NEVILLE Chamberlain's sombre declaration that Britain was at war with Germany sent a chill down the British backbone. The radio broadcast, on September 3, 1939, left adults fearing for the future.

Children took the news differently. Ian Winduss was living at Haxby when the Prime Minister made his statement. At 12, he was old enough to know the world was about to change, but too young to be scared.

"What was an ominous and frightening prospect for most adults was however to be an interesting and exciting period for young lads who gave little thought to the horrors that lay ahead," Ian writes.

In fact his first memory is a happy one. The outbreak of war gave him several extra weeks' summer holiday.

Having left Haxby School, now the Memorial Hall, he had become a student at Archbishop Holgate's Grammar School the previous year. Then in Lord Mayor's Walk, York, the school's air raid shelters had not been completed.

It was judged too dangerous to allow 500 boys to gather there when the threat of German aerial attack weighed heavy on most minds. So boys had to go into school for an hour or so each week to collect work to be completed at home, then returned for marking.

Periodically Ian kept a diary, each entry scribbled in pencil. And he returned to these entries to jog his memory when he came to write an article for a new publication, Haxby In Wartime.

He recalls being issued with his gas mask. "The air from our masks was expelled through the rubber sides, and with a bit of practice we could make rude rasping noises emerge!

"The masks were issued to us all in stout cardboard boxes which, with a length of attached string, were carried around with us. Soon enterprising firms marketed smarter metal containers to contain our masks and most of us managed to posses one in due course."

The "mournful, fluctuating wail" of the air raid siren was heard regularly in Haxby, as Ian's diary confirms. Alerts often lasted many hours before the long, steady note of the all clear sounded.

"Although we in Haxby were very fortunate not to be on the receiving end of the bombing we would often wake in the mornings very sleepy after disturbed nights," he notes.

"Now and again however things did come a bit closer to Haxby and this was always an excitement to us boys. How we came to hear news so quickly about aircraft crashes I am not sure, but we were usually aware of what had happened as soon as the authorities were!"

His diary for April 16, 1941, is a typical example: "Heinkel 111k crashed near here; we went on bikes towards Skelton to try and see it but couldn't get near."

Later research discovered that the German plane in question had been on a bombing raid to Belfast, developed engine trouble and crashed at Bull Lane Bridge, Huby. Luckily it had jettisoned its bomb load and the crew baled out to safety and captivity.

He also recalled the evacuees that boosted Haxby's population.

"All Haxby residents who had a spare bedroom were required to give a wartime home to these children who had been parted from their homes and parents for the first time.

"Hull children were the first to arrive, closely followed by those from Middlesbrough. During their stay in Haxby they went to Haxby School and many attended Sunday School, no doubt taking lasting memories of their Haxby days home with them...

"However not all evacuees went back to their old homes. A few stayed on in Haxby and made it their future home becoming part of the local community."

Another set of childhood memories included in Haxby In Wartime are those of Terry Waddington. He later moved to Oregon in the United States, but came to live in Haxby when his father was posted to the crash recovery unit in Shipton.

"The small village school was overloaded as there was a large contingent of evacuees from Hull living at Haxby Hall," he writes. "I still have a report card which shows that there were 49 in my class!

"Head lice and skin diseases were rife amongst the evacuees who had come from very poor areas."

He remember watching the military manoeuvres.

"One amusing memory was watching the Home Guard defend the village against a locally-based army unit. The school was on the village main street and we were on the mid-afternoon playtime watching events.

"One enterprising Home Guardsman hid himself by climbing into a water barrel outside the local garage across the street.

"As the advancing army patrol eased along the street, one of them crouched alongside the barrel. Dozens of kids were screaming and pointing to the barrel until the trooper cottoned on to the message."

There are many more terrific anecdotes like that one in Haxby In Wartime. Covering both world wars, it lists the rolls of honour for each.

A number of heroic deeds by Haxby service personnel are recalled, as well as the air attack on the fish shop. All the Forties shops where housewives could spend their rations are also included.

The second work by the Haxby Local History Group, Haxby In Wartime is a great read and contains a number of contemporary photographs. Now members are looking for a new work to get their teeth into: transport is one possible theme.

Meanwhile, the story behind another item of wartime Haxby history has recently been unearthed.

In the 1980s, a medal was found in the garden of 12 The Avenue, Park Estate.

Author Tom Smith, who edited Haxby In Wartime, says that the medal was awarded to 9474 Private T E Thirkell of the Yorkshire and Lancashire Regiment. More research discovered that Private Thomas Edward Thirkell had been killed in Ypres on February 14, 1915. He has no grave but his name is recorded on the Menin Gate memorial. The medal, then, was awarded posthumously.

As yet the group hasn't been able to discover if the Thirkells or their relatives lived in 12 The Avenue or anywhere else in Haxby, but research is continuing. If anyone can help, please get in touch.

Haxby In Wartime is on sale at Haxby Library, price £2, and if other shops would like to stock copies please call Alan Clark on (01904) 411969

Updated: 09:37 Monday, August 23, 2004