Although it was not exposed to the terrible air raids that destroyed much of central Bristol, like many other west-country villages, it saw its fair share of action. Bombs were dropped, an enemy plane crashed into a field just beyond the churchyard and, like everyone else, Wringtonians had to cope with the everyday difficulties and privations facing the rest of the population. The departure of loved ones to fight in the armed forces, the fear of bombing, possible invasion, the black-out, rationing and the arrival and integration of evacuees, to name but a few issues, all contributed to make life difficult for everyone, rich and poor alike.

By the time the war actually started, people had already been forced to confront their worst nightmares of what it would mean. Newsreel film of the attacks on Spanish cities during the civil war had shown the horrific effects of aerial bombardment and most people naturally assumed that Hitler would immediately send his planes to bomb Britain.

Much had changed since the First World War, when Zeppellin balloons and Gotha aircraft had bombed London and south-east England. The worst raid, when 14 Gothas had killed 160 and injured more than 400, took place in 1917 and created sufficient shock to result in the formation of the Royal Air Force in April the following year. By the time the war had ended the Germans had made 103 raids on Britain, resulting in more than 1400 deaths.

During the 1930s the Luftwaffe had grown into an awesome force whose aircraft were capable of carrying out heavy bombing of Britain at will. Later on, Germany’s occupation of France gave her possession of airfields very close to the southern coast of England. Above all, this meant that the Luftwaffe’s fighter planes were then well able to escort German bombers on their short trip across the Channel.

The realisation of what destructive power aircraft could wield in any future conflict forced the government to plan extensive civil defence measures and between 1931 and 1935 committees were set up to consider air-raid precautions. Estimates of likely casualties were high. One particularly pessimistic Air Ministry report predicted that enemy planes would drop 100 tons of high explosives on the first day, 75 tons on the next and 50 tons a day from then on for a month (in contrast a mere 300 tons had been dropped on Britain during the whole of the First World War).

The Wrington Auxiliary Fire Service

One of the main issues occupying the authorities was how to deal with one of the most destructive consequences of aerial attack - fire.

Although it was the high-explosive bombs that caused the most spectacular damage to property and killed people, incendiary bombs were designed to create havoc with fire. A wartime cigarette card spelt out the problem:

“The 2lb. Magnesium bomb does not explode, its only object being to start a fire. It will probably penetrate no further than an attic or an upper floor, setting light to anything within a few feet. Vast numbers of these light bombs can be carried by a single aeroplane, and many more fires started than could be dealt with by fire brigades.”

Wringtonian Gladys Brough remembers the bombs well:
“What I did used to worry about was the incendiaries. They used to drop loads and loads of them at Shipham and it would all be lit up. I didn’t like that and we would stand outside and see Bristol all ablaze.”

Her lifelong friend Pam Board recalls her father going into the garden when Bristol was being bombed. The skies would light up with incendiaries and, having no air-raid shelter, they hid under the kitchen table.