大象传媒

John F Hughes born 09/03/1931 in Streatham London

I was evacuated in 1939 just before the war was declared we were sent to Eastbourne on the coast in East Sussex, with my two sisters Betty & Margaret We were with a big party of children and were marched to kings street we went up one side and down the other about half way up I was claimed by a family who only wanted a single boy, they consisted of a man and his wife and two daughters I can鈥檛 remember their surname but the two girls were Penny & Tupence. Penny was married with a very young daughter her husband who was in the forces and whom I never did meet. I thing that stands out about the house it had a bathroom I had never met one before. My two sisters went to the top of Kings street and back down the other side and were lodged with a couple almost opposite me The father of the family I had been billeted with had been wounded in the First World War I remember seeing him going to the bathroom on one occasion in only his pyjama trousers his left shoulder was a mess of black and blue I remember I was extremely shocked at the sight as he made it a point of keeping it from me and would not talk about it. One incident I remember on my birthday of March of the following Year Tupence took me into town to buy me a present I had always wanted a sheath knife which she duly got me and she brought herself a catapult back in the garden of the house Tupence placed a stone in it and shot it in the air which resulted in a loud crash of breaking glass we all rushed into the house and did not leave for the rest of that day. My sisters were not happy in their billet and our mother took them home a few week later and I feeling left out went home soon after.

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