大象传媒

Early in 1939, my parents, Augusta and Eugene Vercucq were looking at the front page of a newspaper on which was a full page photograph of a German officer from the 1914-18 war. He had a pointed helmet. Being nine years old, I could not understand why they looked so sad. But then, it was not surprising as four members of my mother鈥檚 family were killed in Calais by the first zeppelin.

We lived near the then 鈥楤ourgel鈥� airport near Drancy, where I learnt later that a lot of poor Jews were taken from there.

The bombardments over Paris were getting worse so we were evacuated to the Loire region. The Germans had arrived and taken over my school.

We were taken by lorries, it was winter 1940, the coldest I remember. We were put in a 鈥榩ig sty鈥� with lots of straw on the floor, including the odd mouse. My little brother was only a few months old. His name was Alain, my sister, Sergine and another brother, Gerard. The farmer鈥檚 wife told us to throw the potties contents to the pigs!

We were fed from a kitchen on wheels which was barely edible. Soon we were covered in lice. It was obvious that the country was not ready to cope with evacuees.

We were eventually moved to another place called Poiseux, where we were given two rooms where horses had been stabled. No electricity (oil lamps), no toilet, no water. My mother and aunt Alice were obliged to look after two officers, one of whom was a doctor. At least they brought food for us to cook for them. As they were not Gestapo, they were polite.

We did not have a good relation with the paysants, as they did not want us there and made sure we paid black market prices.

One day one solider was very drunk and was put in our cellar shouting 鈥淲e shall be in England in eight days.鈥�

The country women did their washing in the river nearby. Each time they made their way with their laundry baskets the soldiers would go on horseback naked up and down in the water, so the washing could not be done.

We went back to Paris as my brother was not doing well. But things were still very bad. One had to queue for hours to find food. You were not always lucky. Soldiers loved to take photos of these queues, laughing. One daring woman showed her derriere to a photographer.

We went back to the country near to where we were, called Picarron, again two rooms. I must have been thirteen by now so went to the local school at Ciez. The teacher was also the mayor. As I was the eldest in the one class, he allowed me to listen to the hidden wireless. We were not allowed radios.

He also made me keep a register so that the Germans knew every detail as to the livestock of every farmer. Every Thursday the class went to the potato fields to take the Colorado beetles off the plants.

I walked five kilometres to school and back, always afraid of meeting Germans lurking in the woods. Also getting lots of sores having to walk in wooden shoes.

One day, passing a farm, I saw a soldier being tossed out of a barn window. I did not stop to see what followed. I also witnessed an aerial fight between a German and an English plane. It was overhead. The German plane fell in flames and the English airman came down by parachute. He was paraded through the village. For many years I had a piece of that parachute.

During the middle of the night, some farmers would kill a cow. It was risky as all the villagers around would turn up.

We went back to Paris, but life there was still very bad. The train we went back on was badly shelled when on one of the Loire bridges. We not only lived near the now De Gaulle Airport, but also an important railway system, where all our coal went to Germany from.

So as we had no heating, some of us went at night to steal coal from some very high wagons. It was very hard work. One had to blacken one鈥檚 face and wear dark clothes. My aunt and I did this several times until one young man was shot at. I was back in my old school when the war ended.

My two uncles were killed at the Magino line.

I have tried to write as little as possible. Compared with my story some are so much more poignant.

I married in South East London on 4th June 1949, and am so proud to be English.

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