大象传媒

With the declaration of war in Sept 39 --the planned evacuation of children took place.The London schools were evacuated to the home counties.My sister Grace(almost 8) and myself(9)were evacuated with the staff of Randall place school, Greenwich (S.E.10)
and were accomodated with a family in Tonbridge Wells ,Kent.Families in the 1930s
experienced years of unemployment,with no government support or social security.
Separation from parents was for us a new experience and after 2 weeks we pressurised
the foster parents in Tunbridge Wells to write to mum and Dad and arrange for us to return home.London schools were commandeered by the Civil Defence to billet
personnel and store equipment(Heavy vehicles to rescue civilians and fight fires)--hence the problem of accomodating
returning evacuees !Many chilren did return
later and eventually half day schooling was
organised and became the norm through the spring and summer of 1940--until the blitz.
Evacuation No2
During the Battle of Britain and the London Blitz,we lived on the third floor of an L.C.C.Block of flats with views over the city and the docks.Throughout the nightly raids we observed the destruction by fire and bombs,watched the fires over the city and thought of dad in the fire service We attempted sleep on the floor watched over by mum .At length it was decided to evacuate the children again and on this
occasion our sister Jean who was 4 came with us to Teignmouth in Devon.We were billeted with the Phillips family .and remained with them until 1942.It was good to
settle down to regular schooling and restfull nights .Peace at last in a place
that was quiet and secure!Only Tom who was the youngest remained with mum in London.
The Phillips family had married daughters
namd Leaman and Smith and Grace and I were
billeted with them at different times.
In time Jean who was 6 in 1942 became quite
fluent in the devonshire accent and through
the years of seperation had forgotten mum.
All this was to change. This was a time when
Devonport and Plymouth was under attack
Teignmouth was the supply route and the railway a prime target as it ran through the town . In May 1942 during the early hours a stick of bombs aimed at the railway fell across the town.The Smith family home was destroyed, killing the parents a son on leave from the navy and another son. Grace
my sister,myself, and the two sisters,Beryl
and Greta were the only survivors. As a result of this we returned to London --A
city which at this time was quiet.1942 was for us a time of reunion and getting used to
a young brother we hardly knew.and parents
that were strangers EVACUATION NO 3 In June 1944 The SEAL FAMILY were blessed with another daughter named Shiela,making 5 children(2 sons and 3 daughters)(all grand fathers and grandmothers today)During the summerof 1944 Hitler launched his V weapons,capable of reaching London and southern England(doodle bugs)Since Shiela was a baby and schooling was further disrupted it was decided that children and families should be evacuated
to the north- out of range- this time to Bradford(Clayton Yorks).For a few weeks we settled into local schools-and learnt the language.I joined the local Boys Brigade and during the summer holidays camped with them in the Lake District.After a few months- the advancing armies on the continent caused the V1 s to subside and we returned to London On our return we entered a flat where every room had black plastic over the windows the result of a flying bombthat landed on the gas ometers causing severe buckling and taking out every pane of glass in the block of flats. We were thankfull that we were not living there at the time This was 1944, but for Londoners this was not the end. Ileft school and started work aged 14 despite the fact that rockets continued to fall on London,I started in engineering and finished ny working daysin 1990 as a chief instructor in the Government Training Centres .mine was an education that fitted me for the Civil Service eventually and which has stood me in good stead for the rest of my days-----As the scripture says---All thing work together for good to them that love God

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