大象传媒

This story was added to the Peoples War archive by Olivia Cubberley in the 大象传媒 Hull Open Centre, with the kind permission of Percy Smith.

With hindsight, being an evacuee in World War 2 formed values which I hold dearly to the present day.

Foremost are the merits of faith, flag and family - a framework which many of my generation endeavoured to uphold. But apart from these positives, negatives also came into play and have provided destabilising factors. Self absorption - a typical defensive attitude with many evacuees, especially within my age range at the time, brought a strong resistance to any form of change (just think of the emotional upheaval in a child of 6, separated from his parents and thrown into the maelstrom of uncertainty in the dark days of 1940).

During the period of being an evacuee (1940-1943), I developed a strong self sufficiency - distrustful of adults for they were unreliable in my childish mind, I sought secure structures. As a child of war, I also developed a strong sense of history and pride in the British Empire. After all, my brothers - older than me - were serving their country. George was in the Commandoes and would eventually win the military medal for bravery. Also George and his fallen soldiers wore berets, not tin helmets and carried sub machine guns, not rifles - what dash, what panache!

Later, as a military historian, I would understand the horrors of war, but as a child - the boy is father to the man - such impressions are not formed.

The war lost a great deal of flamboyance when my favourite brother, Tony, was drowned at sea in June 1942 when the 'Empire Mica' was destroyed by U67.

My foster carers gave me a great deal of freedom, unlike youngsters of a similar age today, and now I still insist on my share of space.

1940 - 1943 were the best of years and the worst of years, for I develped a dual relationship. where exactly did I belong?

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