LUDFORD MAGNA
Lincolnshire |
|
|
RAF Ludford Magna Airfield in
Lincolnshire, was build south of the twin villages of Ludford Parva and Ludford
Magna and was one of many airfields build in the early 1940s as part of
Britain's war effort. The construction of the airfield, covering 600
acres, began in 1942 and was completed in 90 days. The domestic and
communal sites were dispersed in farmland to the north of the airfield.
There were seven domestic sites, two mess, a communal site and sick
quarters. The majority of the camp's buildings were unlined corrugated
metal Nissen huts and a few permanent buildings. In cold winter weather the Nissen huts suffered from
internal condensation which very often would freeze.
The only heating in the huts was a round cast iron coke stove. Not the
cosiest of places yet, after WW2, the huts became home to hundreds
of Polish displaced persons. The camp closed in 1955/56. |
|
LUDFORD MAGNA CAMP and CAUSEWAY GREEN HOSTEL |
excerpted from the memoirs of Emilia Pakłos
Gągola |
translated by Dorothy Gągola |
|
|
|
With the arrival of 1948 many Poles were emigrating to
England. One by one each camp in Africa was closed as people left
and others relocated to another camp. My camp Tengeru was the
last to liquidate. While some, urged by relatives, returned
to Poland and others emigrated to England as family members of Anders'
Army, |
|
 |
Tengeru camp with mount Meru in the backgound. |
|
|
I pondered my fate, because my
destiny was unknown. My insecurity was magnified when I received
a letter from my father in Poland telling me not to return. At
that time I did not fully comprehend his letter. I felt that he
wanted nothing to do with me, to never see me again. In deep
despair I wrote a reply but never mailed it. Many years passed
before I completely understood that, in reality, he was trying to
protect me, believing that I would find a better life elsewhere,
but not in Poland. |
One day
Pani Grosicka
summoned me to her office
to inform me that my uncle, Julek Paterak, a demobilized soldier
had registered me as a relative. Therefore, I too, was eligible
to emigrate to England. Before departure I received a dress, a
coat sewn from blanket cloth and other miscellaneous items. I
thanked Pani Grosicka for her care and kindness and then thanked
my teacher Pani Wolinska. Since my mother's death in Russia these
women had been my mothers and now I was losing them. Pani Kula_
and Pani Grabowska were leaving with me, first to Arusha and then,
by train, to Nairobi. After a short flight we landed in
Casablanca where we refuelled, ate and rested. On the 29th
of June 1948 we landed in Southampton. |
|
|
|
|
I reached Ludford Magna on
July 9th, 1948. The Polish Dependant's Hostel, Ludford
Magna, located between the villages of Ludford and Magna, north of
Lincoln, had been a Class A air force base. These RAF pilots were
replaced now with demobilized soldiers and their families. Upon
arrival I received a Certificate of Registration, a document
carried by all Poles and assigned a room with Marysia Iskra-Ławdor, an acquaitance
from Tengeru and Pani Stoma, our cook in Tengeru. |
|
We lived in Nissen huts that resembled metal
barrels half buried, horizontally, in the ground, with 2 windows
and a door on the end. Being made of corrugated iron, they were
hot in summer and cold in winter. We had an electric light, which
was a bonus. Each hut contained 4 metal beds with straw
mattresses and 4 stools with a table. Our only means of washing
our hands and faces was a bucket and a basin. One of us took this
bucket, summer or winter, to one of many taps scattered outside
throughout the camp. We were allowed a warm shower once a week in
a public bath house of which four existed in the entire camp. A
short walk led to the kitchen and we ate either in the canteen or
our room. The camp also had a chapel, served by Father Michalski,
a building for doing laundry and a hall where movies were screened
or dances held. Accommodation and food had to be paid for if you
had a job. |
|
On August 12th, 1948 Marysia, who was
quickly becoming a best friend, and I accepted work at Messer. J. Morrnell
and G. Bardney, a canning factory in Lincoln. The work was not difficult
but our days were long. Sitting on stools beside a conveyor belt we
sorted the best plums for canning. We could even eat the rejected plums.
When the plums were finished we sorted green peas. Our day started at 6am
when we walked to the canteen for breakfast which consisted of porridge
with milk, a slice of bread with butter and jam, and coffee. Before
departure we received sandwiches for our noon day meal. A 45 minute
drive, in a bus supplied by the factory, took us to work. We started at
8am and worked until 6pm with an hour's break at noon to eat. Then we
boarded the same bus, returned about 7pm to Ludford Magna for supper and
finally to our room at 8pm. |
|
Emilia Pakłos-Gągola
&
Maria Iskra-Ławdor in Ludford Magna. |
 |
|
On one of the last days of August the factory
organized an excursion by bus to the seaside resort of Skegness.
