大象传媒

At the beginning of the year I could see that 1939 held great promise for fun and adventure. There were plans afoot for Mary and me to travel down to Gran's on our own for the Easter holidays, while Mother and Father travelled along Hadrian's Wall - looking for likely new homes and finding out about good schools in the vicinity.

We'd already been to Corbridge and seen the excavation of the Roman remains while we were there, now they were going to Haltwhistle and Hexham further on. I would be 11 in May, and would go up into the Girl Guides and later on that summer I would sit my eleven plus, to see in which school I would finish my education. Then in August, Kath was marrying Jack Adams in Portsmouth and we were going to be bridesmaids!

The Easter before war

Gas-masks came first. We went to the Parish Hall to be fitted - there were small, medium and large. The smell of the rubber when they went on was horrible, and I screamed and cried and refused to have it near me until they gave up and decided I was medium size. At home it was explained to me that I had to learn to wear it, and was allowed to put it on little by little until I was successful and could tolerate it for some time. But I hated it and happily I never had to wear it in a gas attack

The journey to Gran's went ahead in the Easter holidays. Father booked seats for us on the 'Silver Jubilee', a beautiful, silver, steamlined train built to celebrate King George V's silver jubilee. On the day, we went down to Newcastle's main station and went aboard with four shillings (20p) for our two lunches. We had comics to read, and paper and pencils to amuse ourselves. Father gave the steward half a crown (25p) to keep an eye us, and see we got off with all our luggage at Kings Cross.

We stopped at York (unfortunately I never have been to see the city), and soon afterwards the steward came to tell us that lunch was being served and took us down to the dining car. As we entered he said, 'This way your ladyship', and people turned to stare, much to my embarrassment. I don't remember much about the lunch except that the Tutti-Fruitti ice cream was excellent!

Auntie Gwen, Mothers sister-in-law, met us at London and took us to Waterloo by taxi to catch the Portsmouth train. We had clean white socks and gloves to change into before we got off at the other end. Mary and I had an earnest discussion as to whether we alighted at Fratton or Portsmouth and Southsea, but on looking out later we saw Gran waiting for us on Fratton platform, so we'd done it, and it was so lovely to be back in Farlington with them both All our old storybooks were in our bedroom and best of all my bike was in the shed. !

Start of the holidays

I soon met up with all my old friends. John Ackerman was there; when I was six we walked to Solent Road School together, so he was an old friend. I liked being with him as he was always polite, and not rough and rude like so many of the boys.

To pass the days, we all walked up to the top of Portsdown Hill and sat on the grass, admiring the view of the Harbour and watching the naval ships at Spithead. The hedges were full of birds and flowers, cowslips carpeted the fields. One day we organised a paper chase and found the hare in the old Redout (scattering small pieces of paper would not be encouraged now), another time we went down to Langstone Marshes when the tide was in, too cold for bathing yet but we could play 'ducks and drakes' across the water.

A visit to the little corner shop run by Miss Potts, known to Father as Miss Spots, was a must, as we bought our best toy farm-yard there. All the people who inhabited our farm came from there as well as a high-class pump for the yard. The sweets were all right too, and if funds were low she would weigh out two ounces of dolly mixtures for a penny and do them up in a paper poke. Such a happy holiday we had, but all too soon it was return to the north in time for school.

Home to the north

Back home it was the Cup final, and Pompey was playing. Mother took us girls to the pictures to leave Father in peace. Was that when we saw Snow-White and had Smarties for the first time? Arriving home there was only a note on the mantlepiece saying, 'Pompey Won!', and we girls saw no more of Father until the next day!

I was 11 in May, and could join the Girl Guides, and become the youngest in the Kingfisher Patrol, with a new blue overall, brown leather belt and what I thought of as a stylish hat. I'd been the sixer of the Pixes in Brownies, but this was better by far. I learnt signalling and knots and we went away for day camps at the weekend, so I learnt to build and light a fire properly!

In due course I took my eleven plus at school, just an Arithmetic and a General Knowledge paper, which I lapped up as my sister and I were both avid readers of any and all books, and it was like a game we played at Christmas. We didn't have many books at home, though our library was growing thanks to the bookshop in the Market, and Mary had just received the Pooh books for her birthday.

But mother took us to the Newcastle Central Library, where we were encouraged to browse, Mother was a great reader but Father limited himself to his Maths text books, doing integral calculus to amuse himself in his spare moments. Is it any wonder that he expected us to be wizz kids at arithmetic? But as we were always moving house we were either in front with some things or all behind in the new school. !

European reality comes closer to home

There were quite a few Jewish people at our school. I sat next to a Jewish girl called Minna Best. The Bible she used in Scripture contained only an Old Testament, and it was printed in Hebrew on one side, with an English translation on the other. When we learnt about the New Testament she read an ordinary book, and didn't listen to us. This was something new to me and I talked to Mother about it, who helped me to understand.

