大象传媒

This is an account written by my Mother Sarah of her experiences whilst she was evacuated to Wales.

I was evacuated with my Mother Grace, Sisters Eileen, Josie, Phyllis and Brothers John and Danny in approximately April 1944.
We started our journey from Harrow Wealdstone station. We had to take our gas masks and were all given a packed lunch box. Then we boarded the train to Holy Head.
All evacuees were checked to make sure we had arrived. Then we continued our journey by train to Anglesey North Wales.

We were very fortunate as we were all kept together, living in a bungalow let to the government for evacuees by a Sir and Lady Clegg who lived in their mansion down the drive.

There was a general shop and a chemist nearby. Other than that we had to go on a ferry which took us to Bangor, the main shopping area.

This time brings to mind a very serious accident I had. We lived only minutes from a quarry. With my eldest Sister and Brother being daring we decide to climb what seemed to us a mountain in the quarry.

My Sister and Brother reached the top safely, then my turn. I got right to the top, but as I gripped a rock to pull myself up it came away, I fell all the way to the bottom, a distance of eighty feet. The most amazing thing, I walked home with the support of my Brother and Sister.

My mother was in a right state of panic when she saw me covered in blood. She sent my Sister and Brother down the drive to the mansion to ask if Lord and Lady Clegg would take me to the nearest doctor which they kindly did.

My head wound was two inches wide and deep and required stitches. I was then taken home to bed. The doctor visited twice in a week and on the second visit he noticed I was losing strength in my right arm.

I was taken immediately by ambulance to Bangor Infirmary for X-rays of my head and further testing. A hair in the wound had caused an infection. I was given Penicillin injections in both legs and was on a drip for a week.

I then had to have surgery to remove infected tissue. After two weeks I was gradually and slowly getting the use of my arm back. In total I spent a year in hospital including convalescence. Being in bed for so long I could not stand or walk unaided.

We returned home from evacuation around May 1945 a month or so before war in Europe was at an end. What a wonderful relief.

Also I remember Italian prisoners of war whose camp was close to a beach where we lived.
The prisoners were allowed under guard on the beach where we could hear them play wonderful music on a piano accordion.

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