There may have been some improvements made in the pub during
the 1930s but running a pub during those years was not a great money making
proposition. When people had little discretionary cash, not much was spent down
the pub. But the Second World War was to bring change.
In contrast to the First World War, in the Second World War
the government looked at pubs as a way of improving morale. Drinking beer
seemed to take a bit of the edge off the thought of air raids. It didn’t make
the pubs immune from bombings. Many unfortunate publican couples lost their
lives during the war and many pubs were destroyed.
But the bombing of civilian targets didn’t start at the
beginning of the war. With the government’s blessing pubs must have had
improved business at first as employment ramped up and people had money in
their pockets. At the Hearts of Oak, Ellen and Charles Cavanagh’s oldest son
was now a temporary barman. Was this because other staff had left or because
custom had increased?
Things changed again at the end of 1939 as their
son/temporary barman enlisted. Did this cause Ellen great worry? With six sons,
one of whom had served in the last war, Ellen would have been no stranger to
worry about warrior sons. But this time the war would come closer than she
could imagine. The Hearts of Oak pub was located in London’s East End close to
the St. Katherine Docks. Air raids on London started on September 7, 1940 and
dockland areas would have been prime targets. It is not known if the pub closed
during the blitz but her son’s service records give an address in Harringay for
Ellen which is dated 15/2/41. It looks like she, at least, moved out for the
worst part of the bombardments.
The pub survived as did Charles and Ellen Cavanagh. All of
Ellen’s sons made it through the war as well. But their experiences had altered
their circumstances so that more change would follow.
Sources
Jennings, Paul. The
Local: A History of the English Pub. Tempus Publishing Limited, Stroud,
Gloucestershire, 2007
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