- Contributed by听
- Radio Ulster
- People in story:听
- June Curry
- Location of story:听
- Northern Ireland
- Background to story:听
- Civilian
- Article ID:听
- A3679923
- Contributed on:听
- 17 February 2005
This story was given to Conor Garrett and transcribed by Elizabeth Lamont
STORY 4 鈥 JUNE CURRY
Remember when the sirens went off and my father put us under the stairs as usual but our house shook and he pulled us all out and took us over to the shelter and it was only half-made. There was a big hole in the wall. That鈥檚 what we sat in all night.
I remember being evacuated to Saintfield 鈥 my Mother hated it. They told us there was a house in Saintfield and there was just one person lived in it. It was the farmer himself. We were living in the Castlereagh Road in Belfast here and they said it was dangerous so I used to go down. We never really liked it. Ireland鈥檚 Corner, we went to in Saintfield Road 鈥 I can remember the name of it. Ireland鈥檚 Corner just before you came into Saintfield 鈥 a big farmhouse 鈥 I must have been 13 鈥 coming into 14 鈥 but none of us liked it. Three sisters and two brothers and myself. We were going down in the bus just. I remember the first time 鈥 it was just a bare room. You know what an old man鈥檚 like living on his own 鈥 a big farmhouse. And the fire was done 鈥 it wasn鈥檛 coal or anything 鈥 it was just big branches and things. It was terrible to go into but we had to stay for a wee while. I think we were only up about three months. Mother couldn鈥檛 stick it. I think we must have been left school for we didn鈥檛 go to school up there. But we helped the old farmer scrub his floors 鈥 I can remember that 鈥 and I hated that, I really did 鈥 it was terrible. But, like, we had nothing to do only play out in the fields. And we were used to the town 鈥 it was a bad existence for three months. We lived in the same rooms, you know, and we were always cold. There was no heat 鈥 it was just a big, open fire 鈥 we sat on the floor on the mattress. That鈥檚 all you had. It was grim, I鈥檓 telling you. I can realise now why my Mother, like, got up so quick 鈥 for she just got up one morning and she says 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care if Hitler鈥檚 sitting on my roof 鈥 we鈥檙e going home鈥 鈥 and home we went.
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