Herald - Issue 421

Page 14 • The HERALD • 31st March 2022 v READ THE HERALD ONLINE: www.herald-publishing.co.uk v Acorn Building Contracts Ltd u Reliable, local builders offering affordable, quality workmanship u Our employees are fully qualified and fully insured u All aspects of building undertaken including extensions, structural alterations, roofing, ground works, kitchens, bathrooms, carpentry and plastering u Drawings arranged u Insurance work undertaken u Local Authority Approved Contractor For free quotations and friendly advice please call Office: 023 8024 3336 Mobile: 07786 656865 Email: acornbuilding@gmail.com or visit our website: www.acorn-builders.co.uk You will not be disappointed All Electrical Work Undertaken Additional sockets & lighting New Consumer units installed Full / Part property rewires Hot Tub supplies installed Led Lighting installed Fault Finding Call Mike on: 023 8048 0818 07796 710581 Email: mctelectrical@virginmedia.com SOLENT SKIP HIRE FOR ALL YOUR COMMERCIAL AND DOMESTIC WASTE MINI ~ MIDI ~ MAXI EXTRA REACH VEHICLES WE COVER YOUR AREA 023 8066 0123 Email: solent.skiphire@btconnect.com Life at Hythe School During the Hythe Primary School was recently kind enough to let me read their historical logbooks. These handwritten diaries contain daily accounts of the school. I was intrigued to see what life was like for the children during the Second World War. I was already aware of three air raid shelters dug into the rear of the playground in 1939. But these logbooks o er further insight into how war a ected the teachers and children at the school. For example, on 4th September, 1939, the head teacher wrote: “as war was declared yesterday between England and Germany, the school has not reopened”. A couple of weeks later it was noted how the local Air Raid Precautions o cer delivered rst aid supplies. Over the next few months war wasn’t mentioned very o en, but by June of e war came very close to home in November 1940, as incendiary devices dropped on Hythe. One landed on a heap of coal in the school yard. ankfully it was quickly extinguished with no harm done. By early 1941, the local Air Raid Precautions officer told the head teacher to “only take the children to the shelters when local alerts or when planes are seen” . He suggested no longer going to the shelters 1940 activity appeared to accelerate very quickly. Notes began to appear of locals using the school air raid shelters during the evenings. ere were also reports of absences of children due to a previous night’s sirens, or windows having tape applied to stop shattering as well as blackout paint. One of the more shocking entries in July recalls how gun re was heard during the day. By August of 1940, patterns started to emerge that would be consistent for many months to come. ere were daily air raid warnings with children having to take cover in the shelters. It wasn’t unusual for this to happen three times in any given day. In October the headteacher writes about a discussion on how safe it was to send children home after air raid warnings later in the school day. e alternative was to keep them in the shelters and let them sleep under blankets. by local history enthusiast, Marc Heighway Continued on page 15 Are You Interested in Protecting the Solent Environment? e Solent Protection Society is looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join them! Established for over 60 years, the Solent Protection Society’s mission is to ensure the ecological and environmental well- being and wise management of the Solent Area. e Society takes an active and constructive part to safeguard the natural beauty and amenities of the Solent Area particularly its harbours. From the Needles to Selsey Bill, the society supports matters including shoreline planning, marine planning, marine conservation management, Solent ports, harbour management, sheries management, engagement on key issues, waterside developments and environmental control. e society is looking for volunteers to join their council as an area representative, website manager, marine scientists, legal expert or Solent resident. e work is exible and should only a take few hours of your time each week from home and attending a council meeting one morning a month. For more information please visit: www.solentprotection.org or email secretary@sol entprotect ion.org to express an interest in joining the council. There were more than 40,000 hours of sewage discharge into the Solent during 2020