大象传媒

These are extracts from the memoirs of Ronald Dutt transcribed for the site, with his permission, by Judith Blaker of the Folkestone Heritage team. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Extract taken from an article in the
South Wales Argus

Ronald Dutt:
鈥淚 was evacuated from Folkestone when I was just 6 and spent the war years with a group of children at Mayfield House in Usk. We had our school lessons there as well and were looked after by the superintendant.鈥� Ronald鈥檚 2 brothers were also evacuated but went to Abergavenny and didn鈥檛 see Ronald for the duration of the war
鈥淲e met up again when we all returned to Folkestone but it felt very strange as I鈥檇 only seen my mother once in this time. My older brother left the family home soon afterwards and we lost touch again until a few years ago when I traced him through the Salvation Army. After that reunion I felt it was the right time to retrace my childhood years in Usk鈥� the place which was such an important part of my childhood.鈥�

Returning to Usk 1

On the day the Second World War broke out the evacuees were being moved out from Cheriton Cottage Homes [a children鈥檚 care home in the Cheriton area of Folkestone] to somewhere in South Wales. Parents watched as their children set off, wondering who was going to care for them and how well they were going to be kept. Some survived and some never returned. It was a very emotional occasion. Some went into foster homes, others I do not know. I was billeted on a farm in Llanishen called Hygga Farm, which is now used as a private residence.

I remember watching a vet carrying out his duties, he was actually pulling out a foal straight from the horse, which wasn鈥檛 a pretty sight I assure you. The farmer was so short handed that he even asked us to help him. We helped him to round up the cows; the cows knew exactly when milking time was. Milking in those days was all done by hand, today it鈥檚 all machines. We also fed them on 鈥楥ow and Gate鈥�, which was made out of oatmeal. I remember being chased by a bull. Whenever a bull saw red, then it was time to make a run for it. We even helped to make haystacks with pitchforks. The farmer used to take me out in his van to deliver the milk churns; a stool stood at the end of the lane and someone would come and collect them.

We had a pet lamb who we used to take for a walk out to Llanishen village and we used a bottle to feed it. We also had a pet dog named 鈥楽weet鈥�, it was a Springer Spaniel.Together with that we had a pet cow named Daisy and a horse named Dolly. The farmer鈥檚 wife made all her bread.

We had to walk three miles to school; to get to the school we had to walk across a little meadow because transport wasn鈥檛 allowed on the roads because of the war. I remember going into a shop, buying a loaf of bread and taking chunks out of it on the way to school. We had to help clean out the cowsheds. Amongst other things I remember riding a horse bare back, also having a ride on a horse and cart. We used to enjoy riding on the back of a haywagon.

The farmer used to cut our hair, he made us look like skinheads. He used to go rabbit catching. First of all he would send the ferret down the rabbit hole and wait at the other end for the rabbit. Other than that he would use a shotgun, he would aim for its head. He would set a trap for it, so every time the rabbit tried to free itself it just couldn鈥檛. I remember being chased by a horse that was in foal, we were warned not to go near a horse when it was in foal.

The chicks were kept in incubators. I remember climbing the bank beside the farmhouse to the chicken hutch to collect some eggs, In the process as I slid down the bank the eggs got smashed in my pocket. My trousers were in a mess! The farmer鈥檚 wife shouted at me and said 鈥� What have you done to yourself? Look at the mess you are in! You have been up to the chicken hutch, haven鈥檛 you Ronnie?鈥�. 鈥榊es Mrs Morgan鈥�. 鈥楥ome along indoors and I will get you cleaned up鈥�.
I remember being chased by a gander, I threw a sack over its head and ran indoors before it got to me.

I remember having ringworm caused by stroking the back of a calf; I had to go to the lady Doctor in Trelleck for treatment. She provided me with some antiseptic ointment that cured it. We were made to either bath in a tin bath or a fish pond with the water up to our waist.

I was transferred to Raglan, which was Castle Vale in Castle Street. My Mother only visited me once while I was in South Wales. The Matron called out to me and said 鈥榊ou have got a visitor鈥�, 鈥業 wonder who that is?鈥�, 鈥榊ou have to wait and see.鈥� So as I approached her office I noticed it was my Mother. She introduced me to my Stepfather for the very first time; he gave me half a crown in pocket money to spend. It was a lot of money in those days; we were given threepence a week to spend in pocket money.

We did go scrumping in the castle grounds. A man chased us with a walking stick, and he said 鈥� I will get the policeman to you鈥�. We ran for our lives. I remember going to Mr William鈥檚 farm and scrumping apples. He spotted us. We dropped our apples, so he said to me 鈥楶ick yours up laddie. The rest of you can scram. Come inside, I want to speak to you. Can I ask you a question?鈥� What is it鈥� I replied. 鈥� Where are you staying?鈥� 鈥� I am staying at Castle Vale in Castle Street鈥� He said 鈥榃hoever is in charge of you, will you ask them if you can live with me?鈥� 鈥� I doubt it very much. I can only ask鈥�. So immediately when I got back I asked the Matron what Mr Williams had told me to ask her. 鈥楥ertainly not!鈥� she said 鈥楻ules are rules and you have got to stick by them. You tell him that.鈥� So I went back and told him 鈥楩air enough鈥� he said.

I was transferred to Usk. We were made to go for a walk every Sunday morning otherwise we would have to go without our breakfast. Also we were made to go to church, whether we had been confirmed or not. There were a lot of Jews from Palestine; they could never get on with the Welsh , they would get hold of each others throats and at times they had to be separated from each other. There was an incident when someone threw a tennis ball on the fire. No one owned up to it. We all had to queue up so whoever did it got the cane. The school was actually inside Mayfield Hostel, which is now taken over by the Cambrian Oil company.

On August 15th 1945 the war was over. The evacuees returned to their homes. I was driven to Newport Railway Station. If I didn't see my brother there I was to come back, but that wasn't to be, I actually saw my brother waiting at the station. So we both caught the train back to London's Paddington Station. We met my Mother and Stepfather at the station, so all four of us caught the underground train to Charing Cross Railway Station. From there we caught the mainline train to Folkestone. My Mother's brother bought her very first house next door to the Gospel Tabernacle in Harvey Street.

During my evacuation to South Wales I was sent to Brecon Hospital for treatment for scabies. First they painted me from head to foot with a distemper brush. On the brush was a white liquid. It was antiseptic. We were told not to put our hands to our faces as it woud burn our eyes out. We were made to bath amongst the girls; they were amongst the evacuees. Then I was sent to Llanfoist for treatment for Scarlet Fever. The cure for that was that they used an instrument like a pair of scissors with cotton wool wrapped around it. They dipped it in a bottle of brown liquid and then shoved it down my throat. Believe me that cured it! But the nasty thing about the whole thing was that they made me bath in boiling hot water with no cold water added. They put Dettol in the bath water.

During my stay on the farm the farmer used a stun gun on the pigs to kill them. Then he put them on a straw fire and burned off their hairs. Then he cut them up and cooked them. We even had pigs trotters to eat. They were nice once they were cooked, the bacon from it was delicious. Harvest time was round about September time. We used to watch the farmer sheep dipping. They used ICI chemicals in the water. It certainly did the trick. They would use a broom with its hairs [removed] to dip the sheep.

There was one incident [that happened if] ever I refused my food. They would get someone to hold my head back and the other person would shove the food down my throat. [They did it] because food was very scarce in those days. It didn't work with me... Whenever they tried it on me I would relax myself and then spit it out

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