大象传媒

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I can remember my sister and I waiting on Becontree station (we lived in Dagenham, Essex at that time) with our gas masks and a small case each, and when we reached Banbury being given a drink and a large round biscuit.

I can remember putting lumpy porridge in the new little bag our parents had bought us, and it was found by 鈥淎unty鈥� who sent us to bed after tea. The couple my sister and I stayed with in Adderbury (near Banbury) were very elderly and didn鈥檛 want evacuees, but as we were leftovers from the village hall and they had room they were obliged to take us. They had an unmarried son in the army and a married daughter with no children who lived locally.

We spent the first night, as we had no 鈥渢akers,鈥� with a lovely family who took us in temporarily. We were five children in one bed for that one night, and then we were put with two spinster sisters in 鈥淭he Gables.鈥� They wore little velvet bands around their necks and very long dresses. I think that we were only there for a short time. It was after that we were sent to Mr. and Mrs. Atkins, where I think that we stayed for about two years. Our mother and father came to see us regularly but we were never alone with them.

School for the evacuees was in the church hall, all age groups together, and we spent a lot of the time on nature walks.

For my 70th birthday my children took me back to Adderbury and as a surprise my sister and her husband also came for the weekend. We visited 鈥淭wyford Crescent鈥� and met a lady who tries to keep in touch with several ex-evacuees. We had a lovely weekend at Adderbury and saw some places that we remembered and some that we didn鈥檛. The village has grown, with lots of new property since we were there.

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