehaviour was dealt with very severely by Mr Donaldson.
They were allowed to make a foray into the Wyre Forest to collect wood from which goalposts were fashioned under the supervision of Mr Griffiths. One Sunday, every month, was visiting day (in the war years they weren't allowed home during the holidays so visiting day was more often than later on). Parents and relatives came in a fleet of coaches. Although the lads were pleased to see their parents they were really more interested in the contents of the bulging shopping bags carried by mum. Only too soon the coaches departed and although the lads would be the last to admit it, there were many a damp eye."
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