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I was 11 when war broke out and I was at The Dragon School then later at Oxford High School. In 1939 my elder brother Mervyn went to Westminster School. During his first term there it was evacuated to Lancing near Brighton. But in a letter my brother expressed his doubts about their safety ‘There are sentinels all along the coast roads and hundreds on, in, under and above the aerodrome. We really are in more danger than we would be in London.’ In fact the Westminster area of London was severely bombed.
Very soon it was moved again to Exeter which was even more dangerous. The enemy planes followed the estuary of the Exe which was clearly visible, and destroyed whole areas of the city. Luckily the cathedral escaped with limited damage.
So Westminster School moved a third time to 3 country houses near Bromyard in Herefordshire. In London the boys would have been wearing top hats, stiff white collars and black coats. The uniform list now specified ‘mud coloured’ clothes!
Parents complained about the poor quality of teaching. The Headmaster’s reply was, ‘You should see the choice’ — so many had gone to war.
In 1940 it was expected there might be a German invasion. Some kind American families offered homes to English children. My elder brother declared he didn’t want to go, according to letters found in the attic the Westminster Head was discouraging it anyway. It was decided that my twin and I should go. My mother packed our suitcases and father painted our names on them in white capital letters. Passports and visas were obtained, an escort arranged and a passage booked. All was ready. Then my brother needed a mastoid operation (this was before antibiotics) and we missed the boat. Another passage was booked. At the last minute our escort’s son developed chicken pox and we missed that boat too. Then ‘The City of Benares’, the ship carrying children to America was torpedoed and sunk. It was then thought to be safer in England after all. The children who did go to our prospective foster parents had a very happy time.

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