大象传媒

I was evacuated from Jarrow in 1939,where I lived in Walter Street, when I was seven years old with school children from the Ellison Street school. We went to Shildon in County Durham which was then a railway wagon building town.

I stayed with the Parkinson family and their son, Billy, worked at the wagon works. My school-friend John Morgan who lived next door at number 29 in Walter Street stayed with the same family and he, Billy Parkinson and I all slept in the same bed!

About 1980 I went back to Shildon to see where we had stayed. Getting off the 'bus (it's about 40 miles from Jarrow)I wasn't sure how to find the Parkinson family or if they were still living there. I went into the nearby working men's club and when they heard about my reasons for visiting the town people in the club soon pointed out the way to the Parkinsons home. The house we stayed in had sadly been knocked down just three weeks before my visit.

Billy still worked at the wagon works, and his mother took me there. He remembered me after all these years! It was all quite exciting.

Visitors weren't really allowed into the works but Billy took me in. Shildon has always been famous for it's historic railway locomotive the Sans Pariel which competed against Stephenson's Rocket. Billy took a photograph with his 3 years old grandson alongside me on the footplate of the locomotive. I've still got the picture.

We all went round to the railway club - and when it came time to go back home to Jarrow I wanted to stay a little longer. We told the bus driver about our wartime friendship had been revived and he held the bus up for nearly another 20 minutes while we said more goodbyes!

I still, to this day get Christmas cards from the Parkinsons. We were all such good friends.

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