大象传媒

Friday, 1st. September,1939.

My mother didn't need to wake us up early. We were up and ready to go, dressed in our Sunday best. We had to report to Albion Street School, Rotherhithe by 9a.m. with a packed lunch, change of clothing and the inevitable gasmask.This is fun we thought, a weekend in the country. Little did we know that some of us would be away for years. We arrived at the school to find literally hundreds of people and children. We were labelled up with our name and school address then off we went in lines two abreast to the local railway station. Most of the mothers were in tears. They had no idea where their children were going only 'out of London'. My mother was there to see us off with last minute instructions to me to look after the younger ones. There were four of us- I was thirteen, Joan was eleven and my two brothers Harry and David were eight and six. David had only been home from hospital about three weeks after having his appendix removed and I was to watch after him particularly.
My dad who was a stevedore in Surrey Commercial Docks worked the Canadian boats and as war was imminent the Canadian Government wanted their boats in their home waters so the men were working all night to get the boats turned around. I looked back when I got to the station and just caught a glimpse of my dad pushing through the crowd. He had come straight from night work. Tears were running down his face. I realised then that this was to be no holiday but a serious evacuation.

The train took us to Polegate in Sussex and we were sent by bus to local addresses in that area. We four went to East Dean near Eastbourne. When we arrived we went into a large field and were told to sit down and eat our lunch. As we were eating the local people moved amongst us picking and choosing the children they wanted. The choice seemed to depend upon how you were dressed and how you ate your food.The billetting officer had first choice and he and his wife chose Joan and myself. I did protest quite politely that David and I should be together (Joan and Harry would look after each other) but was told off good and proper, 'ungrateful' being one word used. Anyway Joan and I went to Capt. and Mrs. X. He was a retired army captain and,we were to find out,very strict and, by our standards, very wealthy. They had a beautiful home and Joan and I were given our own sitting and dining rooms but we never really came into to contact with the captain and his wife, only with their two servants, Mr. and Mrs. Y who were refugees from Hitler's Germany. They were a lovely couple and spoilt us both. (We learned later that they were interned during the war.)Harry and David were not so lucky. They were billeted with ten other boys in the lodge of the local 'mansion'. Some of these boys were really rough and two of them inclined to bully so I did kick up rather a fuss and asked our Headteacher whether I could have David with me. Again she said I was ungrateful so I approached the boys' Headmaster ( a Mr. Mitchell, a lovely man)who agreed to look into the matter. When the captain learned of this he sent Mr. Y to bring me to his study. He really went for me-'going behind my back. I'll see you suffer for this. I will get my own back, you'll see' Bearing in mind that I was thirteen and not at all streetwise I was terrified,very upset and,of course, had no-one to turn to. Well, he did get his own back!! He sent for Joan and myself a few days later, told us to pack our belongings and get ready for a move into the country, 'two miles from anywhere'.

Harry and David did go with us and we eventually arrived at Cobb Court Farm, Selmeston in November 1939. It was a lovely Sussex village and we had a wonderful welcome from a Mr. and Mrs. S. who owned the farm. Their own children were grown up in their late teens except for Margaret who was eight. We immediately settled in and had a lovely time there. We would help with the animals, with the planting and also around the house. We always had something to keep us busy and enjoyed doing it. David by now was looking very well. There was plenty of milk on the farm and butter etc. so we had good food. I even became very good at cheesemaking!
Christmas time on the farm, to us, was like a film. We all wapped up warmly and took the two farm dogs,spaniels called Oscar and Mike, for a walk. We went looking for holly and mistletoe. Selmeston was surrounded by woods so we were spoiled for choice. We all helped to decorate the farmhouse which was open house at that time of year. Then came the cake making, mince pies and so forth.I can smell them now! Christmas dinner was at 5p.m. and there were twenty one people there, including my mum and dad. The noise must have been horrendous but how we enjoyed it. Later on there was skating on the pond and baked potatoes and beans for those that wanted it.
The water for the house came from a well and the pump was in the kitchen corner. If you were going to have a bath you had to do one hundred pumps. Even David, small as he was, wanted to do this so Mrs. S. said as he was small he could do just twenty!
However those good times came to an end as Dunkirk loomed up in May/June 1940. We evacuees were sent to South Wales- to St. Clears in Carmarthenshire. We had to be well away from the south coast. War was about to begin in earnest.

We arrived at St. Clears railway station and again there was the process of 'choosing' who would take whom.David and Harry went to a Mrs. P. while Joan and I were placed with a Miss W. who did not want any evacuees and made that fact very obvious.We never had a meal with her and the only person to show us any kindness was her gardener. I had very long hair at the time, way past my shoulders and Miss W. told her gardener to cut it which the poor man did. He ws no hairdresser!
Miss W. was to accuse me of stealing her hair curlers, her milk money and finally biscuits from the cupboard ( 'a mouse in my house-never!') The following week our form teacher sent for me. She said she had been watching me for some time and realised I was unhappy. I told her of all the unjust accusations and she asked if I would like a complete move away to another village called Glanamman to attend a commercial schol there. I jumped at the chance and two days before my fifteenth birthday I was re evacuated to a Mr. and Mrs. Zephaniah Jones. They did not know what to expect and had taken up the stair carpet and bedroom carpet, replacing them with home made rag rugs! Within a day or so of my arrival they had been put back to normal. We soon settled in with the local youngsters. Evacuees were made so welcome and I must say that I have only good memories of Glanamman
On the first Friday there I came home for lunch to find we had been joined at the table by one other. Who would have thought then that she would one day be my lovely sister-in-law, Norah.
But that, as they say, is another story.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.