大象传媒

I was eleven years old when war broke out, attending Beeston Council School. I can remember our teacher asking to put our hands up if we had any relatives living in the country. I put my hand up, thinking I would not have to go to school, as mine was a private arrangement.

A cousin took me in his car to Driffield where I had an aunt and uncle.

Auntie was very strict. She sat me on a chair and said there were commands I must remember:

One! You never run on Sundays.
Two! Only read the Bible on Sunday.
Three! Always knock on a door before entering!

One day, I came home from school very excited. Iasked Uncle where Auntie was. He replied,
鈥淯pstairs Unny.鈥�
Meaning honey. I rushed to her room and forgot the third command! I stood in the doorway completely shocked, for Auntie was bald! I screamed, went to Uncle, who calmed me down, we then went for a walk by the river. Auntie never referred to her baldness, but I knew something was not quite right, as she always wore a cap!
Another walk was to Driffield Air Port, where there was a wooden hut called Four Winds, where they served hot drinks. I think it is still there but very much enlarged.

I attended St. John鈥檚 School. My two years there were my happiest school days. We had a lovely teacher, a Miss Hunter.
Once a week I would go to her home after school, where a maid was dressed in a black dress and white apron, and would curtsy to us. Afternoon tea would come, and then my knitting lesson. With teacher鈥檚 tireless perseverance she taught me to knit on four needles, and turn a heel on a sock and shape a toe!

My other highlight of the week was going out in a car with Uncle and his friend, a Mr Frank Dee who was an estate agent. We went to the villages to collect rent from the farms. My job was to open the farm gates, and wait there until the car came back, and then shut them.
The farmer鈥檚 wife used to send me a bun,
鈥淔or the little lass.鈥�
When we arrived back Mr Dee would give me one penny for every gate I had opened. Sometimes I got thirty pennies!
My other joy was to watch the blacksmith who worked near Auntie鈥檚 home. This was opposite the railway station, where I would see trainloads of children arriving, with gas masks and placards with their names on. When the W.V.S. came to Auntie鈥檚, they did not leave anyone. I wished I had a playmate!

Uncle had a seizure, and I had to return back to Leeds, I was very upset. I loved my stay at Driffield, and even now when I go to Brid鈥� I always feel I have come home when I reach the Wolds!

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