A Wartime Christmas 1940
by Kate Jones
Kate Jones is Secretary of Oystermouth Historical Association
‘We went down to Mumbles Head
and sat in the sunshine’.
So wrote Laurie Latchford in his diary for Wednesday 25
December 1940. Laurie lived in Caswell Road, Newton, with his wife Essie, daughter Sylvia (aged 7) and his mother-in-law, ‘Bayney’ (a retired cook). Six days a week he walked to Oystermouth and travelled on the Mumbles Train to Swansea where he worked in the Custom House in Cambrian Place, adjacent to South Dock.
He was also a senior air-raid warden and spent his nights patrolling the village of Newton – often during air raids. In his diary he wrote about and commented on national and international events, the almost incredible changes taking place in Europe during 1940 and early 1941, and the impact this had on the ordinary people of Britain – air raids, the Blackout, rationing and how Swansea was building up its defences against invasion and attack. He interspersed this with stories about his family, summer outings, bird watching, gardening (digging for victory), playing cards with neighbours and Christmas.
The Government urged people to keep Christmas spending low (whilst encouraging expenditure on war essentials via savings certificates). But in spite of this and the general uncertainty everyone was determined to have as good a time as possible, and did their best to obtain presents and the usual festive food regardless of shortages and rising prices.
‘Saturday 16 November 1940: Went into Swansea to get the wood for the doll’s cot I intend to make for Sylvia.’
‘Saturday 23 November 1940: Rumours are running in the town that there will be a big attack on Swansea next Thursday and on Port Talbot on Christmas Day!’ Laurie wondered whether these rumours were self-generating or Fifth Column inspired – designed to upset nerves: ‘following the terrible raids on Coventry, Birmingham and Bristol.’ He felt the following months would be very difficult but added that, despite heavy shipping losses, nightly air raids and falling financial reserves: ‘in Swansea people go about their daily business.’
‘Friday 29 November 1940: No more fruit, including bananas, to be imported. Importation of meat to be restricted.’
‘Saturday 30 November 1940: Took Bayney, Sylvia and Essie to Swansea for Christmas shopping. The shops were crowded. There was no room on the pavements. People came to shop; standing stiffly looking at the bomb damage took quite a lot of their time. The decorations in the shops are lavish – I recognise a lot from last year. Plenty of goods are on sale, but there doesn’t seem to be any reserve. Prices are not up by much on last year, which was unexpected, though we did have to pay 9d each to see ‘The Sunken Galleon’ and Father Christmas. Sylvia was disappointed with Father Christmas; he had his usual white trimmed bonnet but a red jacket and trousers instead of a cloak! Had our usual pre-Christmas tea out at one of the large stores; contingents of Navy, Army and Air Force marched through the crowds. Today is the start of Swansea’s War Weapons Week.* There are counters set aside for the sale of War Savings Certificates. There are displays of shells, small arms, etc. People were lining up to buy their certificates. Where do they get their money? Probably war work is giving many families, with grown-up children, very high incomes. Some food is difficult to get, especially cheese.’ [*The aim was to raise £750,000 to pay for two destroyers. In the event the fund closed at over £1million.]‘Sunday 1 December 1940: Rooted out last year’s decorations and Sylvia started the messy business of making paper chains from strips of brightly coloured paper. Dug up last year’s Christmas tree, which has survived and even grown new ends.’
Tuesday 10 December 1940: Essie and I went into Swansea to buy the Christmas fruit. Hazelnuts are 1s 2d a pound! Walnuts are practically unobtainable. There are no dates and few figs. There are plenty of oranges, however, and plenty of good apples. Everyone is preparing for a jolly Christmas despite only one day’s holiday, Christmas Day, and the lack of the usual fruits and the shortage of sweets.’
‘Sunday 22 December 1940: We put our Christmas tree into a pail. Sylvia and I searched for berries and leaves and ivy from the hedge tree at the bottom of the garden. Very cold [and] Sylvia retreated to the house. Essie and I went to the cliffs and came back with sprigs of gorse in flower and sprays of wild rose hips.’
‘Monday 23 December 1940: We hung up our rather flattened paper chains, pretty frilly paper decorations with green leaves and red hips in the window recesses, on the mantel shelf and over pictures. Quite colourful. Sylvia’s home-made chains have already been pinned up criss-cross in the stairway and passage. We put the Christmas tree near the fireplace and hung the coloured glass balls and figures (made in Germany!) we had collected over the years. We clipped on the coloured tin candle holders and inserted the candles. Sylvia insisted we lit at least one of them.’
‘Tuesday 24 December 1940: ‘Alert’ at lunchtime - everyone fearing a Christmas air raid. But the alert was over very soon. Essie came with me to Swansea to finish the Christmas shopping. Prices were up and certainly there are some shortages. Boxed dates have appeared and grapefruit and bananas, probably held for Christmas. Oranges are 3d, 4d, 4½d & 6d each. Grapefruit are 1s. Fortunately Essie made her Christmas puddings in the autumn as she does to let the fruit mature, but also before dried fruit got really scarce. Practically no sweet biscuits or chocolate.’‘Wednesday 25 December 1940 - Christmas Day: Although chocolates, sweets and nuts are scarce, Christmas cards are not. There are cards and gifts from friends and relatives, and cards and gifts, particularly to Sylvia, from people who appreciate the work of the wardens.’
‘Lovely Christmas morning. We each had our family’s traditional pillow case instead of a Christmas stocking and the traditional ‘daft’ gifts like a cold potato wrapped in Christmas paper or a large parcel, carefully wrapped, which consisted of layer upon layer of paper, ending in an apple, or a nut or one of Essie’s sticky home-made sweets. Sylvia had doll’s furniture, a doll’s rocking chair and doll’s cot, made on the edge of the kitchen table during lulls in air raids or when it was too late in the morning to go to bed after an ‘Alert’. She also had a doll and dolls’ clothes, dolls’ bed clothes and a doll’s cot mattress, stuffed with newspaper scraps, all made by Essie and Bayney and a party dress made by Essie. Bayney had house shoes and gloves. Essie had the same and also, a rare find, a box of chocolates which I had bought in October. I had house slippers and a very good Vyella shirt.’
‘After all the excitement that goes with Christmas morning with a child in the house, Bayney said firmly that she was going to prepare and cook the turkey, so we must get out of her way and go for a walk. We went down to Mumbles Head and sat in the sunshine. Everybody seemed determined to enjoy Christmas. Everyone seemed relaxed.’‘The turkey was one of the finest I’ve tasted. The Brussel sprouts, of our own growing, had the authentic nutty flavour, and the roasted potatoes were gold-brown without and floury white within. The Christmas pudding anointed with brandy, blazed as it should. The crackers, although last year’s cracked, everyone, and they held toys as well as hats and mottoes. A good, happy day, with no raids by either the Germans or the British.’
Kate Jones, 2017
Extracts from:
The Swansea Wartime Diary of Laurie Latchford 1940-41, edited by Kate Jones & Wendy Cope; published by the South Wales Record Society, 2010.
Photographs © Sylvia Kingswood: Laurie Latchford in his air raid warden’s uniform; Laurie and Sylvia ‘digging for victory’; Sylvia in the snow. War Savings Poster, Oystermouth Historical Association archive.
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