大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Christine Butterfield of CSV Media on behalf of Olive Cole and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was 8 years old when I was evacuated from Dagenham to a village near Bridgewater in Somerset. I stayed in 2 or 3 places, but in the end I lived with the family of the village carpenter and local undertaker. For my Saturday job I used to get in the coffins and polish them. I didn鈥檛 really realise what we were doing at the time. I was very happy there and I still keep in contact with the family I stayed with.

I went to the village school. Evacuee children went on some days and the village children on others. I鈥檝e been back a few times to see the school. My mother and my sister came to visit. My father visited when he was on leave from the Navy. I remember walking down the road from school to the train station on 1st September, the day we were evacuated. I saw my mother at the side of the road holding my sister. I saw her faint. I went to rush back but the teacher would not let me which was so upsetting. My father had been sent away in August with the Navy and then with me going in September, my mother was just left with my sister.

I came home to Dagenham in 1941. I don鈥檛 remember much about the Blitz but I do remember the Doodglebugs flying over. I went by train to school in Forest Gate. You would turn up and various people would be missing as they had been killed.

We all missed a lot of schooling. At 8 years old when I was evacuated I was told I was too young to take the scholarship exams, when I returned, I was too old.

My father was away for a long time. We always listened to the 9 o鈥檆lock news on the 大象传媒. My father said that he would always listen to it when he could, so that would be a link between us when he was away. We were always horrified when we heard that a ship had gone down.

I remember my uncle being killed just after D Day. My gran lived in the same road as us and she received the telegram. A neighbour ran bare foot down the road to tell us.

So many things happened in the war. I still don鈥檛 like saying goodbye to people.

I was evacuated with a girl called Joyce Graves (now Carpenter). We got in touch with each other thorough our evacuee magazine. I haven鈥檛 her since 1941 and I鈥檓 meeting up with her on Monday week!

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