War Memories from Hawley: Patrick O'Sullivan's Story
Creators: name: Project Team, Their Finest Hour
Publisher: name: University of Oxford
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 430304
subject: British history
classificationCode: 430308
subject: European history (excl. British, classical Greek and Roman)
classificationCode: 430316
subject: International history

description: This is the story of Patrick O’Sullivan, born just before the outbreak of the war, and of his father and uncles.Patrick was born in the village of Hawley near Farnborough, where his family ran the post office, shop, and bakery.One of his strongest memories is seeing the red sky over London in the distance during the Blitz. Hawley itself was also bombed and Patrick recalled empty bomb cases in the garden and field, one of which was displayed on the mantelpiece for years.He also recalls trying to visit relatives on the IOW, but the family were turned back at Southampton, where many troops were gathering in the preparation for D-Day. Other visits were made to Portsmouth, and he recalls a sea of barrage balloons visible over the city from the top of Portsdown Hill. A seaside visit was also made to Bournemouth where there were lots of sea defences.Patrick started school in 1944 and he had a Micky Mouse gas mask, but this was taken off him as not suitable and issued with the standard one. He went to Farnborough Convent run by nuns and when the sirens went, they were never taken to a shelter because 'God would shelter them'.At home, they had a shelter in the garden, but used it rarely. When the V1s and V2s were around, they sheltered under the kitchen table.The bakery was an important part of my family's business, employing a baker, an assistant and a delivery person. Patrick recalls an early maths lesson with his mother which involved counting the ration coupons.His mother had a pony and trap, and Patrick recalls a close encounter with a tank, when the horse and cart backed into the tank. Patrick was given sweets by the soldiers as a result.Patrick's father- also Patrick- joined the Home Guard at the start of the war. He was a veteran of the First World war, but later joined the RAF and drove ambulances with a Field Unit. He was based at Heyshott, then Blackpool and then Eastbourne. After D-Day, he went to Belgium and witnessed the liberation of Brussels.Patrick had two uncles - Archibald and Florence Edmond, who both were in the Merchant Navy and sadly both died during the war. Archibald was a radio officer on an oil tanker which was torpedoed in the Persian Gulf. Florence Edmond was unloading cargo in Liverpool, where the cranes had been damaged by bombing, when the cranes fell on him and killed him. So, Patrick senior was the only one of the three brothers to survive the war.Patrick's mother ran the business while her husband was away and in the area were both German and Italian Prisoners of War. The family became friendly with some of them towards the end of the war and were given a work box by the prisoners which they had made. They also apparently helped with some decorating at home.The end of the war was celebrated at the village hall, with the family bakery providing the food for the celebration.