The day was delightfully warm. After an hour's ride on the same
bus we rode daily, we reached our destination. The atmosphere was
electric. On the beach I saw people of many nationalities, but
few people swam because the water was cold. Children filled the
carousel to capacity, their laughter echoing all around. Youth
and adults played the various lottery games while the town echoed
with music, song and dance. |
|
More than once, Marysia and I planned our own
activities, such as a movie or dancing. One day we took the bus
into town for a shopping spree. Our African clothes were not
suitable for life in England, so I purchased a coat and hat while
Marysia bought a suit. During those first years after the war,
recovery to a normal life was slow for the countries of Europe and
England was no exception. We bought our new clothes with ration
coupons which precisely set limits on what we could buy. |
|
One evening walking to our room after seeing a
movie with Marysia, we were followed by a group of soldiers. I
did not pay too much attention to them, but was conscious of them
walking behind us. A short while after returning to our hut, we
heard soldiers' voices again outside our door, and we were
surprised when we recognized that the two standing there, had been
earlier walking behind us. A knock followed, then introductions,
which surprised me further. One soldier was my uncle, Janek
Paterak and the other was his friend Mieczysław
Wróblewski. My uncle had never mentioned in his letters that he
would be visiting me, plus the last time I saw him in Russia was
as a 12 year old boy and here he stood before me, a man. |
|
Their visit lasted for many hours. He
listened, unimpressed, while we described our work and promised
that he would arrange jobs for us in the canteen of his camp
Causeway Green Hostel in Oldbury. We accepted his kindness,
believing it would never happen but a short time later I received
a letter from him. Marysia and I packed our scant belongings and
arrived at Causeway Green Hostel, in Oldbury on September 8, 1948. |
|
|
|
|
|
LYDIA GRYZOWSKA MEMORIES of Ludford Magna and Husbands Bosworth camps |
|
|
CAUSEWAY GREEN HOSTEL |
excerpted from the memoirs of Emilia Pakłos-Gągola |
translated by Dorothy Gągola |
|
|
|
The National Services Hostel, Causeway
Green, was situated on several acres of land on the New
Wolverhampton Road, a major artery connecting Birmingham with
Wolverhampton. Since its neighbour was a golf course, the
standing joke was that we lived in a superior location.
Causeway Green Hostel was the home of single men of many
nationalities. The Irish, English, Germans, Ukrainians,
Jamaicans, including the large majority of demobilized Polish
soldiers of General Anders' army all kept each other company.
|
|
Accommodation was provided for them in long
wooden buildings built on a brick foundation. One entered the
building through a door at the longer end, into a hallway
running through to the opposite end. Ten rooms were on both
sides of this hallway. Two men lived in a room. A window
provided natural light when the electric light was not
needed. Each room contained two beds, complete with bedding,
two small wardrobes, two small dressers, a table and two
chairs. The sheets were changed weekly. The bottom sheet was
replaced by the top one, which was replaced by a clean sheet. |
|
At one end of the building was a common
room for socializing. Guests, male or female, were not
permitted in the bedrooms. Surprise searches were frequent.
