WARTIME MEMORIES

Mr. W.T. HIORNS

During the war I worked at Furbanks bakery and because I was exempt I joined the Land Defence Volunteers at Knottingley for a while. We wore an armband with the initials L.D.V on it - the saying was ‘Look, Duck and Vanish’ - and had a broom handle for a rifle. Later on we were kitted out with a proper uniform and rifle.

Our headquarters were located in the large house next to the N.A.D.S.S club, which has now been converted into flats. When possible we had to stay the night at headquarters for which we were paid. Nine of us would turn up before ten o’clock at night, one taking charge and the others paired off into two’s. We then had to pick a number out of a hat to see which shift we were on. A pair of us would go out for a two-hour period up to the lookout post at the top of Womersley Road to keep an eye out for parachutes. If we saw any, one of us would have to go back and report to headquarters while the other one continued to keep watch. The look out post belonged to the plane spotters and if you drew the second shift you could always get a cup of tea from them as they brewed up at about 12 o’clock.

Our orders came from Pontefract Barracks and every weekend a Corporal or Sergeant would come down and drill us. We made a rifle range up in the quarries off Womersley Road and the Corporal taught us how to fire a .22 rifle. Later we went to a proper rifle range near Wentbridge where we fired our 303 rifles. I drove a van for Mrs. Jay and our officer asked me to ask her if we could borrow the van at weekends to take the lads to Wentbridge and he would provide the petrol as it was rationed. She agreed providing I drove the van so I went to the big range quite a lot and got plenty of practice.

One night when I was on duty, the air raid siren sounded and our officer came to us. He ordered me and Fred - who I had teamed up with that night - to go to the church and climb to the top of the tower to keep a look out for parachutists. If we saw any, we were to report back to headquarters. From the bell tower to the roof was a wooden ladder and I went first slinging my rifle round my back and climbed up and opened the hatch. As I climbed out onto the roof Fred started to follow. It was a good job I looked back as Fred managed to get his rifle fast and would have fallen back into the tower if I had not grabbed him and pulled him up – it was a good start to the night.

It was quite scary on top of the tower in the dark. We had a torch but it had a mask on the front of it as all naked lights had to be shielded during the war. We heard the sound of a plane high up in the sky and then the whole sky was lit up by a searchlight which was stationed at Tommy Metcalfe’s farm. Its beam swung around until it located the plane and then slowly followed it. Little white clouds appeared in the sky all around the plane as ack-ack guns fired on it. We did not see anything fall from the plane and it soon disappeared out of sight. The searchlight shut off and we were left in darkness once more. It must have been 15-20 minutes later before the all clear was sounded, startling us and making us jump.

I shone the torch down the ladder so Fred would not fall down it and then I closed the hatch and followed him down. We made our way to headquarters to report what we had seen.

Mr. W. T. Hiorns
28 January 2004