World War II
                               Home Page   Family History    Tall Family Start    Military    29 March 2007

1.     Introduction
2.     British Society
3.     Harry Tall
4.     Role Tall
5.     Annie Tall's Death

Introduction

After WWII was declared in 1939, a bomb shelter was built between the back gardens of 51 and 53 Stanley Rd. The back half of the wall between the two houses at the end of the garden was removed. A hole was dug and railway sleepers were used as the floor, walls, roof and to create the steps down. The sleepers were then covered with corrugated iron sheets and earth. Bernard, doesn’t however think they used the shelter – probably because it was damp.

Harry married Nancy Nichols on the 25^th Mar 1940 soon after WW II was declared and both Harry (aged 27) and Role (aged 33) were called up for the army.  Their elder brothers Bert and Reg and brother in law Jack Greenhalf were not called up.   (Both Bert and Jack were in reserved occupations, whilst Reg was medically unfit with his crippled leg).

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British Society

The society that went to war in 1939 was god-fearing and, in many ways, naïve. Harry and his brothers would have read papers like the Daily Mirror – the strip cartoon ‘Jane’ shows just how different newspapers were then. In the two consecutive strips below, Jane is shown in her regular state of dishabille:

"Jane’s influence on a nation with its head bloodied was phenomenal. Pilots going up into the unfriendly skies would superstitiously calculate on the chances of getting back alive by how many layers of clothing our innocent had taken off, lost, had blown away, stolen or otherwise disposed of that morning. Bets were made in muddy trenches and dank air raid shelters on the same possibilities. The Admiralty and the Daily Mirror (war makes strange bedfellows) got together to distribute Jane’s adventures en bloc to ships on patrol for weeks or months. Each Royal Navy submarine took a bundle of specially produced newspapers, called Good Morning, as it nosed from its moorings heading for God-knows-what. It was a strict rule that the Coxswain would hand out one issue per day to the man in the cellars of the sea and only once was the rule broken. A submarine, hit by depth-charges sank to the bottom . . . the men waited in silence for what seemed inevitable. Then a Cockney voice inquired, ‘What’s Jane doing tomorror, mate?’ The coxswain issued three weeks’ issue of ‘Good Morning’ and while the crew thumbed through eighteen of Jane’s daily adventures, so the engines started again." Jane Introduced by Leslie Thomas, 1983, Mirror Group

During WWII "Radio was a great morale booster – ‘Bandwagon’ at the beginning of the war was the first regular comedy show on BBC radio; it was followed by a series of shows, all of which had their own popular catch-phrases – Jack Warner in ‘Garrison Theatre’ with his ‘mind my bike’, and talking of his ‘little gel’; ‘Happidrome’ broadcast every Sunday evening with ‘Mr. Lovejoy, Ramsbottom and Enoch’ - their phrase was ‘Let me tell you…’ The most famous, of course, was ITMA with the Liverpool comedian, Tommy Handley. Every character had his or her catchphrase – ‘can I do you now sir ?’ ‘I don’t mind if I do’, ‘After you Claude, no after you Cecil’, and as they were introduced and the phrase was spoken, so the audience erupted into applause and laughter. There was never any bad language or innuendo, no smutty jokes: the most outrageous comedian, Max Miller won his laughs by not voicing the punch line, he allowed the audience to supply that while he viewed them with puzzled innocence, or a knowing grin and raised eyebrows. The 9 p.m. news was listened to by all, and the BBC won a reputation for truthfulness which was respected the world over. The government also played its part by not hiding any disasters from the people. In May 1941 I can remember the radio programme being interrupted by an announcement that "the Admiralty regrets the loss of ‘HMS Hood ‘ " – the ‘Mighty Hood’ was seen as the embodiment of British sea power – we did not realise its basic weaknesses as a war ship – but this truthfulness and honesty in reporting bad news meant that when there was good news to be reported, we knew it to be true."           http://christchurch.birkenhead.net/pages/history/hi192449.htm               Top of Page
                                                                                                  

Harry Tall

Note on the left, Harry’s insistence that his name was Harry, NOT Henry. The surprise is that no training courses are listed before July 1943. With NO National Health Service membership of Societies like Oddfellows was essential to pay for medical treatment.

Harry’s (1815627) pocket sized attestation handbook, pages 2 & 4 reproduced above shows that he enlisted on the 10^th July 1941. He is described as only 5’9" tall – though I am convinced he was 1 to 2" taller - weighed 136 lbs (9 stone 10 lbs), had a fresh complexion, blue eyes, and a scar on his knee.

Harry only talked of his army experiences when questioned. The following summary was written at my request on the 30^th March 1973:

"I was a shoe hand in the lasting room at Wellingborough, called up to enlist in 1941 in the Royal Artillery, at Oswestry. Then I transferred to the Infantry, having my training in Northern Ireland in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, I then went in the Sherwood Foresters and went to Germany in 1945 (as part of the German occupation force), had my and demob from there and went to Woking , Berkshire, dished out my free suit & hat and overcoat, ready for civvy street. When I finally got home, I went to the factory where I had been employed, but left through short time, and with persuasion got a job at the town Iron Co." Harry’s description fits the documentation but fails to emphasise that his

service in the Royal Artillery firing anti-aircraft guns (Ack-Ack) lasted until the second of May 1945, only then was he transferred to the Sherwood Foresters. He was a private throughout the war and was demobilised on the 12^th June 1946. A War Gratuity of £29 10 shillings (10/- a month for 59 months) and post war credits of £41:1  were put in a post office account on Harry’s demob.

Harry’s training sheet confirms that he was an excellent shot - a marksman. He told his sons that he didn’t try hard in competitions, but ‘miraculously’ always managed to win when cigarettes were offered as prizes. His mother Annie’s losses in WWI added to Harry’s innate caution. His skill in winning cigarettes, however, led to him being identified as suitable for sniper training.  Harry was convinced that, if the Japanese hadn’t surrendered after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he would have been dropped behind enemy lines and inevitably killed.

As regards the German’s, Harry held no hate. He felt sorry for the civilians, they had to barter whatever they had to get cigarettes, chocolate or food.  He emphasised that some of the British soldiers were ‘nasty pieces of work’ and quite capable of doing whatever they were ordered to.

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Role Tall

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Annie Tall’s Death

When Annie died in 1944, the family estate was £912.

Annie was buried with Percy.  Their epitaph states:

In loving memory of Percy. Beloved husband of Annie Tall. Passed away 31 March 1938 Aged 66 Years. "The Lord shall give thee rest" Also of Annie Tall Passed away 31st Dec 1944 Aged 70 Years Reunited