Libby’s Letters to the Forces: 1939 - 1945

Libby’s Letters to the Forces: 1939 - 1945

by Mumbles United Comforts Fund and Correspondence Committee

Reviewed  by Carol Powell MA

Editor:  It is evident throughout the (almost) six years, that this series of letters were a true labour of love, of pride and patriotism and richly deserving of republication here.

 Mumbles United Comforts Fund

published this record of its work in 1945:-  

  WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING  

1- SENDING PARCELS TO THE FORCES

We received 7,910 garments. We sent 2,602 parcels, containing 7,811 garments.

2- MAKE HOUSE TO HOUSE COLLECTIONS totalling £2,293:1:7d

3- DESPATCHING 5/- POSTAL ORDERS TO FORCES 4,644.

4- MAKING GIFTS TO PRISONERS OF WAR.

5- MAKING GRANTS TO MERCHANT SERVICES.

6- WE HAVE OVER 1,300 NAMES OF SERVICING MEN AND WOMEN.

WE HAVE RECEIVED 688 LETTERS FROM THEM DURING THE YEARS.

   AT WAR AGAIN   

It was 1939 and, with a brief space of only twenty-one years, Britain was again at war with Germany.

No one is more homesick than at Christmas and he must surely have brought a little Mumbles Cheer to those faraway as he described ‘that shops are decorating for Christmas,’ (ACS 30 Nov 39); ‘wild shepherds have begun to ‘ark the ‘erald’ every evening ‘(HL 30Nov 44) ‘Scouts are going to see that every Serviceman’s kiddie gets a toy’ (HL 30 Nov 44) and ‘The boys who are home on leave are invited to drop in at Forte’s about 11.00 a.m on Boxing Day for a cup of coffee, a smoke and to “swap yarns”.’(GA Dec 39.

        Local news such as the deaths of elderly villagers e.g. Billie Lewis and Dick Eynon (Mrs. H Feb 40) and the Golden Wedding celebrations of Mr. and Mrs. Sanders of Norton (HL Sept 41) was imparted. The folk away would undoubtedly have been able to visualise  ‘Richie Gamon trying to dig bait in the cold’ or ‘ “Braddie” taking a class in the cold school playground’. (HL Oct 39)

The letters told of tragedy and heartbreak as casualty details came in —Joe Davies and Bill Hancock being the first (HL Oct 39) and many more such as ‘Harry Stevens who was killed in Italy, never having had the chance to see his young baby’(HL May 44); until  five years later it was reported that Warnock Hunt, Dave Hinds and David Woolfe had been killed in action.(HL Nov 44).

They also imparted happy meetings of local boys in faraway places—‘ Blackpill must be in the Middle East en masse’(HL Aug 42) and  Eric Nicholls and Frank Wilding bumped into each other in Burma (HL March 44)

        The patriotism of the locals shone through —Don’t worry about us at home because if any German parachutists choose to land in the cutting, ‘Ship and castle’ Quarry or Venns Farm, we’ll give ‘em a warm reception.(HL 30 May 40). Nanna Todd displayed photographs of those serving boys and girls in her shop window on the Parade, just as she had done in the previous conflict (HL Oct 41) and Varley’s also had a display in their window (HL 30 Sept 43).

Perhaps the most tangible expressions of support were the many fund-raising events which took place— Sewing Shirts for Soldiers and the Mumbles Comforts Funds amalgamated and hoped that within two weeks, every Mumbles man would receive a parcel (HL Nov 39). Paraclete Church raised £10 in its support with a jumble sale (HL March 40) and by April 42 the Fund was able to send out 660 parcels plus 5/- postal orders to each person. By September 42, the fund was raising £10 per week on average. In November 41, Dunns Lane school raised £1020 during Warship Week and Park Street sent £17..10s to the nation for war weapons (HL Aug 42). Woodville Road made £50, the ‘folk living between Newton Road and Norton Road’ raised £52 and the following week, Newton took £102 with raffles and stalls all for the ‘Aid to Russia Fund.’(HL Sept / Oct42). ‘Newton Road raised £400, which will go to send each person a Christmas box and to provide a war savings certificate for each of our POWs’ (HL Oct 42). During ‘Wings Week’ in June 1943, Mumbles raised over £90,000 with ‘street does’ everywhere—Norton Village, £241, Southend, £200, Langland Bay, £86, Oakland Road, £70 and the two schools, over £100.

The following September, there was a ‘Merchant Navy ‘ week, which made £700. By the end of May 1944, Mumbles ‘had sailed past her £100,000 salute’! A magnificent  achievement.

In February 1942, Miss Betty Howard joined the team and kept the ‘Lassies’ informed of the goings-on at home and declared that ‘a shopping trip to the village is a mixture of happiness at seeing one of you home again . . . or of sadness . . . when one meets someone who’s worried at the lack of news.’(BH Feb 42) She observed that ‘sunburnt children build castles while with anxious eyes, their mothers scan the horizon.’(BH June 44) She told them that the Castle grounds were being given over to the plough, (BH Apr 42) of the joys of cooking with ‘dried eggs, national milk, soya-bean flour and saccharine;’(BH Sept 43) the difficulties of rationing —fruit at 24 points per pound. (BH Nov 42) and that Mumbles babies were receiving milk, cod liver oil and fruit juices from the Government. (BH Mar 42). She kept them informed of the wherabouts  of Beryl Pearce, Mary Owen and Teresa Gorman (BH Oct 42) and that Dilly Wilkins, Veronica Weeks and Dorothy Savage were home on leave.(BH Nov 42)

Towards the end of the war when the blackout was at an end, Harry Libby wrote ‘Wass think theese ‘a seen? Lamps on. Aye, ‘tis true. Bill Edwards has bin up more ladders lately than Thrush. There thee art—after five years a two candle power lamp is twinkling in Hall Bank lighting up Henry Smith’s house and Skinner’s bakehouse where we used to carry up the dough, and across the nets thee coos see Sketty and Townhill just as if you wast using Will Llewellyn’s prisms.’ (HL Nov 44) By March 1945, it was noted that the boys were coming home in ‘shiploads’ —Ken Lang was first! Descriptions of the VE and VJ days with street parties and dances, bonfires, fireworks and lifeboat trips for the children, were recounted.

 He finished his final letter with an emotional and heartfelt farewell—To see all the lights go on around the Bay and up on the higher reaches of Swansea has been a tonic. To realise that our POWs will be home soon is another. To realise that the war is over is profound. Aye! War brought its trials, but it also engendered in Mumbles a spirit of comradeship and Brotherhood. (HL Aug 45) 

They died for peace, so we must live for it

                                                                (BH Sept 44)