Several elements of the Enfield at War project have now come to fruition.
As part of The Enfield at War Project we asked the public to tell us about their wartime memories so we could record them for posterity. Local people responded and generously gave their time to talk to us. This collection of 33 memories with accompanying images was undertaken between September 2015 and October 2015. You can view this as a free E-book or any of the images from this page as a basic PDF.
Enfield Local Studies Library and Archive has produced a WW1 Book of Remembrance that lists all those who lived within the boundaries of the Boroughs of Edmonton, Enfield and Southgate prior to or during the First World War who lost their lives whilst serving their country. The book is the result of two years of extensive research by Local Studies staff and volunteers; however we believe there are still some names missing so we are asking for your help. If you notice anyone we may have missed please pass their names onto Enfield Local Studies Library & Archive. The Book of Remembrance is available to view at Enfield Local Studies Library & Archive, Enfield Town Library, Ordnance Unity Centre, Palmers Green Library and Edmonton Green Library.
Book of Remembrance
Lastly there are WW1 and WW2 school packs. Although these are aimed at children they contain a lot of interesting information and pictures. They can be downloaded from here. They cover many of the topics featured in previous blogs: bombing, children’s lives, women’s work, shelters, rationing and lots more. If you are interested in the history of Enfield during the two World Wars these are a great starting place.
Enfield Post Women 1915
Ponders End Shell Works. Opening of the YMCA Canteen February 1916
Looking for Air Craft at Edmonton (courtesy Stephen Sellick)
Model of the Cuffley Airship (photo Kevin Clark)
Children’s Peace Tea Rosebery Road Edmonton 1919
Victory Party Tichfield Road 1919
Flooded trenches on the Library Green, Enfield
Surface Shelter – Forty Hall
Edmonton evacuees at Essex Coast
Edmonton Spitfire
Bomb damage London Road 15th November 1940
Chestefield Road 27.6.1944
Bomb Damage Arnos Grove 16th November 1940
Green Lanes Junction of Sydney Ave 16.3.1941
Oakthorpe Road Palmers Green 20.10.1940
The Old ‘Cross Keys’ Searchlight
Southgate Land Girls in Oakwood Park
Utility Clothing Enfield Gazette 1944
These are the final parts of the project. Staff and volunteers at the Enfield Local Studies Archive have been working on this project for the last fourteen months and it is hugely satisfying to see all the different elements coming together to create what will hopefully be a lasting legacy and resource for the people of Enfield and beyond.
On the 8th of November it is Remembrance Sunday. There will be a 2 minute silence as we remember the lives of those who died for their country. The three public war memorials in the former boroughs of Edmonton, Enfield and Southgate will be the focus for remembrance.
The Cairn under construction 1929
Broomfield Garden of Remembrance
Broomfield Garden of Remembrance 1937
Broomfield Garden of Remembrance
Broomfield Garden of Remembrance
Mayor John Claumcoats laying a wreath,1956
First Service in the Garden of Rememberance 11-11-1929
First Service in the Garden of Rememberance 11-11-1929
Admiral Jellicoe opening the Broomfield Park Garden of Remembrance 7th July 1929
Enfield Cenotaph
Rev Howell Brown at Enfield Cenotaph
Enfield War Memorial
Enfield War Memorial 1921
Cenotaph Enfield Town 12-10-1919
Edmonton War Memorial
Armistice Day Service – Edmonton War Memorial 11-11-1937
There were many other memorials across the borough. Most were originally erected after the Great War. There were memorials in schools, factories, railway stations, hospitals and offices. Some added the names of those who died in the Second World War to these existing memorials. Over time some of these have been lost as factories and town halls have been demolished. Some of these were saved and are kept by the Enfield Museum. Others were moved to new locations.
Southbury Road School memorial
Chesterfield Road School
Eastfield Road School
Forty Hall Jesus Church
Forty Hall War Memorial 1929
Southgate County School
Even before the end of the Great War some streets put up their own shrines in memory of those who died. So many casualties were buried in foreign countries or had no known grave that these shrines became a focus for the grief of their relatives. The trend grew after Queen Mary visited some of these shrines in the East End.
As part of the remit of the Enfield At War project we had to create interactive kiosks which would tell the story of Enfield during the two world wars. These are to be a permanent record of the borough. The interactive kiosks are now up and running. There is one here at the Archive (anyone who attended the Open day would have been able to see it) and this week another was delivered to the Royal Small Arms Interpretation Centre at Enfield Island Village. A third kiosk is temporarily on the ground floor of the Ordnance Unity Centre.