Then a family moved into the house next door, three boys and their parents, but they had no furniture and put newspaper up at the window. Also they seemed to have no other clothes but the ones they had arrived in - very beautiful clothes, better than the ones we wore, but only one set. They were Polish Jews, who had come from their homeland in a hurry. The two young boys went to our school, and learnt a little English, just enough to take their mother shopping.

One day a German Jewish girl came into my class, called Hannalore Meyer. She spoke no English and I befriended her, as I knew what it was like not to be able to understand the Geordy tongue, and I had every sympathy with her. Gradually we found out that her parents were in a concentration camp, her brother in Rotterdam and her sister in Liverpool. Poor child. More and more of these children arrived through the term!

Triumphs and disasters

At Whitsun we stayed as usual at Mill Farm, Redmire in Wensleydale, Yorkshire. It was a poultry farm down by the river, and we could play there all day - climbing out across the waterfall, which had clumps of wild aquelegias growing in the cracks of the rocks. Mrs Storey had agreed last year to having us three there in case of war breaking out, but now the Government had arranged proper evacuation for the children, this would not be necessary.

The letter to say I had passed the eleven plus arrived when we reached home, and great were the rejoicings, as the family made a point of winning scholarships and I felt I had my foot on the road. My Headmistress told Mother that I was top in the General Knowledge paper. There was a form to fill in to say what illnesses I had had.

A few days later, a letter came from the Education Authority to say that as I had epilepsy the scholarship would have to be withdrawn - though I could go to a school for less able pupils who were good with their hands. I was furious! It seemed so unfair. Very little seemed to be known then about epilepsy, even the consultants seemed to be feeling their way, the doctors had no treatment to offer and the general public had for centuries believed that it was a hereditary mental illness, suffered by people with a very low intelligence. None of this was true, but people clung to the old beliefs.

I soon learned not to mention it and only put it on forms if directly asked. It took me many years before I could forget the hurt of that moment. But I was lucky, my parents could send me to a private school - they chose Newcastle Central High School for Girls, and I was to start in September. Meanwhile, a list of uniform and textbooks I would need came in the post, and we went down to town to start buying them. Very exciting to have so many new things all at once.!

Preparations for war

Things began to happen in the city. Public Air Raid Shelters were being dug in the parks, and built in the middle of town, and great Barrage Balloons were suddenly hanging menacingly at the end of our street, like great black clouds. We were told to strengthen one downstairs room in our home, and have a supply of food and water to hand. All the windows were criss-crossed with sticky paper, to stop flying glass. !

We brought all our toys downstairs, and packed them in a big tea-chest, with the dolls on top. I knew it was silly, but I couldn't help thinking that my best china doll would be suffocated -,swathed as she was with all the doll's clothes we had wrapped around her. But she did survive, as I have her to this day.

For some time we had been seeing news-reels at the cinema of the bombing of towns in the Spanish Civil War, so we had a fair idea of what would happen if there was war with Germany. It was arranged by the government that all school children could be evacuated with their schools, also younger children with their mothers. My mother would go with my sister's school as a helper, but I would go with my own school.

All leave for the Armed Forces was cancelled, so Aunt Kath and Jack were married quietly one weekend, and spent their honeymoon wandering round Woolworths buying things for their new flat. So we weren't bridesmaids after all - so disappointing! We had always gone back to Portsmouth for the summer holiday and stayed at Grannie's and Grampa's house. Despite the grave situation, it was decided we'd carry on as usual so off we went cat and all. !

Summer holidays

Portsmouth was a large port, as was Newcastle, so both were bound to be badly bombed. All my friends were there as usual, and my bike! I met up with John, he would be 14 in a few weeks, wearing long trousers for the first time and quite grown up. He was starting working life with a Mr Bennett - a builder in Farlington. Peter my cousin was also there for the holiday and came everywhere with us. We had a good time.

There was also a family expedition to Hayling Island for the day, on 'Johnnie Hayling', the little train from Havant station. Father wore full uniform, raincoat and trilby hat. On one never-to-be-forgotten day he went sunbathing on the sands in his bathing suit, and spent the night moaning and groaning from pain - he was so sunburnt. After that he took safety precautions against the sun. None of us ever forgot it.

The beach was lovely - it went on for miles, and was very safe for children, we bought bags of shrimps, newly cooked on the beach, built huge sandcastles, and swam to our hearts' content. Gran was a wonderful sandwich maker and we always said egg-sandwiches ate there were the best their were, it was the salty sand blowing into them. !

Memories from before the war

Once when I was about three we planned a visit there, Peter and I were got ready first and began to wonder about the sandwiches. The best way to find out was to unpack them, which we did, and were discovered by Granny. Suddenly it didn't seem such a good idea, and Gran stood there looking at us! She listened to our explanation and then calmly told us we would have to rewrap them and put them back in the basket, and if we missed the train it would be our fault and we wouldn't go. We did get there, but the horror of the moment is still with me!

Another trip was to Southsea - the beach was just pebbles and shells, and shelved suddenly to deep water, so we only paddled, but there were ice-cream kiosks and other stalls, and we all went on to the Pier to play the penny machines and walk to the end and see the boats coming in and watch the fishermen. !

