Category: World War

Historical, Old Edinburgh, RAF, Scotland, Wartime Memories, World WarLeave a comment

Spitfires from Scrap Metal

Johnny Jones - Nonagenarian Author

As part of the Wartime Memories series, the following is the eighth in the collection. General Salvage Schemes Over the period of the Second World War, the British Government, in an appeal to the population’s staunch national patriotism, launched a series of initiatives aimed at salvaging used metal, rubber, paper and rags. To which the “Army of the Home Front.” Responded enthusiastically. Previously, in 1941, in order to preserve its own stocks, the United States stopped exporting scrap metal to the UK. The British government was therefore forced to seek an alternative source of obtaining iron and steel supplies. While … Continue reading Spitfires from Scrap Metal

Historical, Scotland, Wartime Memories, World War1 Comment

The Prince of Wales – Part two

Johnny Jones - Nonagenarian Author

THE PRINCE OF WALES A SAILOR’S LOG (Part 2) Continuing from this story about the battleship the Prince of Wales and reconstructing the life of a young sailor who was member of her crew for the whole of her short 6 months of life. 1.6 Ships Diary In trying to make a stab at where Jimmy had been and the decorations he was awarded, I have created a Ships Diary for the full service life of the battleship The Prince of Wales: It should be remembered that while you are reading the following that the Prince of Wales only went … Continue reading The Prince of Wales – Part two

Historical, Scotland, Wartime Memories, World War5 Comments

The Prince of Wales – Part one

Johnny Jones - Nonagenarian Author

Wartime Memories Number 6 A SAILOR’S LOG A riveting look back to the battleship, Prince of Wales and a bit by bit, reconstruction of the momentous experiences of a young sailor from Edinburgh who served as a member of her crew for the whole of her short 6 months of life. 1.1 A Memory Jolted. When, in 2018, my wife and I embarked on a cruise out of Rosyth, (the old and still operational, naval dockyard near Edinburgh) my brain pulled a trigger that fired up a wartime memory. We had just got on board, emptied our cases, had a … Continue reading The Prince of Wales – Part one

Historical, Old Edinburgh, Wartime Memories, World War2 Comments

How Rationing came about

Johnny Jones - Nonagenarian Author

Wartime Memories No. 5 The following are my experiences and memories growing up in Leith, Scotland during the Second World War. It felt as though the war had been going on for ever. It was Saturday again and for me it meant an early morning trip to join the queue outside the Leith Provident bakery shop in Bangor Road. Bread and other bakery items were not rationed, and Saturday was the day that the ‘Store’ bakers fired up the oven and made a few cakes, buns and tea-bread from the rationed ingredients, necessary for the job they had managed to … Continue reading How Rationing came about

Historical, Wartime Memories, World War5 Comments

Rationing and the Merchant Navy

Johnny Jones - Nonagenarian Author

WARTIME MEMORIES No 4 I remember Rationing, and here is why it happened: Before the war, Britain imported two thirds of its food from it’s Dominions, principally Canada. This included half of its meat and most of its cheese, sugar, fruit, wheat and some other foodstuff. Its oil came mainly from Trinidad, Mexico & Venezuela. Right from the start of WW2, in order to carry out Hitler’s plan to starve the Britain into surrender, minefields were laid, and packs of German U boats – as well as surface raiders and aircraft – were sent out to hunt down and sink … Continue reading Rationing and the Merchant Navy

Historical, RAF, Scotland, World War13 Comments

The First Air Raid on Mainland Britain in WW2

Johnny Jones - Nonagenarian Author

Wartime Memories No.3 German bomber of the period – (Heinkel He 111 H) CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE OF THE EARLY LUFTWAFFE AIR RAIDS On November 13, 1939 the first bombs of World War II dropped on British soil landed at Sullom, Shetland, (The raid was largely ineffective and failed to hit any of its naval targets.) March 1940 saw the first death of a British civilian when James William Isbister was killed during a German air raid on Orkney. 7.45pm on 18th July, 1940 marked the first air raid on mainland Britain. August 24, 1940 saw the first German air raid on … Continue reading The First Air Raid on Mainland Britain in WW2

General, Historical, Old Edinburgh, RAF, Scotland, Wartime Memories, World War13 Comments

Guns Galore!

Johnny Jones - Nonagenarian Author

Wartime Memories No.1 Not long after the end of the Second World War, under the starlit sky of an early autumn morning, a chuffing, puffing old railway engine, enveloped in a cloud of steam, shunted a clanking train of open topped freight wagons into the railway siding just to the North of Bonnington Toll in Edinburgh. With the wagon’s brakes secured, the engine steamed off to get on with its next task, leaving the sidings deserted, eerily silent and hidden from view behind the high random rubble stone wall that borders Newhaven Road. Later, with the sun creeping over the … Continue reading Guns Galore!