These kiosks house a collection of photos, memories, film and facts about the London Borough of Enfield during both world wars.
Some of the pictures of the guns made in the Royal Small Arms Factory give a 360º view of the arms. They can be turned on the screen so you can see them from all angles.
The content of the kiosks reflects the subjects I have been blogging about since January: life on the home front, bombings, factories, the lives of women and children in time of war.
Women Workers at Morsons WW1
Crash site of the Cuffley Airship 1916
Shooting range
Churchill visiting the Ponders End Shell Works
YMCA canteen workers at the Royal Small Arms
Jurors at the Cuffley airship inquest 1916
Visitors can touch one of the pictures on the screen to explore the information. They can read about local residents’ wartime memories and watch a film of a dramatised account of the shooting down of the Cuffley Airship in 1916
Map of where bombs fell on the Town park WW2
Tessie O’Shea opening the fete at the Town Park August 1942
As part of the Enfield At War project we have been producing a series of war related heritage walks around the borough. They are all fairly easy going walks and can always be divided into sections if necessary.
The final one has now been printed. This is for the Enfield area starting in Ponders End along the Hertford Road to Brick Lane across the playing fields and ending up at Windmill Hill.
We now have a collection of heritage walks around the borough. The maps can be downloaded from the Enfield Council website: http://www.enfield.gov.uk/info/1062/local_studies. Or a hard copy can be obtained from The Enfield Local Studies Library and Archive at Thomas Hardy House.
There are also pictures to supplement the walks on the website.
During World War Two Trent Park (a Grade II listed building to the west of the borough) was requisitioned by the War Office as a POW camp. It was to be a camp for high ranking enemy officers. It was run by M19 (later M119) as a Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre headed by Lieutenant Colonel Kendrick.
Trent Park before 1912
Bugging and recording equipment was installed in the basement of the house. There were hidden microphones in six of the bedrooms and five interrogation rooms connected to the ‘M Room’ where Jewish German exiles listened in on conversations.
M Room at Trent Park courtesy of Helen Fry
Although there were bars on the windows of the house within the grounds of Trent Park prisoners were allowed considerable freedom. They could use the outside courtyard on the south side and the lawn and the west and north side. Longer walks were allowed when accompanied by a British officer. As a POW camp it was pretty comfortable. Prisoners could play billiard or table tennis, paint and play music. A tailor visited fortnightly. Guards saluted the German officers. The whole atmosphere was meant to be relaxed and friendly designed to make the prisoners feel safe in the hope they would let fall vital intelligence.
Evidence gained by these methods included information on U-boat tactics, the German radar system, and the development of the V-2 rocket. Some of the first evidence of German atrocities against Jews was also obtained through these channels.
Although Trent Park was used as a POW camp it was still bombed on several occasions. The first time was in October 1940 and then on eight further occasions. Very little damage was done to property and there were no casualties.
Map showing where bombs fell in Trent park
There have been persistent rumours that Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy Fuhrer was incarcerated in Trent Park after landing in Scotland in 1941 on a solo peace mission. No evidence has been found to corroborate this.
A couple of fascinating books about how British Intelligence eavesdropped on German POWs at Trent Park and other locations are:
Before the First World War the Royal Small Arms Factory employed 1851 workers. Weapons had been produced there since 1816. The work was comparatively well paid. The site had its own church, school pub and football team.
At the end of 1914 the factory employed 5,000 men. By June 1917 there were 7,040 men, 1,448 women and 1,095 ‘boys’ (9,583 total workers).
The war meant many men left to go and fight and women were employed to replace them.
The Short Magazine Lee Enfield .303 is perhaps the most famous product associated with Enfield. During the war the factory concentrated on producing this rifle. At its peak throughout 1916 – 17 6,000 rifles per week came out of the factory. In all 2 million rifles were made in Enfield during the conflict. The factory also modified and repaired Vickers machine guns.
The outbreak of war caused increased pressure on housing for the additional workers coming to the area. In 1915 the YMCA built 60 huts to house workers who couldn’t find lodgings in the area. Each man had a cubicle with ‘a bed and an easy chair’ costing 17s 6d per week (£38 today). They also built a canteen so that there was somewhere for workers to eat other than the pub
RSAF Canteen
Right from the outbreak of war there was a campaign for temperance. Some wanted all pubs closed and total prohibition. Drunkenness cost money in lost production and shoddy work. Lloyd George increased the duty on beer and the alcoholic content was decreased. There was a ban on running up a slate or buying rounds for others. There was even a music hall song about the state of the beer:
Lloyd George’s Beer, Lloyd George’s Beer.
