´óÏó´«Ã½

A WARTIME EXPERIENCE

I came to England in 1941 [from Ireland] to become a nun. In retrospect I marvel that my parents allowed me to come during the war. However, the convent I came to was outside London and was situated beside Richmond Park [in Roehampton] so no one thought there would be any danger from enemy planes. However on February 18 1944 it happened! We were twenty seven Novices in training. By now we were accustomed to the evening routine on retiring tobed. We made our day clothes into a bundle in readiness for responding to the air- raid siren. Little did we think of what was to happen that particular night.

We were duly wakened by the siren and dutifully got out of bed, took our bundle and made our way out of the dormitory, hoping we would take the correct .turn to the stairs, and made our way to the cellars in the main building which served as ideal shelters. Quite often one of the anti-air craft guns would go off in the Park as we made our way down and we wondered if we would reach the bottom. When the all clear sounded we got ready to return to our beds and to sleep! But as we made our way upstairs we heard the gardener shouting, ‘There's a fire on the top of the house.’

The main building was on fire. What a shock! It was a case of 'all hands on deck' as we went to rescue. We rushed upstairs collecting, our cases and books from the attic! Others emptied the store room in the New wing where clothes and shoes were stored (It was the day of bulk buying - no visits to shops!) I have a vivid memory of the bottom falling out of a big box of shoes and the contents cascading down the stairs!! But it was no laughing matter in that situation. Some helped to move the lighter furniture from the ground floor of the main building and deposit it on the lawn in front of the house .No one seemed to notice the firemen’s hoses giving them a nice shower By that time the fire was spreading and our fear was that it would spread to the new wing. Even then the flames were leaping dangerously across the terrace. But the men did their best to keep it contained in the main house. But the Lord came to our help. An incendiary bomb fell at the foot of a statue of the Virgin Mary near one of the Novices' Dormitories and it never exploded! Eventually we were ordered away from the main building.

We Novices walked down the long avenue and up the High Street to our other Convent there.. At one stage I looked back and the sight that met my eyes was the one I had seen in the Film ‘Rebecca’ when she stood in the blazing building that had been her home -Manderley. I felt so sad. to be leaving our home. We went into the chapel on our arrival to thank God for saving us from the fire. Very soon a priest from the Jesuit Novitiate next to ours arrived, bearing the Sacred Vessels from our Chapel in Maryfield. Of course we though the fire had spread, but, no, it was a wise precaution. The Sisters in St. Mary's down to a rather troubled sleep. In the morning we returned to Maryfield. It was a sorry sight which met our eyes. The main building was completely gutted and there was water everywhere. The furniture still stood on the lawn. We returned to St. Mary's on Saturday
evening, and spent the Sunday there.

That night there was a very bad and a very long raid so the concern of our religious Superiors now, of course, was to find us a home away from London They decided to send us to Bristol. The Sisters had a hospital there and they had requisitioned a house for the duration of the war for their convalescent patients. These were brought back to the Hospital to make room for us for time being. We walked to Bames and took the bus to Hammersmith. It was rumoured that there was a bomb under the bridge and we would cross it at our own risk. We alighted and crossed over laden with bags and cases. God took care of us. Eventually we reached the station for the West. There were many surprises awaiting us. A Novice's cloak got caught in the door of the train as it was moving off. If a passenger had not pulled the emergency chord she would have been dragged along by the train. Another surprise! An elderly gentleman was puzzled when he saw all the young people dressed alike felt sorry for us and ordered tea and something to go with it for all of us, to our surprise and. delight. Some of the Novices said it was St. Joseph.

The journey to Bristol was broken as we left the train in twos and threes to spend the night in one or other of our convents on the way. I went to Swindon - others to Chippenham, Gloucester or Bristol. The next day we were all driven to Chew Magna which had been hastily made ready for our arrival. The Bishop of Clifton very kindly came to welcome us and offer Mass for us .We really felt at home then. We gradually became familiar with the lay-out of the house and found our way round. We shared bedrooms, more than two in man cases.. But it was so wonderful td be away from London and the bombs, To many of us, country bom and bred, it was a familiar sight to see the sheep and cattle in the neighbouring fields, Our training continued and on July 22and twelve of the Novices, myself included made our First Profession..! was posted to our Primary school in Portslade, Sussex.

