Goodbye to the tank.

In early September 1937, large metal cylinders similar to torpedoes in shape and size, appeared alongside the First world war tank near the war memorial in Bargate, followed by the appearance of two workmen. These proved to be employees of Thos. W. Ward, Ltd., of Sheffield, who had recently bought the tank and the German field gun from the council as scrap metal at the price of £56.
The workmen said that the large tubes were part of the oxy-acetylene plant with which the tank and field gun would, within the course of that week, be taken to pieces. Oxy-acetylene burners they said would bore their way through the side plates of the tank, one side of which would be removed first, and the weapon would be gradually taken to pieces suitable for handling by the workmen. The field gun would also be taken to pieces in the same manner. The work was expected to last the week and on the morning of September 2nd. the work was being watched by an interested crowd.
Two years later we would be at war with Germany again and probably some of the scrap metal went into building arms for the new war effort but personally I wish we still had the tank and field gun. Not many pictures have survived of the tank or field gun, in the one below which was taken in 1921 at the unveiling of the war memorial the tank can just about be seen under the crowd of children sitting on it!! In the next one the tank is just visible.

Bombing and civilian deaths in World War Two.

Many Boston folk were killed in action either in the Army, Navy or the R.A.F. This small article deals only with the civilian deaths of Boston during World War Two,  if there are any I have not mentioned and you can tell me about them I will update it immediately.

Most of Boston's bombings in World War Two occured between August 1940 and June 1942. On nine nights during this period bombs actually fell in the town but there were a few false alarms where people had to sit up, in their air raid shelters or under the stairs, sometimes for hours, because the siren had gone off. On the days after any bombs had fallen the boys of the town turned up to look for fragments of the bombs or the fins of the incendiary bombs. There was rarely more than one enemy bomber involved in each raid and often the bombs were delayed action or duds and the bomb disposal squads had to be called in. One such bomb, outside Cammack's shop in Wide Bargate, took several days to get out and two more, in open fields, are still there to this day.

 

The unexploded bomb outside Cammack's shop in Wide Bargate.

 

On the night of 12th. June 1941, a single heavy bomb burst behind West Street, near James Street. The Royal George pub, several houses and Lovely's Commercial Hotel were destroyed and when the ruins were cleared the next day it was found that there was a tragic death toll. Mr. John Faulkner, an old man in his seventies, Mrs. Nancy Harris and her three little children and two well known teenage girls, Kathleen and Audrey Loveley had all been killed. In all nine people died in what was Boston's worst air-raid incident of the war.
There was a lull of more than a year without any serious air-raids on Boston, but the town had two more serious raids to come, one in July and one in August of 1942.

Above : A Dornier 217, one of which flew across Boston in July 1942,  machine-gunning and dropping four bombs on the town.

 

The first of these was in broad daylight when a Dornier 217 dived out of thick cloud, flew across the town machine-gunning as it went, and then dropped four bombs aimed at the railway goods yard in High Street. Three of the bombs hit the railway yard and caused some damage but one bomb fell short and burst near houses in the Liquorpond Street - High Street - Bedford Place area. One old lady, Mrs. Harriet Gee was killed, several people were injured, and over 100 were bombed out of their homes.
One month later on a Saturday evening, a German bomber dropped a line of white flares near the dock and a few minutes later four bombs exploded between Main Ridge, Silver Street and Threadneedle Street. Many of the surrounding houses were destroyed and four people were killed, five injured and 150 bombed out. Among the dead were an 18 year old young man William Taylor, and his girlfriend, 15 year old Gertrude Creasey. He and his young lady were the last civilians to be buried in the war plot in Boston Cemetery. May they all rest in peace.
Fifty seven high explosive bombs, and also four oil bombs, fell between the town's boundaries, and around 500 incendiaries were also dropped. Sixty four homes were either destroyed or so badly damaged that they had to be demolished.

The Germans.

At the start of the First World War in 1914 there were two German brothers living in Boston who had been naturalised Englishmen for twenty-three years. The brothers, George and Leonard Cantenwine owned a butchers shop in High Street and late on the first Saturday night of the war a crowd attacked the shop because it was rumoured that customers had heard them expressing pro-German sentiments.
All the windows were broken and the shop looted and several of the attackers were later charged, surprisingly one of these was Alfred Harlow, another butcher.

 

Recruiting in the Market Place 1914, when there was hatred toward the German people of the town.

 

When he gave his evidence, Leonard Cantenwine asked the magistrates to be lenient and later several Boston people wrote to the press and expressed sympathy for the Cantenwine's and disgust with the rioters. In the first week of August 1918 when the war had gone on for four long years, an unsigned letter appeared in all the local papers explaining why the local farmers had not supported as well as had been expected the War Savings Campaign that summer. The writer pointed out that 'Germans' were living in Boston and had purchased farms near the military aerodrome at Freiston Shore. Leonard Cantenwine did own a small farm at Freiston and had recently bought a second at Leverton. The letter also accused these Germans of going to these farms daily in order to spy and hinted that they were preparing to assist in a landing of German troops on the coast. The writer was soon identified as Mr. Joseph Bowser J.P., also chairman of the Boston Branch of the National Farmers Union.
The Cantenwines had had enough and decided to defend themselves and started an action for libel against Mr. Bowser, The case wasn't heard until June 1919 when the war was long over. Many witnesses appeared for Mr. Bowser and they retold every little event of the war involving the Cantenwines in an attempt to show that the brothers supported Germany despite their naturalisation and, therefore, that Mr. Bowser's comments were basically true. Miss Bristowe, a barmaid at the White Hart and Walter Woodthorpe the coal merchant, told how Leonard Cantenwine in 1914 had forecast that the Germans would win the war and that he would become 'Burgermaster of Boston'.
The jury took only twenty five minutes to decide that Mr. Bowser's letter was defamatory but that the words used were fair comment on a matter of public interest. The Cantenwines were ordered to pay the entire costs of the case and it is no wonder that they soon left Boston.