At the brewery, there’s nothing doing,
All the water works are brewing,
Lloyd George’s Beer, it isn’t dear.
Oh they say it’s a terrible war, oh law,
And there never was a war like this before,
But the worst thing that ever happened in this war
Is Lloyd George’s Beer.
Buy a lot of it, all they’ve got of it.
Dip your bread in it, Shove your head in it
From January to October,
And I’ll bet a penny that you’ll still be sober.
The importance of the RSA was underlined when King George V visited in April 1915.
There was some ill feeling in the area that young, fit single men were avoiding the armed services and ‘hiding away’ in the RSAF. Workers in the factory were issued with special badges to show they were doing war work. In 1916 orders were given to de-badge all unskilled and semi-skilled workers under the age of 41.
Industrial relations were not always good. In May 1917 600 members of the AEU went on strike. This was opposed by the Worker’s Union, who organised counter demonstrations. The strike ended within the month.
In January 1918 floods turned the area in a lake. The factory could only be reached by wading and work had to be suspended.
At 11 o’clock on 11th November 1918 the official notice came that the war was over. The RASF closed down and everyone came out to celebrate. The end of the war brought an end to overtime and some over-age men were given notice. The factory was ordered to concentrate on repair work only. By Easter 1919 the number of workers at the RSAF had been reduced to 2,700 from a war time high of 12,000
This week (Wednesday) saw the 75th anniversary the bombing of the Two Brewers pub in Ponders End.
During the night of 30th September 1940 twelve heavy explosives and three oil bombs fell in Enfield. Incendiary bombs also fell in northern Enfield but they landed on open country and did little damage. Most of the High Explosives fell in Ponders End demolishing shops and severely damaging the Congregational Church in the High Road.
The worst incident was when a high explosive fell on the Two Brewers public house on the corner of South Street and the High Road.
The Two Brewers public house
The bomb fell just before closing time. When the air raid sirens went off many of the customers took shelter in the pub cellars. Some were killed outright; others were trapped in the wrecked building. Heavy Rescue teams worked all night to free the injured and recover bodies. In all 20 people were killed. Seventeen bodies were recovered.
After the war the site of the Two Brewers remained empty.
Ponders End High Street with bomb site
Local resident Cliff Short who was 14 at the time was a runner for the fire brigade and helped pull bodies out of the wreckage. He campaigned for many years to have some kind of memorial to those who died there.
On 30 September 2014 a memorial garden was opened on the site.
Cliff Short then 89 was there to officially open the garden along with Alfred Dust the son of the only man pulled out of the wreckage alive.
Opening of the Two Brewers memorial garden
On Monday we held the second Enfield at War Open Day at the archives. About 60 people attended during the day.
We were able to show the new interactive Kiosks in action. These show aspects of the Borough during both World Wars using photos (including some 3-D images of guns from the Royal Small Arms), memories and videos.
Visitors trying out the interactive kiosk
One of the very large bomb maps for Enfield was displayed across several tables just outside the archive. We have three of these maps which record where the bombs fell in the Second World War. Joe Robinson gave a talk using the map as illustration about the bombings, especially the V1s and V2s which he has researched extensively. His findings can be seen on his website http://terrorfromthesky.com/ which is well worth a look for anyone interested in the flying bombs that landed in Enfield.
Also on display were ARP reports and lists of Civilian dead in WW2.
Page from the ARP reports for Edmonton
We put out copies of newspapers from both First and Second World Wars.
There were lots of ephemera from autograph books, ration books, cartoons and magazines. The archive’s collection of wartime photos was available for visitors to browse through. Some visitors brought in their own memorabilia to share with us.
Air Raid safety leaflet
Ration books and Field Service postcard
Air Raid precautions leaflets
Staff were on hand to explain the exhibits and to help visitors with questions about their family history. Several useful contacts were made for future oral history projects.
This week saw the 75th anniversary of the hardest day of The Battle of Britain 15th September 1940. The battle gained its name from a speech by Winston Churchill in the House of Commons on 18th June. This was weeks before the start of the Battle of Britain:
…”the battle of France is over. The battle of Britain is about to begin….upon it depends our own British life… The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.”
