The following two accounts are from Thomas Southwell, who emailed me regarding the bombing of the Burlington Hotel originally. He later gave me permission to add these two fascinating accounts of wartime Dover onto the Dover Soul website and use them on the BBC People's War site for which I have been a volunteer. Many thanks to Thomas Southwell for allowing us to use these accounts.

 

I was a telegram boy based at the G.P.O in Biggin Street, Dover and remember the Burlington Hotel well , often having to take telegrams there . Dover had plenty of Burwills and another Name was the Cockings, one living I believe at 38 West Gate, I was living at 42. The item in front of 1 Athol Terrace was a cross- channel shell and that I recall vividly for I had to dive into the Doorway of no.1 and a piece of the shrapnel was found about 9 inches from my head had it not been for the sloping concrete apron that ran the length of Athol Terrace it might have been different . The people of the house I cannot recollect their name now But Mr.? had two sons , he at the time was in an organistion called the Campaigners. At that time there was a paper shop roughly about No. 9 Athol Terrace and if my memory serves me correctly the name of the owner was Stamp. I used to sleep in the cave at the end of the terrace, at the time when a part of it was allocated to the Naval Sick Bay which was located at the corner on the front opposite the entrance to what was then the Eastern Arm Dockyard. I recall that same dockyard being dive bombed by Stuka's and the Supply ship "War Sepoy" getting Hit . As a messenger delievering a telegram to one of the Drifters in the dockyard being on the bridge between two machine guns firing at a Messershmit downing a barrage balloon. As an afterthought sometime there was an Barrage Balloon crew billetted in 1 Athol Terrace, but I could be wrong on that point.

The Burlington Hotel was bombed in 1941 and demolished in 1949.

 

Thomas Southwell emailed myself, Terry Cleaver these accounts he has let me add to the website. In reference to the family he refers to, my relatives are the Burwill/Burville family who were living at Athol Terrace, in Dover at the time.

Continues from Burlington Bombings and Athol Memories

Does your family remember while waiting to bed down in the cave and standing outside seeing an aeroplane coming in with every light blazing wing lights landing lights etc. lit up by the searchlights then suddenly all lights dowsed and a stick of bombs. I believe 13, very unlucky, descended on Connaught barracks. I was always thrilled to see the naval and R.A. F. high speed launchs crossing the harbour at low speed then seeing them go to high speed as theb left the harbour.Very often to pick up survivors of raids by our Air Force. In the latter stages one began to notice them taking station when we were going to go on a big raid.One also got to notice that a certain flag was flown from the flag pole of the naval signal station on the cliff top just before the air raid siren sounded.One got used to the Shells coming over,they usually came in fives, I know because I was counting them as I headed to the shelter of the cave , but when four landed that was when I dived into No.1 Athol terrace My hearing was off colour for quite a length of time Before all of this I can still see in my mind the glow in the sky from the gunflashes and fires at Dunkerque visible from East Cliff and Athol Terrace, and as a telegram boy I had to go down to the Admirality Pier area and see our troops coming back ,many bloodstainded, on stetchers, being helped off the ship by mates .I joined the Post Office Home Guard and was taught to fire a rifle,a tommy gun throw a hand grenade and I was all of sixteen. it was something to be on the cliff tops during the Battle of Britain seeing all the vapour trails of the aircraft as they fought and listen to the sound of the machine guns and cannon of the german aircraft.Sights and sounds which will live in my memory for a long time. I saw the convoy of ships going down the channel when the first of the shells to come over raised big columns of water as the rained down among the ships.The swimming baths on the sea front got hit, I think that was also by a shell. An Arial mine was dropped near to the hospital in the Buckland Area, I think it was Union Road. I am getting old and I left Dover when my Dad got an injury and went to Enfield to convalesce with my Aunts who were living there. I still remember Page, the fishmonger, of Limekiln St. and Flood, the fishmonger, in Tower Hamlets.
I am pleased that the Stamp family are still in Athol Terrace. Higher up ,around 17 or 21 The Gibbs family lived , there was Bernard and Tony and also a girl. At 38 West Gate, I remember there were two girls at least, The eldest being Kath, or Kathleen. At No 1 Athol Terrace the father had a rowing boat which his son and I sometimes went out in, and going shrimpng and crabbing off the jetty at the entrance to the Eastern Arm Dockyard.
The grating in the cliff above East Cliff is where Admiral Ramsey directed his operations. The flagpole I refered to earlier was known as the Port War Signal Station and its flags gave signals to ships of the Dover Patrol based around the harbour.

 

Many thanks to Thomas Southwell for the above accounts of Dover, East Cliff and Athol Terrace in the Second World War.