A large bathroom contained many bathtubs, showers, wash basins
and toilets. The building was heated by hot water with
radiators in every room. The kitchen and dining room were
located in a large building. Upstairs was a dance hall, where
dances were held every Saturday night. In one barrack lived all
the women, who, like me, worked on-site. Some women were
cleaners, who tidied both the men's and the women's rooms,
such as changing sheets weekly, sweeping, dusting and
scrubbing the bathroom. Others, like myself, worked in the
kitchen or canteen. We were paid weekly, fifty shillings, in
1949, of which, 30 shillings paid for the room and the food. |
|
 |
Emilia Pakłos-Gągola
&
Maria Iskra-Ławdor in the cafeteria |
|
|
|
|
 |
Emilia Pakłos-Gągola
Maria Iskra-Ławdor. Winter 1949 |
|
 |
Photo of the dining
room staff at Causeway Green Hostel . Mr. Philips, the boss is the
only man in the suit and tie. My mother is sitting down in the centre
of the photo with her friend Marysia |
|
|
|
The men worked in factories, usually in
two shifts, and earned more money. They paid thirty-five
shillings weekly for their accommodation. However, they only
received two meals daily, either breakfast and lunch or lunch
and dinner, depending on which shift they worked. I shared a room with Marysia Iskra-Ławdor and we both
worked in the kitchen, which was managed by Mr. M .J. Phillips,
a very pleasant and fair man. Marysia made sandwiches and
assisted the cook, while I made tea and coffee and served the
meals. We worked six days per week in two shifts. The first
started at 6am and ended at 2pm. At 2pm the second shift
began and finished at 10pm. One day was a day of rest but it
was not always Sunday. On the Sunday that we were free from work
we boarded the bus for the Church of Our Lady and St. Hubert
in Warley. Occasionally we ventured to the Polish church of
St. Michael's on Moor Street in Birmingham. The busses on the
New Wolverhampton Road were every ten minutes and provided us
with connections to Smethwick, Dudley, Oldbury, Birmingham
where we shopped and visited friends |
|
With so many men of so many nationalities and
religions living in one hostel, disputes were not unusual. One
particularly nasty brawl occurred as the result of a Jamaican stealing
an Irishman's girlfriend. The police were notified and several men were
taken to hospital suffering from injuries such as lost teeth, bruising
and bloody noses. Marysia was engaged to Michał Ławdor who was the gardener at
Causeway Green Hostel. Extremely happy with his job, he planted and
tended the flowers and the grass, establishing new beds where needed. |
|
In October 1948 I met my future husband, Antoni Gągola,
a demobilized soldier of General Anders' army, who arrived a short time
earlier from the Perton Hostel. He worked at Messers Chance Bros Ltd, a
glass manufacturing company in Smethwick. We always met in the common
room, discussing our war experiences. As our relationship deepened we became the best of friends with my roommate and her fiancé, a friendship
surviving to this day. |
|
 |
 |
 |
Maria Iskra
and Michał Ławdor |
Staff and friends winter 1948 |
My father appears to be
whispering in to my mother's ear. I believe that Mr Philips is the
1st male from the left. |
|
|
Men were not permitted in the women's rooms and
vice versa. Rules were strictly enforced. Breaking them meant
expulsion. Rooms were checked frequently without prior notification.
However rules were also meant to be broken and one beautiful spring day
our fianc's paid us a visit. Before long we heard loud voices and
knocking on doors, down the hallway. Our fiances quickly scrambled out
the window. This event became a cherished memory. |
|
|
Occasionally we attended the Saturday night
dances. Since the men far outnumbered the women, Marysia and I were
rarely without a dance partner. Our fianc's, who could not dance, were
not pleased. Women who lived outside of the hostel were frequent
guests. Polish men wished to marry Polish women, yet Polish men far
outnumbered the Polish women. Therefore those who had Polish
girlfriends guarded them closely. I spent my first Christmas in Causeway Green Hostel
with my two uncles and a friend. |
|
|
Marysia and Michał
were married in April 1949. Antoni and I served as bridesmaid and
groomsman. We were married in August 1949. Organizing a traditional
wedding in post war England was not easy. One could not enter a shop to
purchase at whim because everything from food to clothes was only
available through ration coupons. People traded ration coupons amongst
themselves. I would trade my tea coupons for coffee coupons with the
English. Finding a room for the reception was difficult too. However my
uncle found a classroom in a school that we could use for four hours. |
We were married at The Church of Our Lady and St.
Hubert by Father Franciszek Kącki.
Right beside the church was the school, with our classroom, where we
celebrated with twenty-two guests, including the eight attendants. I
purchased my floor-length white wedding dress with veil from an
acquaintance for thirty shillings and later sold it for the same price.
My bridesmaids did the same. |
|
Our meal consisted of a small glass of wine,
sandwiches, tomatoes, pickles, fruit and cakes. Everything purchased with
ration coupons. My brother, Henryk who was still living in Africa sent me
some butter, ham and sugar. Our single layer wedding cake was baked by
the cook of Causeway Green Hostel. He decorated it and wrote the Polish
toast "Sto Lat". Music was provided by Emil Gągola
on accordion and a lodger of Antoni's parents who played the violin. Even
the chauffeur of our taxi was an invited guest. Antoni's roommate was our
photographer who took and developed the pictures himself Since we were now married we were given one month to
find new accommodation. We left Causeway Green and hostel life in October
1949 for a new chapter in our lives. |
|
Photo Emilia Pakłos
and Michał Gągola at their wedding. |
|
|
|
Thank you to Dorothy Gągola for the Photos
and information. |
|
|
If you have any memories
and photos you would like to share please contact
|
|