This Remembrance, we wanted to share a small number of local stories, showing the bravery and resilience of our community in times of great upheaval during the world wars.

We have collated snippets of just some of the stories from the war years here in Launceston, though we would urge you to read more on the websites and books listed below, if you’d like to learn more in greater detail. We would also love to hear from you if you would like to share any family stories or wartime memories with us - please email rosie@life-media.co.uk

With thanks to Launceston Then (https://launcestonthen.co.uk/), Bodmin Keep - Cornwall’s Army Museum (https://bodminkeep.org/), Kelly House (https://kelly-house.co.uk/) and Kate Werran (author of An American Uprising).

The war years in Launceston

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When war broke out in August 1914, following tensions in Europe, it quickly burst the bubbles of Britain’s quaint little towns and villages, which upheld the idyllic image of Edwardian rural life. Young men across the land answered the call to do their duty for ‘king and country’, and flocked to nearby town and village halls to enlist. Following medical assessments and training, willing volunteers were shipped over to the war in their thousands, wanting to play their part in the great adventure so excitingly put to them in military propaganda.

The conflict first expected to end by Christmas continued for four terrible years, with once unfamiliar names - Mons, Ypres, the Somme, Verdun - suddenly being ingrained into the minds of those left at home, as they helplessly read about the war across the Channel.

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On the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month in 1918, the gunfire that had raged over the world was finally silenced. The Armistice had come at last, a bitter-sweet end to a painful four years. Memorials were erected all over the country over the years to follow, the names of those who never returned carved into stone.

Just 21 short years later, Britain found itself at war against Germany again. This time, many of the men who had survived the First World War now watched their own sons join up to fight in the second, as the Allies (Great Britain, the USA, the Soviet Union and France) fought against Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan. Women also played their part in the war effort, whether it was on the ‘home front’ or in war work itself, serving as mechanics and engineers, munitions workers, air raid wardens, and drivers. The war took to land, sea and in the air. Nearby Plymouth was bombed heavily, with 59 raids between July 1940 and April 1944. It was during this conflict that the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry experienced battles across France and Belgium, Italy and Western Europe, and even lost an important battalion in the desert.

First World War stories

Margaret’s war diary

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In 1914, 35-year-old Margaret Kelly of Kelly House, near Lifton, decided to begin a diary. Her very first entry was on the 2nd August 1914, just two days before Britain declared war on Germany, in which she wrote of a special service held because ‘of the great seriousness of the European situation’. On the 4th, she described going to Plymouth Hoe, watching holidaymakers enjoying themselves, blissfully unaware of what was to come. The next day, she wrote: “The paper brought the news that war was actually declared between England and Germany. A policeman came up from Lifton and stuck up two printed notices on the double doors of the frame ground, calling on all Territorial Reservists to report themselves. Intense excitement all day. What can we do to help?”

Upon learning about the outbreak of war, Margaret was quick to go to the Tavistock department of the Red Cross to offer her services as a nurse. The following day, she attended a meeting of the Launceston Suffrage Society that voted to end all Suffrage work and pledge funds to people in the town who were affected by sudden high prices and loss of work.

The diary continued until mid September 1917. In it, Margaret recounts news from the papers at the time, the changes imposed on Edwardian society, and provides a fascinating insight into the life of a young woman during the turbulent years of the Great War. The diary was published on Kelly House’s website in 2014, 100 years on from Margaret’s first scribbles. If you would like to read Margaret’s war diary, go to https://kelly-house.co.uk/margarets-ww1-diary-100-years/

The Belgian guests

The suffering of the Belgian people was written home about by local boy Alfred Vosper, who served as a shoeing smith. He described seeing lines of refugees in Malines, fleeing their homes as battle encroached: an elderly woman being pushed along in a cart by her son; babies placed in boxes on wheels; and people clutching their belongings, with nowhere to go.

In October 1914, the Mayoress of Launceston, Sister John Berchmons from St Joseph’s Convent, and Mrs T C Reed brought 22 refugees from Exeter to Launceston. Among them were a family of a mother and her four children, who had witnessed the attack on Malines. Meanwhile, refugee Madame Donnay had left her home in Antwerp and attempted to get the train, which was subsequently hit by a shell, killing and injuring many. Instead, she walked for 16 hours to get to safety.

With the arrival of the refugees, the town and surrounding parishes started a relief fund through concerts and other events to support them. The Belgians were welcomed into the community, despite language barriers and some confusion at the beginning. In many cases, they were able to find work, make friends and build a relatively safe and normal life, remaining in the Launceston area until January 1919.

Welcoming the troops

Launceston had become a training centre for the 11th Battalion of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry towards the end of 1915 and, in order to keep spirits high, it was decided that a reading and recreation room should be provided for the soldiers. The Congregational Church in Castle Street offered the use of their schoolroom to facilitate this, which was close to bursting on the opening night.

