大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by Graham Black on behalf of John Russell. It has been added to the site with his permission. John fully understands the site's terms and conditions".

The year was 1944 when the V1 doodlebugs and V 2 rockets were targeted on Southern England, and living in Epsom, Surrey it was considered advisable that children would be better off away from the area.

We boarded a train at Epsom station and set off not knowing where we were headed, and after several hours found ourselves in Talgarth, South Wales.

We were taken to the local hall and sitting on our suitcases we waited to be selected for billeting, my sister was chosen by a very nice couple who had a daughter of about the same age and they lived in Talgarth.

I was pleased that I would not be staying with my sister for at the age of thirteen I thought that girls were ugh! A classmate and myself were among the last to be chosen (punishment for feeling nasty to my sister no doubt).

So together with our suitcases we were put on the back of a horse drawn farm cart and taken to a farm some miles from Talgarth. The farmer and and his wife looked old to us, but they were very good hardworking people.

They were not rich and there was no gas, electricity or telephone, the water came from a mountain spring, it certainly turned out to be a healthy lifestyle.

We were expected to help around the farm after school and were taught not to waste daylight hours, if you had nothing to do then saw up logs and stack them ready for the winter: there was no moaning about nothing to do (like nowadays) it was a good lesson in being observant and occupying your time.

This happy existence was not without its sad moments for my classmate learned that his brother of eighteen had been killed in action in Normandy and eventually his father came to collect him and take him home to Epsom. Those of us remaining returned home before V.E. day and were able to celebrate the coming of peace in our home town.

I can honestly say that my experiences were mostly happy ones and complete strangers made us feel at home. Then four short years later in 1949 I would be called up for National Service in the army and found myself in Singapore and Malaya right in the middle of the insurgency, but that is another story...

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