Over the course of the battle 1733 German aircraft were shot down. 915 British planes were lost with 544 air crew killed.
The Battle of Britain was Hitler’s attempt to destroy the RAF thereby giving control of the skies to the Lufwaffe and enabling Operation Sealion the invasion of Britain.
The German planes (mainly Messerschmitt Bf109Es) had a range of 700km allowing them only 15 minutes flying time over Kent. To reach London they would be at the furthest limit of their range.
The RAF was using Hurricanes and Spitfires which were better equipped and more manoeuvrable. They were also helped by the Dowding System of advanced warnings which included the Observer Corps and Radar. This enabled Fighter Command to scramble planes into the air where they were most needed. The Germans had also greatly underestimated the productions rates of factories producing planes. The RAF was therefore able to replace damaged planes more rapidly than expected.
Plane crews came from all over what was then the British Empire and also from the countries already overrun by Germany.
The battle could be seen over head across the southern counties of England. Local people reported seeing planes fighting in the skies above Enfield. In an article in the Enfield Gazette of 9th September the reporter talked of ‘non-stop raids in London area’. Hundreds of people on the outskirts of London watched the battle in the skies between the RAF and Luftwaffe. One German bomber crashed onto a nursery and another fell in flames on a sewage farm. Crowds ran out of their home to watch the dog-fight and cheered as they saw the raiders crash in flames. The crew of both planes died but no one on the ground was hurt.
On 30th August 1940 an enemy plane was shot down by 242 Squadron and crashed in Durants Road. The action is described in a report by the Squadron Leader, Douglas Bader which is held by the National Archives (a copy is also held by Local Studies).
The accounts in the local papers encouraged local people to raise money to buy planes. Each of the local authorities bought Spitfires.
The Southgate Spitfire
The Edmonton spitfire
The Enfield Spitfire
The Enfield Gazette gave a weekly update on how much money had been raised. Children were very involved in the fundraising
Some of the local people who took part that we know about:
William T Rolls (DFM DFC) from Edmonton was one of the local men who took part in the Battle of Britain. In his autobiography ‘Spitfire attack’ he records how he ran out of ammunition and had to withdraw from a fight and found himself flying over his parents’ home in Edmonton. He waggled his wings in the hope they would see him.
William Rolls
Don Kingaby became a resident of Winchmore Hill after the war. He was credited with shooting down a number of enemy planes during the Battle of Britain including four in one day. He was awarded the DFM and bar and DSO.
Don Kingaby (Fighter Pilots of the RAF 1939-1945 by Chaz Bowyer)
Arthur William Collins, a ground gunner of 15 Fifth Avenue, Bush Hill Park, died from injuries received on 16th August 1940 while on active service. He had gone to school in Bush Hill Park. After leaving school he was employed by St Marylebone Borough Council‘s electricity department.. He left a wife and two children.
Sergeant Pilot Charles Victor Meeson, age 21, was killed in action a few days after he had shot down an enemy plane. He was the son of Mr C Meeson senior partner in the Arlington Motor Company Ltd at Ponders End.
Acting Wing Commander Walter Sheen of Seventh Avenue, Bush Hill Park was awarded the DSO in September He was educated at Seventh Avenue School and Ponders End Technical Institute. He joined the RAF in 1923 when he was 16. Two of his brothers, Ernest and Harold were also in the RAF and a fourth brother went into the Navy. Harold was killed in 1942.
On Monday 21st September the Archive will be holding an Open Day. This is the second open day held as part of the Enfield at War Project. The first one back in January was a great success and we hope this one will be too. We will have on display the WW1 books of remembrance and you will be able to see our new interactive kiosks in action.
The interactive kiosks will have pictures and test illustrating what was happening in The Borough of Enfield during both World Wars. On them you will also be able to listen to the reminiscences people who lived in Enfield during World War Two and watch a filmed retelling of the shooting down of the Cuffley airship in 1916
Alcazar Cinema
Morson’s Chemical Factory Staff
Model of the Cuffley Airship
Enfield County School bomb damage
Edmonton Spitfire
Florence Road repairing bomb damage
As part of the project we have been producing war related walks around the Borough of Enfield. The latest one has just been published. This is for Edmonton in the Second World War. You will be able to pick up one of these and the others at the open day. There will be one more walk to come for the Enfield area which is due soon.
We would also like to hear from anyone who has personal memories of the Second World War as we are collecting oral histories for the project
Enfield at War 