Liverpool Kids of WWII - Part 1

The Liverpool Blitz is over…

The seven-year-old boy who was evacuated in The Green Gates Story, comes home after many months away, and is faced with changes to his life: house moves, new districts, new faces…

No sweets, because Mum’s used the coupons for sugar.
What are bananas?
What’s ice-cream?
White bread?

Upon his return to his home city and with his evacuation experience behind him, he views his life ahead as a series of hurdles, but the War is ongoing…

Toys? – Pretend games and a good healthy imagination.
Free-time? – Fun of collecting waste paper, scrap metal, bones and rags, in support of the war effort.

His first trip into town, shopping with Mum, and the surprising sight of big blackened shells, once shops, now dark spaces between buildings, which had suffered direct hits, torn apart innards and burnt deposits.  
Blast waves obliterating shop windows and doors of adjacent buildings, displaying:
Heaps of broken bricks
Shattered concrete supports
Splintered wood floors hanging drunkenly, with massive heaps of dust and debris deposited on the piled remains, awaiting attention and clearance.

How to cope with the unnecessary death of a classmate, killed at play, after accidentally falling through the blitzed roof of an unsafe bomb-damaged house?

When the supply and demands of shortages cause the theft of a family bicycle.

Kids discovering the incomprehensible: German POWs sitting smoking, chatting and laughing, employed in collecting and stacking usable bricks from a bomb site, watched by a grey-haired bespectacled British soldier sat in his parked army lorry when he was not reading a dog-eared copy of Lilliput magazine.  
Same kids, frowning and mindful of captured British soldiers packed into overcrowded huts inside barbed-wire enclosures, overlooked by machine-gun towers, in the Fatherland!

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Fleeting Images from a Bloodied Past

Ships against the sea! Was…STILL IS, a threat to all the vessels who sail upon her, and especially so, an ever-present threat to the crews who do their duty and put their lives in harm's way. Of violent storms, tempests… All the unpredictable hell of crosswinds, headwinds and tailwinds, roaring madly like some frenzied monster, changing direction, attempting to plunge the man-made object under the vengeful, towering and swamping thunderous waves, against which so many hardy ships have foundered, perished and been lost. The fact that the CSS Alabama came through such a storm and survived this maelstrom is testimony to the meticulous skills and concentrated painstaking patience and hard work of Laird's well-led and well-managed shipbuilding workforce and professional seamanship, that ensured the crew's safe passage and escape from this seaborne wretchedness. Warships, which survived incredible battle experience, and - at war's end - were reviewed for conversion, replacement or the breaker's yard was a consideration. Not all, however, because the fate of HMS Zealous continued in a new page of history, when she was transferred to the Israeli Navy. Later, in 1967, whilst out on patrol in the Eastern Mediterranean, she was suddenly attacked by Egyptian warships equipped with superior firepower. The new crew of this old warhorse knew that the fate of their emerging and vibrant new nation, fighting to retain her hard-fought existence, was dependent upon their spirited defence. Despite the fact that they were up against Soviet-supplied STYX surface-to-surface missiles, against which they had no defence, they steered into battle, undaunted. With battle pennants flying, they bravely challenged the enemy. Their fearlessness and courage shone in the face of certain destruction and ultimate sacrifice. The Cammell Laird scenario is riveting and strikingly dramatic…

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The Green Gates Story

There are certainly many historical accounts of wars, military experiences, and cultural reactions to politics, but many of these works lack a personal and sentimental touch to what it really feels like to endure a battle. In The Green Gates Story, Bernard Fredericks presents a historically accurate, delightfully moving, and honest tale of a British boy who is evacuated from his Liverpool home in WWII. Told from the perspective of a child, Fredericks narrates his memories of an eight-year-old boy who is snatched from the city and transplanted to the country.
He shares the triumphs and struggles of a child required to acquaint himself in a new setting and lifestyle. While he manages the heartache of missing his family and friends, the boy is also thrilled and challenged with new adventures as he acclimates to the pace of country-life. From the beginning of his evacuation to his return to home, the boy relates his feelings and doubts about so many events that crop up not only in wartime, but every child's time of coming of age.

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Liverpool Early Teens

No longer a schoolboy but now a youth poised for a fresh start, he sensed significant changes brewing in the aftermath of World War II. With the war concluded, nations, both victors and vanquished, were in a flurry to redirect their economies towards peace. He was caught up in the palpable excitement of a transformation on the horizon.

‘I’m leaving school this Easter,’ he announced to the boys on September Road. Climbing down from the low stone wall, he made his way home, bidding farewell with a wave.

He found himself on the brink of joining the ranks of the unemployed. A ship’s engineer, or perhaps an apprentice to one, as his father had hinted? The discussion around what job might suit him never ventured into the realm of Marine Engineering. The topic soon became as extinct as the proverbial dodo – his initial taste of disappointment.

The challenge of finding a position as a young adult had arisen, and his life progressed accordingly. Demonstrating eagerness and a willingness to work was non-negotiable; he was more than ready to spread his wings.

Yet, amidst these challenges, his reflective moments found solace in the image of the breathtakingly glamorous Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth. Her latest film had introduced her new visage, now occupying his quieter moments: a comforting vision that offered him a gentle escape.

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Liverpool Middle Teens

No longer a schoolboy but now a youth embarking on a fresh start. He sensed the significant changes in the air as World War II had just ended. Nations, both victors and vanquished, were scrambling to adapt their economies for peace, sparking an atmosphere of serious excitement about the impending transformation.

‘I’m leaving school this Easter,’ he announced to the September Road boys before descending from the low stone wall and making his way home, bidding his ‘byes’. He was about to join the ranks of the unemployed.

‘Ship’s Engineer or an apprentice to it, perhaps?’ his father had suggested. However, the title ‘Marine Engineer’ was not part of his parents’ final job considerations for him. The subject soon became as obsolete as the proverbial dodo – his first disappointment.

The challenge of finding a job as a young adult had begun, and his life progressed. He was eager to demonstrate enthusiasm and willingness to work.

Setting aside these challenges, he found solace in his reflective moods, comforted by the breathtaking glamour of Hollywood screen actress Rita Hayworth. Her latest film had introduced him to her new visage, now occupying his quieter moments with a vision that both calmed and thrilled him.

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