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This story is entered by Keith Wilson on behalf of Eileen Sutton, who has given her permission.

EILEEN SUTTON’S STORY.

My name is Eileen Sutton, my mother came from Wimborne. My Dad came from Wilton. I have brothers and sisters. Eddy was in the Army, Vicky in the Royal Navy, my sister Gladys was in the WAAF’s. She was lovely. My eldest sister, Linda, worked in a Munitions factory. I was not the youngest, as there were two after me. One died and then mother had a very young one. She was only five when the war broke out. We had no home as mother was in poor health and they were brought up by Granny who was cook at Wimborne Cottage Hospital. I was born in a Taxi cab. I was in a hurry and could not wait to come into the world. I think my parents had a lot of problems and initially I was sent to the Workhouse in Wimborne. Then I was transferred down to a home in Exeter for subnormal children. It was a good Christian home. They learned me to walk and they tried to teach me. They even put me in the big class but I used cry a lot of the time. My Dad used to come down and visit me when he could. He would’nt tell Mum when he was visiting me. He was unemployed a lot of the time, and he used to have to go all over for the special milk. I used to have to be fed through a thing like a fountain pen filler. I do not remember any of all that happened when I was little. I was told that they nearly lost me. Oh, I had diphtheria. I do not remember very much of this as my brothers and sisters told me all of this later. I was just nine, nine in the July, when the war broke out in September 1939. I was in the home in Exeter; a nice Christian home. I must speak as I find. May be I was better off than my brothers and sisters from what I hear. At the time I did not know that I had brothers and sisters who were in the war. When they all came home my Daddy wanted me home as well. I was his little girl really. As I said, he used come down to see me, but would not tell Mum. I remember I would not go out with him. I was frightened so a big girl used come out with me. I was alright then.

In 1944, a week after Christmas, I remember we were bombed. You would think that we would run like hell but we could not. We were frightened. They tried to evacuate us to Starcross Institution, because we had been bombed. But they were full up, so they could not take us. They used to get us up in the night sometimes, particularly when there was breaking of glass. In the end they used to make us go to bed in the afternoons to make sure we got our sleep as we were sure to be up again. Quite often the air raids would be in the early evening just when we had started our tea. We had to go to the air raid shelter so we missed out. Later on we took our meal down into the shelter. What used to fascinate me was the barrage balloons up in the air. Later we were evacuated to the Langdon Colony, which also belongs to Starcross, at Dawlish Warren. I loved it because we had woods behind where we used to play ‘hospitals’. I remember doing all that. I liked the countryside. It was nice. I have got a lot to be thankful for; the association with the British Legion and particularly those who looked after us. They did a wonderful job, otherwise we would not be here today. I can’t remember any more.

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