War changes began here on the 1st September 1939 with the arrival of evacuees from Paddington, and bus load after bus load of children arrived at the school where they were given food and welcome, they were pathetic mites with their name labels, gas masks and small bags of provisions given by the authorities in London, but rarely having a change of garment with them.
The Committee then started fitting the children into the houses promised them, not too easy a task. As most houses were ready to take one or even two of same sex, and the parents had naturally told their little families to keep together. When there were three in a family or a brother and sister, sleeping room became difficult. Eventually all were settled more or less satisfactorily. Of course changes had to sometimes be made, but usually the "Aunties" as the hostesses were soon called, were very good to their charges and took on the difficult tasks of providing and washing clothes, feeding and caring for the children in a wonderful way.
The village turned out its surplus clothing and raised money by concerts and so on. Soon the children had good clothes and all they could possibly need. One saw them growing fatter, cleaner and healthier looking every week.
From time to time more children came from other areas and school space was provided in the Church Schoolrooms and in time proper equipment for teaching, heating etc was provided.
Some parents came and took their children back into danger, but many stayed to the end and some are even now to be seen in the summer visiting their Aunties and firm friendships remain.
Red Cross
There was a well attended sewing party in the British Legion .....who were able to make and supply all the various garments and dressings asked for.
St John's Ambulance
They had a First-Aid Station beautifully equipped in Par which fortunately was seldom needed but the workers were always ready for any emergency.
Other people were busy organising collections of salvage, books for hospitals and the Navy, furniture for bombed areas, aluminium collections when one parted with many cherished hot water bottles and kettles with many pangs which would have been still more painful had we realised how difficult and expensive they would be to replace late on.
The men who could not join one of the Services became A.R.P wardens or Home Guards and spent many chilly nights on duty with great zeal and at first totally inadequately equipment. Happily in spite of frequent sires, we had no great raids though enemy aircraft were frequently over and dropped bombs many times, on one occasion on a house where soldiers were guarding ammunition, killing two poor fellows and another time a direct hit demolished a house in the village and killed two inmates and caused slight injuries from machine gun fire. One could hardly walk away from main road without a watcher popping up in the possible hope(?) that one was a parachutist or spy.
Rumours were rife, as of course was the case everywhere. When France was over run the order went out that all beach huts must be removed within 48 hours and the sands put out of bounds. Great was the activity caused by these orders, the sands and fore shore were eventually heavily mined and roads barricaded in ways which gave us much comfort, but one wonders how long an enemy would have been kept off had an attack really eventuated.
Elderfield and the Blitz
The foundation stones of "Elderfield" were laid down in 1881 and the house was occupied by the owner Mr Yeo in 1883.
It was solidly built of stone and contained five rooms on the ground floor, five bedrooms and a toilet on the first floor and a huge attic covering the entire area of the house at the top. It is said to have been one of the strongest houses in Tywardreath.
"Elderfield" stook in its own grounds and was bounded on one sie by a wall, and a row of fir trees on the other. The lawns and flower beds were a joy to see, and the kitchen garden was spacious and contained apple trees, etc. There was a greenhouse and several out-buildings including a wash-house, pigsty and poultry houses.
The house was sold in 1912 to Mr Crago who lived there with his daughter, and later when she married, his son-in-law and later still their daughter too. Before the event of WW2 they ran it as a guest houses.
This lovely home was demolished by a bomb during an air raid on the evening of August 18th 1942. The only occupants, Mr Crago and his daughter Mrs P Barnicutt were killed.
Many nearby houses were damaged, mostly with blast and machine gun fire. Several roofs had tiles and slates off and very few houses had any glass left in their windows. These houses can be identified today by the thick wartime glass which was used to replace the broken panes.
There was another casualt during the same raid. It was a young girl aged 16 who was sitting in the window seat of her home at 44 North Street when the house was hit by machine gun fire. The window was shattered and she received mutiple injuries. She was removed to a hospital at Bodmin where whe was treated for nine weeks. She will always have her scars to remind her of that night. Her name was Mary Smith; she is now Mrs A Williams.
Today, on the site where Elderfield stood are six council houses. The rod which was known years ago as "Jinny Broads Lane", "Maddocks Lane" and later "Batchelors Lane" is now known as "Glen View".