Christmas during the air raids

In the 1955 copy of 'Christmas Cheer', Pat Twyford writes about Plymouth and the Christmases during the Second World War. Some people may have read Pat's diary that he kept during the war which was called 'It Came to Our Door'. Henry Patrick Twyford was born in 1892 and joined the Western Morning News in 1910 as a junior reporter. He fought in the First World War but was invalided out in 1918 after being wounded and gassed in the trenches. He rejoined the Western Morning News and specialised in articles about football and agriculture. He became the newspaper's war correspondent during the Second World War. He was also a special constable and a member of the Seven O'Clock Regulars, who regularly swam off the Hoe.

He was very interested in local history and compiled his book, 'It Came to our Door' in the years shortly after the war. He died in 1964.

His article in the Christmas Cheer magazine of 1955 mentions each year during the bombing of Plymouth. It begins,

'The approach of the 1939 Christmas was heralded with the distant rumble of war guns. Hearts were heavy. The war clouds hung dark and menacing. Would it all be over by Christmas? We hoped and we prayed but how fearful we were. Yet, even in our most anxious moments, we little realised how grim would be the Christmases of the next few years, what ordeals and sorrows we would have to endure before we could again capture the real spirit of Peace on Earth, goodwill towards men.'

When Christmas 1940 came, people tried to keep their spirits up but times were difficult, with shortages of nearly everything that went to make a good Christmas. The celebrations and presents had to be planned far in advance as people did their best to get what they could. The Christmas bells remained silent and brightly lit shops and jostling crowds became just a memory. There were no Christmas trees with brightly coloured lights and tinsel and all the streets were dark and dreary with homes darkened by heavily blacked out curtains. Something that grew out of this was that people learned to live closer and draw strength from one another and also to share what little they had.

No-one could have predicted the destruction that came the following year. Christmas in 1941 followed a trail of destruction which destroyed much of Plymouth and many people lost their lives.

Pat Twyford remembered,

'It was indeed with a heavy heart that we approached the 1941 Christmas. Yet, my memory tells me, that there was still shining through the smoke and rubble of a distraught devastated city, the spirit of enduring courage, the will to make the best of things, to carry on as individuals and a community drawn together by tragedy. There was the simple roughly painted board over the north porch of the destroyed mother church of St Andrew, bearing the single word, 'Resurgum', which was an inspiration in Plymouth's agony.'

The Western Morning News of 1941 described the Christmas as 'a revelation of enterprise and improvisation, and above all things the abiding qualities of the people.'

There were now many people missing at family gatherings. These included people who were away fighting, children who had been evacuated and people who had unfortunately been killed during the Blitz. Carols were sung in darkened streets and collections were taken to aid welfare and relief funds. There were visits to the hospitals by civic heads and crowded services in many churches. Amazingly, a pantomime was performed at the Palace Theatre, 'Robinson Crusoe' which lifted many people's spirits. It was a make-do Christmas and the shortages were acute and rabbit featured on many a Christmas menu. It was still a Christmas that mothers made memorable for their children using courage, ingenuity and sacrifice. Old and discarded toys were rescued from cupboards and redistributed to children less fortunate. People opened their doors to service men and women so that they could share their Christmas. Carols were sang and everyone tried to keep up their spirits even though devastation lay all around them.

There were many more hardships to be endured in the Christmases of the next few years even after the end of the war in 1945.

Pat Twyford concluded in 1955, 'the lights have long since gone up in our streets and shops, out of the ashes of the old Plymouth, the new Plymouth has arisen. The bells ring out their message again with increased meaning, the good things are back for all to enjoy.'

Perhaps with all the hardships of a Christmas during the war, the thing that kept it all together was the generosity of friends, neighbours and strangers and everyone making do and sharing what they could.