大象传媒

This story is submitted by a volunteer on behalf of Radio Bristol Action Desk at City College Bristol.

I was 10 years of age when the war started.
As a lad it was quite exciting after an airaid we used to go around to the bomb sites looking for shrapnel which we used to swap with each other and any other war momentos such as fins of the fire bombs. On one occasion I found a complete incendiary bomb which had burnt out all through one hole and otherwise it was intact. It was quite a find for me and carrying it home I met our head master which immediately confiscated it from me and that was the last I saw of it.

I went to Avonmouth Junior School and after a short period of time, Avonmouth began to receive heavy bombing because of the Docks area and it was decided that so many children who wanted would be evacuated to the country. Myself and two brothers, one aged 12 and the other 5, set off together from Bristol to Devon. My mother came to see us off and impressed upon my elder brother to make sure that he looked after my younger brother aged 5. It took most of the day as there was no motorways built. We arrived around about 8 o'clock in the evening and it was very strange to us because there was no street lights and being in a strange place we were quite apprehensive. My youngest brother cried most of time but we finished up in a classroom in the local school to find a family who would take us in. Eventually a little old lady came along with a parafin lantern and my eldest brother told her we had to stay together. Anyway that night we all slept together in the one bed at this old lady's cottage. Next day 2 local farmers arrived, one took my eldest brother and the other one took me. My youngest brother stayed with the old lady and her husband for the period of nearly two years and was well looked after. My eldest brother, who was well built, suited the farmer for various farm work. I went to a gentleman's farm, who already had one son my age. In this village there was very little to do to amuse ourselves so one of the pastimes was catching moles and skinning them and sending them off to Manchester where they paid us 4 pence a skin. I had three traps which I bought in Holsworthy at 8 pence each.The shop keeper impressed upon me to soak my traps in water in order to get the newness off the metal, which I did. I placed them in the duck pond in the orchard where I stayed and left them there to soak. After a couple of hours there was a lot of squawking. I ran out and found one of the ducks had put his beak into my trap and set it off and it was running around the orchard in quite a state. I chased after it and retrieved my trap and never said a word about it. This village contained a church and a chapel and one shop and one junior school. Eventually we were found a place in Holsworthy Senior school where we got picked up by a coach and taken there. There was other evacuees from London also staying in the village. Holiday times ie Christmas and Easter we came home back to mother and she was pleased to see us.

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