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In September of 1939 I arrived at Henley-on-Thames train station, having been part of one of the first groups of evacuated from children right at the start of the war.

I remember stepping off of the train when we arrived in this new place feeling a little nervous, and at that young age not really knowing what was going on or why. As we got off we were each handed a bag of groceries to take with us and then made to stand in a long line in the street. I could hear the church bells ringing on and on in the background, and then the women of the town who were willing to take evacuees would walk along the line choosing who to take. You could see them narrowing down their options as they went, and then they’d go over the children they liked the look of again, but this time checking to see what was in the bags they had! Obviously with the rationing supplies were tight, so I think the women wanted to see what extras they could get with each child before making their decision! Two of my brothers were billeted in a sweet shop and my sister went to a more upper class part of the town. I originally went to a funeral parlour before the owner died and I was moved on again, so you can see who got the worst deal out of us!

From then on we had schooling half a day and I’d deliver groceries for a local shop for more money, as the pocket money I got was two and a half pence a week. I was used to being separated as my family was before the war, but I do remember that the whole experience was very odd and quite frightening in a way. It took a while for it all to sink in, exactly why this big change in our lives was having to happen.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by James Barton and has been added to the website on behalf of Charles Hubble with his/her permission and they fully understand the site’s terms and conditions.

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