大象传媒

(This story was submitted to the People's War site by a volunteer from 大象传媒 Radio Suffolk on behalf of Simone Heath and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Heath fully understands the site's terms and conditions).

Paris

At the outbreak of the war, I was already married to an English husband, Anthony Eric Heath (Tony), and that is why I have British nationality. Tony was working at the British Embassy in Paris, which was where we met. Officially he was Press Attache, but that was a fa莽ade, as he was really in the Secret Service. Because of this I think he had a lot of information and was trying to protect me and my family. So in 1939 I was expecting our first child and he sent me out of Paris to stay at a house my parents owned in Bordeaux. He thought this would be much safer. My family thought that the South of France would always be safe.

When Philip was born on 24th September 1939, just as war was being declared, I really missed Tony. My mother had her head in the clouds and was absolutely no help and many of the doctors were already at the front line. I was taken to hospital for the confinement and the doctor was very old. Finally after a long labour I was given chloroform and woke to find a parcel in front of me. My baby had arrived and it was so well wrapped up I didn鈥檛 even know whether it was a girl or a boy!. I didn't know it, but Tony was on his way. There was a muddle over where I had been taken and he went to the wrong place. He went through some anxious moments looking for me.

The SS Madura

With war declared Paris started to get dangerous. The Germans were approaching and Tony had to leave. He decided that to protect me I should go to Britain with him. So Tony managed to find us a place on a boat coming from India bound for Falmouth in Cornwall. The SS Madura. The journey to the port was terrible, the roads were messy. It took us four days and we had to sleep in the car. When we arrived there were people everywhere trying to get on board. Even in situations like that there is a comic part. There were two very big fat Russian women waiting near us to board the ship with their husbands. They were in tears, but suddenly decided they absolutely must have their hair done. They disappeared and found a hairdresser. When the husbands returned they said, "Where are our wives?" We replied, "Oh they are out at the hairdressers." We couldn't imagine something as funny as that. They managed to find their wives and bring them to the ship. Their hair was still wet and they were still in tears.

The SS Madura was built to carry about 500 people, we were about 2000. I was sent with my baby (about six months old) to the lower deck. It was so awful - smelly, hot and crowded - that I decided to get out onto the top deck. But what a problem! I had to carry Philip above my head to make sure he could breath. Tony was in the ship, but we had been separated. He was, in fact, working and afterwards I found out he has arrested a foreign spy. But he had arranged for me to be accompanied by a Czech man, who helped me get food and water. Nevertheless, it was a terrible passage.

Falmouth

When we arrived in Falmouth, what a contrast! People were waiting to welcome us. There were a lot of very smart girls all dressed in white and extremely correct. It was another world. It was not a hospital. I think it was a theatre converted to accommodate the refugees. I was very impressed with the beauty and smartness of the girls. We did the formalities and they took Philip away. When they brought him back he was very clean and lovely. I was so pleased because he had suffered in the boat. We were all exhausted.

Tony was now expected to work with Polish resistance fighters here in Britain. He had been doing this in France already. I was sent to stay with relatives of Tony's in Watford, which was very nice, then I joined Tony at The Dower House in Stanmore, which was to be the centre of their activities.

The Dower House

I quickly learned a few words of Polish because I had to organise the food and comfort of about 20 men staying there. They were very discrete and I had to be too. The people in the town didn't know who was staying there and we managed to keep it a secret throughout the war. They were very courageous and daring. They would return to France behind the lines to disrupt the German activities. They knew if they were caught it was finished for them. It was difficult for me. We had a cook called Sylvia, but I had to buy food without raising suspicions in the town. I remember taking potatoes and carrying them in my handbag. It was very heavy. I decided that at Christmas I was a bit better organised and I would give them a party with the food they were used to having. It was very good.

In 1943 Tony was sent to North Africa, so I had to leave the Dower House. This was difficult because up to that point I had been protected. Now I was on my own with Philip. Tony sent money, but it didn't arrive. I had to take on translation work just to feed us, but what was worse was that as a French woman, I was considered an 'alien'. I found it difficult to get accommodation. I stayed with a friend, but it didn't work out. Philip was accused of having hooping cough and I was accused of not treating him well. We were turned out into a kind of garage in case her child caught it and it was so cold we had to break ice to get clean water. I had no contact with other people during that time. Finally, with the help of another friend, I found a house called Golden Acres, near Potters Bar in Hertfordshire.

Golden Acres

Golden Acres was very nice. I stayed there from 1943 to 1944. One incident stays in my mind. I was planning to go to Potters Bar to buy a bicycle for Philip. However, I didn't go because I had a cold. That day, Potters Bar was bombed by a V2. If I had gone I am sure I would have been killed. I was very glad I didn't go!.

Back to Paris

As soon as Paris was liberated I wanted to return to be with my family. I had had very little contact with them during the war and it was worrying for both sides. Also, it was very difficult to get the right papers to allow me to travel. I had to make many visits to London to organise it all. On the final visit and after receiving all the permissions I decided to go shopping. Coming back in the train I was very tired. When I got home I realised that I had left my bag with all the precious documents. I went to the lost property at the railway station every day for a week. Every day the railway man said, "Come tomorrow." After a week, he looked at me and said, "Mrs Heath, I think I have your baggage."

So finally I arrived in Paris where my parents were living again. It was the summer of 1944. They did all they could to make it nice. One day someone arrived at the door with a hare, the next day something else. You didn't ask questions, you accepted you were living on the black market. It was the only way we could have enough to live on. I spent the rest of the war in Paris with my parents. I finally joined Tony in Rome towards the end of 1945.

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