In WW1 children were threatened with: ‘Kaiser Bill will get you.’ Fear of invasion would have been heightened after attacks by sea on Scarborough and Whitby, but especially after the shelling of Hartlepool by the German Navy on the morning of 16 December 1914.
During the bombardment of Hartlepool, 1,150 bombs blasted into the town. They struck steelworks, gasworks, railways, seven churches and 300 homes. Eighty-six civilians and seven soldiers were killed. Four hundred and twenty-four civilians and fourteen soldiers were injured. The ship’s guns pounded so heavily and violently that they made the windows rattle 8 miles away in Horden, and the din of artillery could even be heard 10 miles away in Easington. As well as hearing the intense noise, spectators saw flames rising from the town of Hartlepool.
Hitler as Bogeyman
‘Hitler will get you’ would frighten children in WW2. Again, there was a fear of invasion. Fortifications were erected; including 28,000 pillboxes, anti-tank cubes mainly in coastal areas, field fortifications, and anti-aircraft defences. One and a half million men ineligible for military service were enrolled as Local Defence Volunteers. The TV series ‘Dad’s Army,’ although humorous, makes serious points about the fear of invasion and how these men would act as a defence force if the country was invaded.
Napoleon as Bogeyman
Adults as well as children were terrified during both World Wars. They were also frightened of invasion further back in the past. In her reminiscences of 1853, Mrs Harriet Grote (Lewin Letters) wrote that;
“The fear of Napoleon Bonaparte had indeed for some years past, formed a standing terror to all who, like ourselves, lived near the English coast. Our nursemaids would tell us that ‘Boney’ would catch us if we broke bounds, and whenever a suspicious vagrant made his appearance, he was at once set down as a French spy. Every gentleman’s son was encouraged to learn the manual exercise with a toy musket by his nurse, she assuring him that his duty was ‘to fight the French and beat Boney.’ ”
There was a strong militia in Castle Eden at this time because of this fear of invasion. One day Rowland Burdon’s butler decided he would use this fear to play a little trick. The family was away from home so he dressed himself up in his master’s court clothes, donned a cocked hat, and made his way to the hayfield at the edge of Castle Eden Dene.
Workers were gathering in the hay toiling in the hot sun but when they saw the swaggering figure approaching them, they stopped working and made their way to the edge of the field to meet him as he approached. As they neared the butler, who as a house servant the agricultural workers had probably never encountered, and as he was dressed in such fine clothes they stood still in awe, wondering what he wanted.
In a very loud voice, probably mimicking a French accent, the butler announced that he was Napoleon Bonaparte and he had landed on the shore, where his men were awaiting them. The butler then calmly walked away back to the house, probably laughing to himself at their awestruck faces.
The alarm was raised. Mr Scarth, the agent, was also Captain of the Militia. In the absence of Rowland Burdon, he took charge. Panic spread through Castle Eden as the news circulated round the village. The troop of yeomanry that formed the militia was hastily called out with men leaving their work and rushing to assemble, probably calling to women and children to stay indoors in case ‘Boney’ and the ‘French’ got them.
It is about a four mile walk from Castle Eden to the coast. They would have travelled through the Dene, a densely wooded area leading to the shore. It would have been a hot day if workers had been hay-making, but there was no time to lose. They didn’t walk but went at a quick march, almost a run, apprehensive about what was to await them, though determined to do their duty.
Once at the coast, the men were bewildered. There was no sign of a ship. No sign of a landing, and definitely no sign of the French Invasion. The truth came out later; Mr Scarth and Rowland Burdon would not have found the butler’s prank at all funny. It is uncertain what happened to the butler but he had alarmed the village and what was worse, he had worn Rowland Burdon’s court dress and cocked hat.
Who is the Bogeyman now?
Hopefully today children are not deliberately told the bogeyman will get them. However, in today’s world there are a number of bogeymen who could be used to frighten not only children but grown-ups as well. Who would you choose as a bogeyman?
