大象传媒

In 1940 I was an evacuee at the approximate age of 5. We were a family of 10., 4 boys and 6 girls. 7 of us were sent to Clowne. This was a mining village. I stayed with a mining family for 2 years, then another for 4 years, namely Mr & Mrs Torr who were like a mum & dad to me. They wanted to adopt me but my father said no.3 of my sisters did get adopted, so I feel the war broke our family up. My father was like a stanger to me as I only saw him once during the war. The first family I stayed has not happy memories for me but when I went to the Torrs these were the happiest 4 years of my life. I was treated like a son , they were such a loving couple; I wish I could have stayed with them.
A German plane crashed in the village, and although there was a little resentment of the enemy the villagers refrained from any confrontation with the crew. I remember the freedom we had . Although we were aware of the war ,we had such happy times.
I remember steel railings being taken from peoples gardens & parks etc. for the war effort.Also foil was dropped from aircraft; I guess it was for distration purposes, but I'm not sure .
Every Friday Tommy Torr would take me on his bicycle cross-bar to pick up his weekly wage. What a ride that was . It was so exciting to a 5 yr. old boy then.The house was spotless and Mrs Torr baked her own bread; I can still smell it coming from the oven.I remember listening to the sound of the miners boots clip - clopping along the paths on dark mornings as they made their way to work. There were no lights on because of the blackout.
It was a time of great happiness . My heart will forever be in Clowne, the main reason being Uncle Tom & Auntie Ciss, as I knew them.
P.S. What a lovely V.E. and V.J. day we had with Bonfires & baked potatoes.

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