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This story was submitted to the People War’s site by Amanda Wu of CSV Media on behalf of Joan Miller and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

Evacuation from London's East End
I was 10 years old, and from Limehouse. My father had died the previous June so I was living with my mother and older sister. On Sept 1st 1939 we had to assemble at school, and we were then marshalled in crocodile lines to a coach. We didn’t know where we were going, and our parents weren’t allowed to come with us. All we had, was a label with our name and address, our school, a gas mask, and a rucksack with one change of clothes and we were allowed one toy — I took a teddybear. My sister told me I was going on holiday so I wasn’t scared.

We went to Paddington and got on a train. When we got off it was dusk. We came to a school, where in a hall there were lots of adults. First they called out our names, then we had to wait with biscuits until they called us again.

New luxuries
The second time I was called, I went with 3 girls and two adults to a house. We girls were introduced to the man at the house, Mr Thomas, and given some food. Mrs Thomas said that they were going to look after us for a little while. They didn’t want evacuees but they had to because they had two spare bedrooms.

I shared a bedroom with a girl I didn’t know, and the other 2 girls were sisters. It was an unfamiliar house, very luxurious. I was used to sharing a bed with my sister, and here I had a proper bathroom, wardrobe and bedside lamps.

The next day, the Thomas’ took us through the town, and at this time we were told we are at a place called Weston-Super-Mare. They were very kind to us.

Eventually, the 2 sisters went to another billet, and at Christmas, a lot of children went home. Rosie was going home to see her mum in London, and my mum let me go home to visit her too.

Rosie and I travelled back to Paddington on our own, I don’t remember much about Christmas at home, but afterwards I had to travel alone back to Weston-Super-Mare because Rosie didn’t return.

The Thomas’ moved after Christmas to the other side of town and they took me with them. When the German bombers started to bomb Cardiff, just across the water from us, they got Weston too.

I had a really good life with the Thomas’, and even joined the girl guides.

By 1941, the bombing was really bad in London and my mum moved to Weston-Super-Mare too. My mother could only get a furnished room, and worked in a restaurant so I couldn’t live with her. I went to stay with her for a little while, but then she had to return to London when my sister had a baby so again I needed a place to stay.

The girl guides helped me out again, and I went to stay with two sisters and the woman that looked after them agreed to take me on. Her name was Mrs Havill. She also was very kind and I stayed with her until Christmas 1942 when my mother told me that as I was going to be 14 in November I had to go back to London to go to work because she needed the money.

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