Ross-shire care home residents share wartime memories as VE Day landmark remembered
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RESIDENTS in two Ross-shire care homes affected by the current coronavirus lockdown took time to remember another historic landmark event overshadowed by the pandemic.
Last week's 75th anniversary of VE Day was marked in a variety of ways in lockdown.
Some of the residents at Urray House in Muir of Ord and Innis Mhor in Tain shared their memories leading up to the day of the formal acceptance by the Allies of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, May 8, 1945, marking the end of World War II in Europe.
Both are operated by Parklands Care Homes.
Jim Sharpe, who stays in the Tain care home, was in the Navy on VE Day serving in one of the three largest tank landing ships, HMS Thruster (the other two were HMS Boxer and HMS Bruiser).
He was around 20 years old and was on the ship sailing back to Portsmouth from France. They were told the war was over and all began to sing The White Cliffs of Dover. They all went back to a naval camp, took their uniforms off and got fitted out with civilian suits.
Jim has four medals – The Victory Medal, Italy Star, 1939-1945 Star and the War Medal 1939-1945.
Nick MacRae, a resident at Urray House, was called up on his 18th birthday and undertook three months of preliminary training with Reme.
Throughout the war he carried out maintenance on radios in the tanks. He recalled: “A tank would come back from the front line and you’d take out a radio transmitter and an unexploded grenade would drop to the floor. The enemy had planted it.”
While stationed with Reme in Woolwich, he remembers the deadly V bomb attacks on London.
He was working in the Reme workshop in Nottingham when he heard that victory had been declared. “A few of us had a blast up in the pub to celebrate,” he said.
Fellow Urray House resident Jessie Smith joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service at 20 and served for two years.
She carried out office work in a quiet residential area of Edinburgh, next to Fettes College, that actually housed a mine design department.
The work was carried out in secret. Edinburgh was her main base during the war but she also spent time working in Portsmouth and London. Edinburgh didn’t suffer much heavy bombing but Jessie remembers the London Blitz, the bombs, aircraft and sirens.
She said: “We would go off and hide in shelters every time until the bombing was over. One night was particularly bad. Bombs dropped not far from where we were. One man went out and there was a terrible bang, gosh that was close. There was one house left in the street opposite where we were stationed. The street was just debris.”
Jessie was married at the start of 1945 and remembers being at home with her new husband on VE Day.
The Land Girls, as they were known, were women workers who were paid to take up roles vacated by men serving in the military. Amongst them was Elsie Yeldham, who also now stays at Urray House.
They did what it took to support the war effort, working on the land, cutting grass, cleaning. “We were there to work, not enjoy ourselves.”
Elsie was based in Highgate Hill in London. “My father was blind and there was no work for blind people so I had to go to work.”
Elsie remembers a street party to mark VE Day.
Gordon Mackay, a resident at Innis Mhor in Tain, joined the Navy on February 16, 1943, aged just 17.
Gordon served on HMS Philante, where he worked as a stoker in the engine room. The Philante was built in 1937 as a luxury yacht and is still in use today as the Royal Yacht of the King of Norway.
When victory came, he was serving in Africa. “There wasn’t much of a celebration. We had a few tots of rum, there wasn’t much there, mostly mud huts, but there were beautiful beaches.”
With the war over, Gordon and the other crew requisitioned an old trawler, repaired it and used it to sail home from Africa.
Gordon still retains his Veterans Badge and three other medals – The Atlantic Star, 1939-1945 Star, and The War Medal 1939-1945.
