Suzy Henderson

In May 1940, the "Phoney War" came to an end as German forces swept across northern France and Belgium. As the German forces advanced, the Commander of the British Expeditionary Force, General Viscount Gort realised that the Germans had the upper hand. The French Army fought desperately but it was no use. In a final desperate act, the French called on Gort to advance south and join them in the last stand, but Gort knew enough to realise that this could well mean the loss of all of his men. So, on the 23rd May 1940, Gort gave the order to withdraw and for the troops to make their way to the port of Dunkirk. The Dunkirk evacuation was codenamed "Operation Dynamo" and took place between the 26th May 1940 and the 4th June. It was led by Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay. The codename came from the Dynamo room in the Dover cliffs where their operation HQ was based. Just before 7pm on May 26th, Churchill gave the order for Operation Dynamo to begin. Unbelievably, Hitler...

Former Air Gunner, Melvin Rector, 94, made his first and last journey back to England earlier this month since leaving our shores back in 1945. Sadly, on May 6th 2016, while visiting the Battle Of Britain Bunker in Herefordshire, Melvin suddenly passed away. He was buried on the 18th May on British soil with full military honours. Initially, it was said to hold a simple service, but once the funeral director discovered Melvin's military past, they made a concentrated effort to give this heroic veteran the send off he deserved. Melvin was a gunner on the B-17 the Memphis Belle, piloted by Captain R. Morgan whose crew was one of the first to complete 25 tours, way back on May 17th 1943. It is so poignant that he passed away during his visit here, his final journey before joining his brothers in arms. Blue skies, Sir. R.I.P.

The Guinea Pig Club was formed on the grass, outside of Ward III at the Queen Victoria Hospital, in East Grinstead in 1941. A group of young men, all airmen who had received burns and were in the care of plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe decided to form a drinking club to pass the time while they were stuck in the hospital. It was to become a way of maintaining contact with one another when they were finally discharged, and annual reunions have continued to this day. Initially, they called it the Maxillonians, after the Maxillo Facial Unit where they received treatment, but later it would change to the Guinea Pig Club when an airman announced how they were all just "bloody guinea pigs" to the Maestro. The Maestro, of course, was Archibald, who the men sometimes called Archie or the Boss. They looked up to him because when they first arrived, no matter how severely injured and disfigured they were, no matter how wretched, lost, and alone they felt, he looked into t...

Berlin was surrounded. Hitler had committed suicide on 30 April 1945 and his successor, Grand Admiral Karl Donitz negotiated an end to the war with the Allies. On May 4th, a German delegation arrived at the HQ of British Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery east of Hamburg where Montgomery accepted the Germans unconditional surrender. Jodl signs the surrender at Reims image courtesy of IWM On the 7th May 1945, many people heard the whisperings that the Germans had surrendered and the war in Europe was finally over. On that same day, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of all German forces, at his HQ in Reims, France. Later that day, the BBC interrupted its scheduled programme with a news flash announcing the news, stating that Victory in Europe Day was to be a national holiday. Newspapers ran the story next and the news spread like wildfire. Image courtesy of IWM   On the 8th May 1945, Winston Churchill broadcast to th...

On the 8th January 1940, rationing began in Great Britain. In the beginning, only bacon, butter, and sugar were rationed. Individuals were issued ration books which contained coupons to be presented at the time of purchase. As the war progressed, more food items were rationed. But the plans behind the rationing of Britain's food had been drawn up as early as late 1936. When it was first announced in November 1939 that rationing was to be introduced, the press had a field day and launched into a tirade of scathing attacks in the newspapers and magazines of the day. Bacon and ham were rationed to 4oz per week, sugar to 12oz and butter to 4oz. Later, in March, meat was included on the list. From July 1940, cooking fats and tea were added and later in 1941, preserves and cheese were included. Sweets were rationed. Other goods such as tinned foods, biscuits and cereals were rationed using a points system. Fruit and vegetables were not rationed but were often in very short supply....

While Chamberlain tried to avoid war at all costs, it was not to be. On the 3rd September 1939 at 1115 hours, the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain broadcast to the nation that the deadline for the withdrawal of German troops from Poland had passed and as such, Britain was now at war with Germany. People all around the country, sat at home listening to their radios, silently pondering the consequences. Afterwards, young men all eager to 'do their bit' and to have some excitement, rushed out to join up. War had been expected for some time, although Chamberlain and his government had taken action to avoid it. In the meantime, Andersen shelters had been distributed to some 1.5 million homes to people living in areas which the government thought would be targeted by the Luftwaffe. The first shelter was erected in a garden in Islington, London on the 25th February 1939 and thereafter the shelters were rolled out up until the declaration of war. Within minutes of Chamb...

Archibald Mcindoe was born in May 1900 and raised in Dunedin, New Zealand. He had two brothers and a sister. His mother, Mabel was a renowned artist and his father, John owned a printing business. As a young boy, he seemed to have a thirst for adventure, and he excelled at everything, both sports and academics. He pushed himself to go the extra mile and was undoubtedly encouraged and guided by his doting mother. When his father suddenly passed away in 1915, Archie's mother told him that he could be whatever he wanted to be in later life, but for the time being, he had to knuckle down and study at school. Dental students at Otago University, 1920s Archie did just that and went on to university to study medicine. In March 1919, he attended the Medical School of Otago University, where once again, he excelled and in 1923 he graduated. In his final year there, Archie won the junior medicine prize and the senior clinical surgery medal. In 1924, he took up his post as house su...