´óÏó´«Ã½

My memory of being evacuated is one of excitement mixed with sorrow. I didn’t want to leave my mum, brother and grandfather. My sister went so far with me on the train but then we were split up, she was going to Claughton and I was going to Nether Kellet.
When we arrived we were all taken to the village hall and told to sit on the floor. We must have looked like lost sheep with our gas masks, our little bundle of clothes and labels around our necks. We were very frightened and wondered what would come next.
After we had all been given drinks and a sandwich the hall started filling up with people, first one child was picked, then another. My friend and I clung to one another so we would not be separated. One or two went together and as we were at the back we were starting to panic that we would be left behind. Then a young woman pointed to me and said she would take me home. She only wanted one but the teacher took pity on our faces and said she would take two. So hand in hand we followed her out.
We traveled until we reached a village and stopped by a lovely house standing on its own. We liked the look of it very much. The lady showed us our bedroom and said for tonight we would have to share a bed but tomorrow she would borrow a camp bed from the school. We felt so lost without our parents but after a bath and a drink we snuggled up together and finally fell asleep after a very busy and traumatic day.
The next morning we were woken up and told to get dressed and hurry downstairs! When we got downstairs we met the man of the house, he was tall and a lovely moustache and dark hair. We liked him but weren’t sure of the lady, she didn’t talk much and told us she was soon to have a baby. We were thrilled! I loved babies and my friend didn’t mind them so we were quite pleased with the thought. When we had our breakfast she took us to the village school, so we would know our way and also have chance to meet the teachers.
We were amazed to see so many children in one small hall. We enjoyed our first day well enough, especially the time we were allowed out to play. The days were very similar. The people that had taken us in were very kind to us but they did not love us. I had such a loving mum that I missed very much and often cried myself to sleep. My friend was very brave and took everything as it came, she was very good to me.
We made lots of friends with the village children and went on some lovely walks. The surrounding hills and woodlands were, to us who had been brought up on Salford’s streets, a real adventure. We often got up to mischief — we climbed trees, went into the orchards, gathered apples, pears…simply because we had never seen them in such abundance and, as we thought, there for anyone who wanted them. Unfortunately we ended up being ill and were severely told off by our land lady and caned by the head master. We more cautious after that!
Just when we were settling down to the routine of the school, the lady of the house where we were staying was rushed into the hospital to give birth. So we were taken to stay with an old lady and her daughter who already had three evacuees. The other two were already in a small, single bed and we were horrified to realize we had to sleep in there aswell. We were very unhappy but didn’t want to upset our parents so we wrote happy letters, saying we were fine.
Life carried on, similar as before. Saturdays were great, the old lady and her daughters used to go into Lancaster and we were left to do as we liked. We used to make chips for our dinner and cleaned our bedroom and wash our clothes. The lady only used to do the washing once every two weeks.
One Saturday we were more adventurous and decided we would wash all our clothes properly in the boiler. My mum had sent me some lovely new knitted vests and a couple of new cardigans that I wanted to clean. So we got wood and coal from under the boiler (it was an old fashioned brick one) and stood in the corner of this kind of shed. We found matches, went upstairs and got all our clothes, plus sheets and pillow cases, and put them altogether in the boiling water. After we went out to play. Of course we completely forgot about the clothes boiling away until we were hungry at dinner time. As we were going back inside we smelt burning and so hurried into the shed. What a sight met our eyes! The shed was full of soap suds and the boiler burned dry. When we opened the lid and pulled out the washing it had all had shrunk and the clothes at the bottom had burnt. Lucky for us the fire had gone out but we got in terrible trouble. Letters were written to our mothers telling them, I presume, what terrible children we were, and to send us new clothes as they were all ruined. One good thing did come out of it though — she washed all our clothes for us more frequently!
The lady who had taken us to live with her at first didn’t want to have us back because she wasn’t well enough. We were disappointed that we weren’t going back to them as we didn’t like it at the other house. But we had to stay so we made the most of it. She wasn’t unkind to us, her daughter bought us some sweets once a week but we hated having to sleep all in the one bedroom. Fortunately, however, we all got on and enjoyed being together.
Christmas was coming and we were all looking forward to our parents coming to see us as I was still homesick. In the time I had been away I had acquired an itchy rash, as had the other two girls, which made us feel very miserable. We didn’t like school very much and couldn’t wait for the day for our parents to arrive. Finally the big day came.
We all assembled in the school yard, waiting for the station bus. At last it came round the corner, we all cheered like mad! My friend Winnie was so sad because no one was coming to visit her and when everyone got off the bus and my mum wasn’t among them I got worried too. Then I spotted my Grandfather, he told me my mum wasn’t well enough to come but she sent me some presents and lots of love
Grandfather was horrified when he saw the rash on my legs and arms especially when he realized I couldn’t stop scratching. He immediately took me to where I was living and packed my bags, and told the old lady he was taking me home. He then went back to school and informed the headmaster of his intentions and showed him how bad my skin was.
What a journey! It was queer to be going home but very exciting. My mum was so pleased to see me, she cried with emotion. When she saw my bad skin condition she gave me a good bath and fed me and my sister. I snuggled up in her bed, a special treat for our first night. We all slept together and were so pleased to be back together again. What followed was clinics and doctors, me getting well and mum saying never again would she send us anywhere. If we were to de in the bombing she said we would at least go together which is what we nearly did, but that is another tale.

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