Needham at War: The Home Front 

This year we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of WW2 with a series of events at St Peter’s Church and the Village Hall on Sunday 10th November from 5.30pm. Below is a summary of the illustrated talk that will begin the proceedings in the Church.

For most people in Needham life continued much as normal after the formal declaration of War at 11am on 3rd September 1939. However preparation for the conflict had begun almost immediately after Neville Chamberlain’s return from Munich in 1938. The People

From the Survey that was conducted by the Government in September1939 we know that many Needham villagers had signed up to ‘do their bit’ on the Home Front – some examples are given below:

• ▪  Revd. Harold Bally living at the Vicarage was appointed First Aid
  Commandant.
  
• ▪  Evangeline Dean who lived at Greenacres was appointed as
  Evacuation Officer.
  
• ▪  Retired Royal Naval Petty Officer, Leonard Clark who lived at
  Inglenook next to the Red Lion pub, helped to organise Local Defence
  on the Home Front.
  
• ▪  Leslie Aldrich at Beverley House was listed as an ARP Warden.
  
• ▪  Poultry Farmer, Arnold Brame at Valley House also an ARP warden.
  
• ▪  Maggie Martin, Assistant Teacher, living at Montecassino is a First
  Aider and SRP Warden, along with her next door neighbours at
  Church Farm, Sybil and Helen Ferry who are also in the WVS. Rules and Regulations
  

• ▪  Pets – owners were advised to think twice before destroying their pets
  as it was considered that there was plenty of animal food in the country and that pets would be safe in a gasproof room. Later on, when rationing tightened it became an offence to feed pets food that was suitable for human consumption – a rule that was largely ignored.
  
• ▪  Pig Clubs – to tackle food shortages villagers were encouraged to establish Pig Clubs (see cover picture) whereby they kept half the meat and gave over the rest for general rationed consumption. 
  
  
  
  The Blackout
  
  

  In anticipation of terrifying air raids everyone was expected to black out their homes and businesses every day between sunset and sunrise so that no light was visible from outside.

  Penalties for allowing lights to show included imprisonment for three months, a fine of up to £100 (£6,384 in today’s money) or both. One recorded prosecution was Harry Walpole of Mill Farm in Needham who was fined just 5 shillings (nearly £10 today) for allowing a bonfire to burn into the night.

  
  

  Not only were homes subjected to lighting restrictions but all vehicle lights had to be covered and front lamps’ luminosity reduced. Although there were very few cars in the Village, a number of residents were prosecuted for not having correct lights on their bicycles.

  Christmas 1939
  
  

  The official line was that people should enjoy Christmas 1939 but ‘with caution’. The Diss Express encouraged people to shop local, thus saving petrol and thereby contributing to the war effort.

  Local traders had to tread a fine line between encouraging people to spend money - but not extravagantly. For women there were some exceptions to austerity, purely for morale-boosting purposes : “He will be home for Christmas so look your best. A permanent wave will add to your charm.” (Diss Express).

  
  

  Carol singers, willing to brave the cold, were ordered to keep their torches pointed to the ground so as not to break the blackout rules, and church bells were silenced in case they were mistaken for air raid warnings.

  
  

  At 3pm on Christmas Day 1939, King George VI broadcast his Christmas message from Sandringham on the BBC:

  “A New Year is at hand.” He said, “We cannot tell what it will bring. If it brings peace, how thankful we shall all be. If it brings us continued struggle, we shall remain undaunted.”

  
  

  If you’d like to hear more about Needham at War in 1939, join us at 5.30pm on Sunday 10th November at St Peter’s Church.

  

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  Steve Poulter