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This story was submitted to the People’s War website by Sarah Butcher of the CSV Action Desk at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Mr Michael Foyle and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Michael Foyle’s parents were teachers living in Croydon, Surrey at the start of the war and, as both had reserve occupations they and their 2 year old son Michael were moved to Godalming to a large country house with approximately 11 other people (probably all teachers).
On the 20th October 1940 a German bomber, presumably returning from a London raid, dropped his remaining bombs over the house, destroying it and tragically killing everyone inside. It was presumed that no-one could have survived the destruction of the house, however 12 hours later Michael was found by the emergency services underneath his overturned cot alive and unharmed.
Michael was then brought up by his Uncle, his father’s brother, and treated as one of the family, not being told about his ordeal until he was 10 or 11. His only cause for confusion while a young child was that he had three sets of Grandparents and couldn’t understand why. He had an otherwise happy childhood, even when the family were again evacuated in 1944, to Bunbury in Cheshire. They went to a well-to-do family with acres of land, who were always appearing in the ‘Tatler’ and Michael remembers the train journey up there very clearly.
Just after the war, possibly 1947, Michael also clearly remembers going to Westminster Hall for a party for war orphans.

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