The battalion left on 20th March 1916, lining up in the Guildhall Square to be waved off by the town, who had grown accustomed to them. With a farewell speech given by Mayor Edward Hicks, and some treats handed out to the men - including cigarettes, oranges, chocolate, and the gramophone and records from the recreation room they had spent so much time in - thanks were given by Colonel Marsack on behalf of the battalion, who said: “They came with feelings of pleasure, as they knew the inhabitants wished them to come, and while they went away with small numbers the Battalion would be marked as having been raised at Launceston.”

The ladies of Scarne Farm

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With the war raging on, many workforces were left depleted - including farms, as labourers joined the war effort. Following a meeting of the Launceston, Camelford and Stratton District War Agricultural Committee in 1916, who had discussed the possibility of women stepping in as farm labourers and had quickly dismissed the idea, a woman named Mary Francis Vivian Lobb from Egloskerry wrote to The Cornish & Devon Post, stating that women were perfectly capable of taking on the work. Lady Molesworth St Aubyn supported this, and set about organising exhibitions for women to take part in - essentially to prove those in doubt wrong!

One such exhibition was held at Scarne Farm in Launceston, owned by Thomas Hicks, on 9th March 1916. Around 20 women from Launceston and its surrounding villages attended the event, demonstrating their skills and ability to take on the laborious work involved in farming. In fact, Margaret Kelly (mentioned above), attended the event and wrote that day: “Jones, auntie Mabel, Mr Moore and I went to Lanson to see a competition for women’s work on the land. We saw the women sawing wood, hedging and the faggots they had bound and the manure they had spread and also went through mud ankle deep. Janet came away with all wish to work on the land finally and entirely quenched.”

Hundreds of people came along to watch the event take place, and the Women’s Land Army was formed in 1917.

Second World War stories

‍American GIs in Launceston

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It’s well known that American troops spent a lot of time in Cornwall in the run-up to D-Day. One unit in particular - an African-American unit - was stationed at a training camp in Pennygillam. They were the 581st Ordnance Ammunition Company. Kate Werran, author of An American Uprising, found in her research that ‘the unit was restricted to base at all of their camps to date… they were not allowed to leave to visit cinemas, pubs and dances outside, but had to spend all their time in camp’. However, the men had received a warm welcome from the townspeople. They went to the pubs and had drinks bought for them by British servicemen and civilians, and they visited the local shops and attended dances - much to the disgust of some of the white American GIs also in the area.

On the night of 26th September 1943, soldiers from the 581st unit returned to their camp at Pennygillam, grabbed bayonets, rifles and tommy guns, and marched back into the town square. Reaching the memorial at 10.20pm, the town was fairly quiet, with British and American servicemen, land girls and civilians milling around after the pubs had closed up for the night. The 581st men surrounded a group of US military policemen, with a soldier asking, ‘‘Why don’t we let them come into town, come to the pubs and sort of have the freedom of the town?’

Twenty-three-year-old Joan Rendell, awaiting her father, was there at the time. She said she suddenly heard ‘screaming and shouting’: “I do remember that woman’s scream. I can hear it today. It was an unearthly scream — and then I heard these shots.”

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A shootout had started in the square, with bullets ‘ricochetting’ off buildings, marking the war memorial, the White Hart and Hicks.

The event resulted in a court martial that lasted three days in October 1943, and received much attention from the press in Britain and America. Walter White visited Launceston to investigate, strengthening his calls to President Roosevelt to ‘desegregate the military’, marking the start of an American civil rights journey.

This story is explained in great detail by Kate Werran in her book ‘An American Uprising’, which can be ordered from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Uprising-Second-World-England/dp/1526759543

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From Launceston to Texas

While stationed in Launceston, the men from the 581st Ordnance Ammunition Company adopted a dog. The men named him ‘Ras Bueten’ and he returned to the States after the war to live out his days in Dallas, Texas. He died in 1952, and his gravestone can be seen to this day (pictured).

Evacuees

Launceston Then recounts a time in June 1940 when 120,000 children were evacuated from London, with 27,000 arriving in Cornwall. Children were evacuated to Launceston and its surrounding villages, including Altarnun, Boyton, Broadwood, Egloskerry, St Stephens, Laneast, Lewannick, Lawhitton, Lezant, North Hill, North Petherwin, St Thomas, St Giles, South Petherwin, Stoke Climsland, Treneglos, Tresmeer, Tremaine, Trewen, Warbstow and Werrington. The children - with their gas masks and cases by their sides - arrived in the evening at Launceston Railway Station and were greeted by the Mayor and Mayoress, before undergoing some medical checks at the station. The stationmaster and his wife provided plenty of lemonade for the children, who were probably missing their families and homes, and were anxious about their new lives in the Cornish countryside. At tea, held in the town hall, one little girl in particular told an official that she loved cream buns and was very hungry, though worried she would not have enough money to purchase one. The official assured her that everything laid out was free - an example of the town’s community spirit.

An evacuee’s story

Jean Lilley was one little girl evacuated to Launceston during the war. She attended Windmill School and went to St Mary Magdalene’s Church on Sundays. You can read her account of her time in Launceston here: https://launcestonthen.co.uk/index.php/the-war-years/launceston-and-world-war-two/an-evacuees-story/