大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War Site by Three Counties Action, on behalf of John Kent, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

The day before the war broke out, I was eight years old and we were taken to Netley Street School, Hampstead Road NW1. I had a gas mask in a cardboard box on a string round my neck and a canvas haversack on my back in which I had a change of clothes. From school we went on the tube to Edgware Station then by train to Luton, from there we were taken to St Matthews School, High Town. They gave us a packet of biscuits, mine were pink and I didn鈥檛 like them very much.
Then we were lined up and marched up the road, where ladies came out and picked who they wanted. As my friend and I were not picked we were taken to 29 Edward Street the last house on the list, the lady concerned was working making dresses so we were looked after by the WVS.
Just think of all this at eight years old and all alone.
The next day, Sunday, Mr Tomlin took my friend and me for a walk, just as we got to North Street the air raid Warning went, {the war had started!}
There were too many evacuees to mix in with St Matthew鈥檚 so we had no school to go to at first, then we went to the Church Hall at Round Green.
I stayed at 29 Edward Street for three years until I was eleven.
I was thirteen and living in Red Hill Street NW1 on VE Day, first of all we went round all the bombed houses to collect wood and tried to start a bonfire in the road. At first this did not go too well so we found some petrol in an old ice cream van which soon solved the problem. After that we went up to the West End where it was hard going as there were so many people all dancing and signing. We went down the Mall and stood outside Buckingham Palace for sometime until the King and Queen came out on the balcony with Winston Churchill when everyone started to sign and shout.

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