‘This has been so far an uneventful month in the parish though a very anxious one for the world at large.’ So began the message at the front of the September edition of the Botley and Hedge End Parish Magazine, 1939.

 With many newspapers, national and regional, reprinting their editions of 3 September 1939 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the Second World War, this was the Rector of All Saints in Botley, Reverend Geoffrey Salwey, writing on 21 August for the September magazine.

By the October edition the Reverend Evan Jones from the church of St John the Evangelist in Hedge End was including on his page a welcome to the evacuees from Gosport – children from the central school and their teachers.

In the same month Reverend Salwey was appealing for women to help set up a working party to provide comforts ‘for our fighting forces’ and asking for funds to purchase wool and other materials. (Interestingly by the December magazine it’s reported that 40 women had signed up and the organisation is by then affiliated to the Women’s Voluntary Service, the WVS.)

And coincidentally, bearing in mind the Daily Echo’s on-going Gift of Life (blood donation) Appeal, the people of Hedge End and Botley were in 1939 being urged in the October magazine to sign up to give blood for ‘blood transfusion’ to help ‘save lives’ – with the promise ‘the process is painless’.

By November, the vicar at St John’s had cancelled the war memorial parade for Remembrance Sunday as it was inadvisable to meet in large numbers outside for security reasons. Referring to their planned service in Botley, with a sense of foreboding, the Rector of All Saints wrote, ‘It is alas, only too likely that by that time other names will be added to our Roll of Honour’.

If you have memories of the day war was declared – it’s said that as with the death of John F Kennedy, everyone who was around remember s where they were when they heard the news – or if you have any experiences of the war years that you’d like to share, please tell Hedgeendpeople.