大象传媒

These are mine and Mrs Lewis鈥� experiences at that time.

1. The reason we were evacuated was that the Government decided that all young children should be evacuated from all the towns and the cities because the Germans had stopped bombing the airfields and decided to bomb the towns and cities. It was thought it would be safer in the countryside.

2. Both my wife and I who lived in London were sent to the East Coast. Coincidentally, even though we did not know each other then, we were both sent to the town of Saxmondon in Suffolk. I, Mr Lewis, along with others was taken to a small village called Snape and Mrs Lewis remained with her Brother Brian in Saxmondon. However, they were separated and Brian was sent to live up the road with an elderly couple in a windmill. Mrs Lewis lived in the local pub along with another girl called Tina. My Brother Clifford and I were taken to Snape Village Hall along with several other children were the people from the village came to select the children who they wanted to stay with them. My Brother and I went to a couple with a son of their own and their name was Mr and Mrs Cerridge. I lived in a little asbestos cottage with four rooms.

3. At first I didn鈥檛 feel very happy because it was all very strange to us. The village people and the village life was completely different to what we had been used to.
Mrs Lewis 鈥�..鈥� I didn鈥檛 like it all. I wanted to go home鈥� She had her suit case packed ready to go home whenever her Mum came to visit but she would not take her home.

4. We travelled by coach, train and coach. We enjoyed the trip because it was unusual to go through all the countryside.

5. 3 teachers from Clockhouse Lane School along with 180 pupils went on the trip. Our classes were 45 in each class then.

6. On the journey we only had one stop and not a lot to drink but I remember looking out of the window at the countryside which was lovely. 鈥楥onstable country鈥� then it was not cluttered with houses and roads etc.

7. For me the people I stayed with were lovely people but very countrified with a thick Suffolk ascent.

Mrs Lewis - The people I lived with were not very nice. They were quite strict. I had to wear a clean dress for Sundays. On return from Church I had to put on the dress I had been wearing all week, which was washed only now and again. When the pub was open Tina and I had to stay in our bedroom until it closed.

8. We were both there for two years.

9. We both went to school and I went to the local village school along with my Brother Clifford.

Mrs Lewis 鈥淚 went to the village school in Saxmondon.

10. Mr Lewis - I was 10 and Mrs Lewis was 8.

11. Mr Lewis - I thought the village where I lived was smashing. We used to go to the coast and swim across to a small island and play on the boats that were decommissioned while the war was on. We would then go to a fresh water pool and swim. We would use a plank of wood like a surfboard and swim around on it. We would often go to Snape Mortons where they used to heat Barley up in big vats to make the local beers. We would be given a paper bag fall of malt and barley by the owners and that took the place of sweets, which we were unable to obtain because of rationing. We also used to go with bags to pick rosehips, which were used in the war for Rosehip Syrup. Rosehip Syrup along with Malt was given daily to children to give them more vitamins. This would keep colds and other bugs away. One of the other things we did was to go under a bridge when the tide was out into a riverbed and the American airforce men stationed there would throw coins to us.
One of the funniest things that happened to me was when my Brother and I went out. He stepped in a wasp nest and started to run, but there was a billy goat near by and when Clifford started to run so did the billy goat after him. So I ended up chasing them both trying to stop the goat and get the wasps out of Clifford鈥檚 hair.

Mrs Lewis 鈥� I remember visiting my Brother at the windmill. We used to sit on the steps of the mill because when the wind would blow the sales it would make the steps go round too. I enjoyed that.

Mr Lewis - In the village of Snape there was a chippy, and one shop. In the evening we used to get a bag of chips, go to a hill in the back of the village and sit and watch the V1 flying bombs come across the North Sea on their way to London. It was possible to see these V1s because of the flame from their engines. Eventually they started to fall onto the village. The villagers cane to us evacuees to ask what they should do. We said the only thing you can do is get under the table with us. Within a few months of this happening we were taken back to London.

Mr Lewis - My village school was quite good. We did gardening and played football.

Mrs Lewis. School wasn鈥檛 too bad. We had domestic science and reading, which I liked but I wasn鈥檛 very good at things at school.

12. We both stayed there for about two years.

13. Mr Lewis 鈥�..Yes. I helped my Father dig the hole behind the garage and we set the Anderson shelter up in that hole. The shelter consisted of 6 bevelled quarter inch thick steel plates, 4 straight sheets of steel for front and back walls and two small sheets to link the front and back sheets together. These were all bolted together by 3/4inch bolts. This was covered over by two feet of earth. Very often the shelter had 6 inches of water in it. Bunks were fitted, 2 each side. It was cold wet and damp. We used candles for light, with a curtain over the entrance to ensure that the light did not appear outside, as it was a time of black out. Passing enemy planes shouldn鈥檛 see any lights. We endured air raids every night and a siren preceded them and you then heard the drone of the German bombers. They were unlike any other aeroplane in as much their sound was a monotonous drone. You then heard these whistling sounds. They got nearer and nearer. We knew they were heading our way. It was very, very frightening. In the morning those of us who were still alive would take our little trolleys and load up the unexploded insendural bombs and we collected shrapnel. It was a good job our parents didn鈥檛 know.
Mrs Lewis 鈥� I spent many a night in the Anderson shelter and my Brother always made me sleep in the corner where all the spiders were.

Some other information and stories

The results of some of the bombing

One house was demolished in front of Clock House Lane school. 2 Houses were demolished 100yards from our shelter. We were a target for the bombing because of a massive gun barracks with at least 35 guns plus one outside our front door in Carter Drive鈥his was called Whalebone Gun Barracks.

Soldiers from the barracks were invited for tea at Mrs Lewis鈥� Mothers house but on the day the whole platoon of soldiers walked down the street and came in for tea. This was totally unexpected but a lot of fun.

In the later part of the war the V1s were coming over at least 20 a day. This excluded the great number shot down at the coast by Spitfires, Hurricanes, and anti aircraft guns.

In 1943-44 we had a glorious summer, rather similar to this summer we have just had in 2003. I used to lay down on the lawn along with other boys and girls in the area and look up in the sky and watch the arial combats between the Spitfires, Hurricanes and Meshashmit 109. This was called the Battle of Britain.

At the end of the War we celebrated with street parties.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.