大象传媒

On 13 September 1940, the day Buckingham Palace was bombed, my sister and I were evacuated from Brockley, south east London, via Paddington Station, to Banbury in Oxfordshire. My sister was four years old and I was eight.

While we were at Paddington Station, waiting for the train, there was an air raid and we had to go down to the shelter in the Underground station. A soldier took my sister by the hand and I trailed along behind them! I was told by my mother that under no circumstances was I to be separated from my little sister.

We eventually got on the train and after what seemed a long journey we arrived in Banbury. We were put onto bus to go to a nearby hall. We subsequently discovered that said hall was only about 200 yards away from the station.

A kind lady, Mrs Dale, took us in although she really only wanted one girl. She had a daughter, Janet, who was a year older than my sister.

After about a month our mother came for a weekend visit and stayed in Banbury until she died at the great age of 90. Our father was invalided out of the Royal Air Force (903 Balloon Squadron) and also joined us in Banbury.

I moved from Banbury about six years ago to live on the Isle of Wight where my sister and her family now live.

The strange thing is that we have never, ever, met any of the other evacuees who were on that train.

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