Cecil Hallas
CivilianCecil was living in Dry Hill when war broke out. After leaving school at 14, he worked at the George Ashworth's hairdressers on Penistone High Street from 1942.
He recalls convoys of wagons and jeeps with big white stars on their flanks driving down the high street when the Americans arrived at Wortley.
He also remembers the first American coming in to the hairdressers, the first American he'd seen up close, and asking for an unusual haircut - not the usual 'short back and sides' - and showing him the welt marks across the palms of his hands from working with ropes as a cowboy in Texas.
"As a lad of about 14, 15, I couldn't believe this - having a cowboy in the shop in Penistone - it was totally out of this world".
His full interview is available to listen to online here: http://www.langsettandmidhopeatwar.co.uk/audio-recollections/
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Places
- Site type: Military site
- Known as: Scout Dike / Dyke and Penistone, on some US document references
Events
| Event | Location | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Born |
1 March 1928 | ||
| Dry Hill Lane, Denby Dale, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire HD8 8YN, UK | At the outbreak of war. | ||
|
Other Worked in |
Penistone, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S36, UK |
Revisions
Oral history interview with Cecil Hallas on Langsett & Midhope At War website: http://www.langsettandmidhopeatwar.co.uk/audio-recollections/ and http://www.langsettandmidhopeatwar.co.uk/scout-dyke/