大象传媒

The storyteller found herself evacuated at the age of twelve to Berwick-upon-Tweed from Newcastle in September 1939. The train journey wasn't difficult and she arrived at Berwick complete with identification label, gas mask and a carrier bag she had been given containing spam, tea, sugar and margarine to share with her host family.

On their arrival at Berwick-upon-Tweed the evacuees were taken to a Community Hall in Tweedmouth where they were to be chosen by local families. The storyteller found herself in the care of a local primary school headteacher, Mr Waite. She found it strange when she got to his house, which was a big Victorian residence in a terrace, as she was given a ham salad for her first meal. She had been used to roast beef at home! The experience of living in Berwick was exciting as it felt like living in the country.

The storyteller slept in the attic of the house. There was a tailor's dummy there which proved frightening to her at night when her imagination was active. The family were kind to her. She remembered soldiers guarding the bridge over the River Tweed and the Barracks where the soldiers were billeted. The soldiers often gave her apples on the way to school.

The storyteller stayed in Berwick for a few months when her mother came to collect her to return to Newcastle. Her father had stayed in the city while she was away with her elder sister whom he found difficult to look after. The city was bombed a great deal, including her school, which was hit with incendiary bombs and the caretaker was killed. Many houses were damaged in her street although she stayed in the city for the rest of the war. The Anderson shelter in the garden flooded so the family sheltered under the stairs or in a Morrison shelter in the house.

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