Sister I. Kennedy S.M.G.

FROM MARYFIELD TO CHEW MAGNA., FEBRUARY 1944

In February 1944, during World War II,I, Sr. M. O'Brien, was a novice in Maryfield Convent, Roehampton. Beside us, in Richmond Park, were sited the anti-aircraft devices. These, when activated, made a dreadful noise and had us all wondering what might happen next. The novices slept on the first floor of the new building and when the siren went off we used to go down immediately to the basement, which served as an ideal air- raid shelter, carrying our bundles of daywear with us.

On the night of the 18 Feb. probably around midnight, when the siren sounded, all went down to the basement. Sr. M. St. John, the novice mistress, went back up to check out the premises. On returning, she informed us that the roof of the original building was on fire. Maryfield Convent, had been hit .A basket of bombs- called a ‘molitov- cocktail’-had landed on the roof of the building. We dressed speedily and waited for the 'all clear' signal. Next, we proceeded to the Novices' Common Room. (This was a new building, linked to the old by a kitchen, pantries and a workroom.) At 2 a.m. all of us twenty-seven Novices set out on foot for St. Mary's Convent in the High Street. The Sisters there had already placed mattresses on the floor of their Community Room and we all settled in to a broken slumber.

We returned to Maryfield next morning (Saturday). There was a lot of tidying up to be done because of water damage from the previous night. Later on in the morning, a Jesuit priest, Father Collins, came from Manresa House, their Residence/next door to Maryfield, to check out on our safety. (Fr. Collins was also our chaplain in Chew Magna). On Saturday evening we returned to St. Mary's - where we also spent Sunday.

On Sunday, the Assistant General, showed great concern for our safety. It was decided that, on Monday morning, the novices would leave Roehampton for the safety of Chew Magna, about ten miles from Bristol. I recall meeting a Sister living in St.Mary's on the staircase as we left. She remarked ruefully ‘It is well for the novices to be off in the morning. I'm terrified staying behind.’

Later in the day the novices, and the Sisters in charge of them boarded a bus to go to the railway station. When we reached Hammersmith Bridge we all had to alight as it was rumoured that there was a bomb in the River Thames. So, we walked across the bridge laden with our bags and cases. And boarded the bus again at the far side. We arrived at the train station without further incident. As we journeyed on the train, the novices left in groups of two and three...They spent the night in one or other of our Convents in the West… I went to Bristol.

On Wednesday morning (Ash Wednesday) all parties arrived in Chew Magna — mainly by car. Bishop Lee, of Clifton, arrived to say Mass for us. There was a large house in Chew Magna. It had been purchased for the safety of the convalescent patients from our hospital in Bristol. These patients were now taken back to the hospital to make room for us. We quickly got ourselves organised. A makeshift Novices room and community room were set up. At least four or five slept there and there were a few more in each of the many room of the house. While in Chew Magna, we spent a lot of time out of doors doing needlework, preparing vegetables and potatoes for dinner and we were also given our training instructions in the open air. The grounds were beautiful and there was a gardener employed.

After some time, five of us got to sleep in the 'Pink Room' which had a beautiful black wool carpet and 5 beds. My window looked on to a cemetery and a Protestant Church. About 8 p.m. each evening I could see British and American Bombers setting out for Germany. They looked like hundreds of crows and made a dreadful noise. Around daylight they returned in V shape sets of five. Sometimes, one was missing from the set and sometimes one staggered home. On the return flight, they all made less noise than they had done on the previous night, having dropped their load of bombs over Germany.

My grade of twelve Sisters stayed until the 22 July when we made our Vows. It was a quiet ceremony and there were no relatives present. I was posted to St. Mary's High St. Roehampton, to take up the charge of helping with the financial accounts. St. Mary's never got a serious hit Thank God - but we did see the German pilotless planes fly over London before the war ended. There are still five sisters left from my grade who still have vivid memories of the war.

The above is an oral account and was given on 20 Oct. 2005.

Sister M. O’Brien S.M.G.

Edited by P. Shaw, 1/06

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