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History of Ash and Ridley from Earliest Records to 1957
                    
Compiled by Dorothy G. Meager on behalf of Ash and Ridley Women's Institute           Page 76

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Second World War continued

   Four young men from our Village became prisoners of war, they were Cecil Heaver, A.B. Russell, Jack Sharman and James Young. In August 1940 a letter was received by Mrs D.C. Meager from Lady Violet Astor, the Kent County Organiser for prisoners of war, asking if a regular collection could be organised. This was done and a cheque for £28 7s 6d was dispatched. With this letter came the following information:-
   Clothing for personal parcels for Prisoners of War
   Next of kin must use their own coupons when buying clothing and footwear for the quarterly personal parcels. These coupons will be replaced from the ‘Packing Centre’ to which all personal parcels are sent if the instructions are carried out.
   1. A stamped addressed envelope must be enclosed
          in the parcel.
   2. A bill stating the number of coupons used for each
         article must be obtained from the shop and also
         included in the parcel.
   3. Bills will not be returned to the sender.
    The day’s food provided for our men in a 
                German prison camp.
      Per day 10 ozs. Bread Tea
      Breakfast ½ litre "ersatz bread"
      Lunch soup and potatoes
      Tea soup and potatoes or meat and potato mash, 
         tea or "ersatz" coffee.
      On Sunday jam and 2 ozs camembert cheese.
   At the beginning of 1942 the "Rural Pennies Fund" was launched which was to cover food parcels, surgical and medical supplies, books, games and musical instruments, text books that prisoners might study, and actually examinations on accountancy, banking etc. were arranged. Mrs D.C. Meager secured 9 collectors, mostly teenagers, covering both Parishes and they did a splendid job. Each month a cheque was dispatched. The school children under Miss Davies (then Headmistress) collected £6.12s 8d. The

Grand Total of the Rural Pennies Fund when hostilities ceased was £312. 18s 7d. Special efforts were organised for this fund amounted to £127 7s 5d. This means that £468 13s 6d was collected from these two  sparsely populated Parishes for the war effort, apart from record figures for "Flag Days" all of which were organised by Mrs D.C. Meager.


A letter of thanks for money raised for Rural Pennies

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