There were always navy ships coming and going from Portsmouth Harbour, and if we were lucky we saw one of the big Southhampton liners sailing for New York way out in the Solent channel, perhaps even the 'Queen Mary' which sailed very slowly past - if she went at her usual speed, she was so large that her wash caused a tidal wave which ran right up the beach and washed everyones' things away. We admired her very much, because she was the largest passenger ship afloat.

Our great treat, though, was to sail over to the Island, as we always called the Isle of Wight, on one of the paddle steamers. The latest one, the 'Gracie Fields', had proper engines, and I loved to go below and watch the engines turning, and a man coming out with a large oil can putting drops of oil here or there. If she was a paddle steamer one could stand beside the padddle and watch the revolutions and the sea dripping down.

Many of these steamers were sunk in the war, being among the armada of small ships evacuating the British Army from Dunkirk. Those that survived had a brass plaque to commemorate the fact. We only sailed as far as Ryde, which took about 45 minutes but we went up and down all the companion ways and explored every deck. Mother, poor soul, always felt very seasick and sat on one of the decks well wrapped up. On longer trips she retired to a cabin immediately, and stayed there until we had tied up at our destination.

Ryde beach was very sandy and a safe place to swim or paddle and I had a new spade, a lovely metal one and a bucket from one of the kiosks. We could see Portsmouth and Southsea on the other shore and all the ships sailing to and fro, it was always busy. There was a long pier at Ryde, a mile long I think, and we caught the tram to reach the berth before catching the ship home, then a long bus jouney from the Hard back to Farlington. We must have been asleep on our feet by then! !

Evacuation

Towards the end of August, the news sounded very grave, so we travelled home while we still could. The schools started their new term early, Mary went back to Jesmond Council School and I started at my new school, very smart in my new uniform, to find my new form mistress and meet a lot of new friends. I didn't know one of them, it was a completely new start.

The next day we were told to come to school with our gasmasks and a change of clothing in a haversack ready to be evacuated. I don't remember saying 'Goodbye' to my family, but I can remember walking into school and going to my classroom. We were given a label to write our name on, and this was tied onto our coat. Then brown paper carrier bags were given out to each of us, containing tins of food with some chocolate on the top - rations to take to our new home.

We formed into column and walked down to West Jesmond station where a train came in, just for us. It went on and on and strangely it never stopped at a station. We ate the sandwiches we had brought with us, and the chocolate, and sat on watching the fields go by, feeling shy and more and more homesick as the day wore on. At long last we drew in at a station, and discovered that we were in Keswick in the Lake District, completely unknown territory, but we formed up in forms and walked down to a cinema where we went in and sat down.

It was strange, because all the lights were up, the curtains were pulled back and a group of people waited on the stage. Then they started to read out names, first us and then the hostess we were to stay with. We were in forms in alphabetical order so After Elizabeth Hodges came Elaine Hunter and we both went out to meet the lady we were to stay with. She turned out to be quite young, like my Aunt Kath, and she took us back to her house at 8, Glossop Street

It was dark by the time we reached there, so after some supper we were taken to our bedroom, where we slept in a double bed. After the lights were out, then the tears began and longing for home, I knew where Father was and Tinker our cat, but where were Mother and Mary? They all seemed so far away and when would we meet again?

In the morning things looked better, I put my head out of the window and, Bang! - at the end of our street loomed a great mountain which was Hellvelin. That was exciting, wait till I write home to them about that, they would be surprised!I knew the Yorkshire dales, but this was something different again.

There was no bathroom in the cottage, so we washed in a bowl in our bedroom and took turns taking a bath on Saturdays in front of the kitchen fire. Our hostess was called Mrs Bowers, but she told us to call her Auntie Peggy, which was friendly, and her husband was Uncle Robin. They were both so nice to us, and they had friends who popped in called Auntie Morag and Uncle George, who were very jolly.

We were very lucky indeed, for when we reached school, we heard hair-raising stories about hostesses who were quite different. The trouble was, many households depended on Bed and Breakfast visitors to bolster their incomes, and the few shillings the government paid for evacuees didn't cover what they expected to make, so they made things as uncomfortable for the children as they could.

We shared one of the Keswick schools, they had use of the school in the morning and we used it in the afternoon. During the morning the teachers took us for long walks down by the lake, or into the easier foothills of the fells. I was very chuffed when my calf muscles ceased to ache so much, and I could walk up hills with scarce a pause. We had our new text books for French, English, History and Geography etc. It would have been nice to go home and discuss them with Mother, and share the fun with someone.

War was declared on September the 3rd - a few days after we arrived, though no-one told us, but we heard about it from one another. I had sent a card to Father with my address, and as soon as possible, joy of joys, he turned up to see me the next weekend. He had been to see Mother and Mary who were now in Carlisle with Mary's school, so now I knew where they were as well, and could write to them. He topped up my pocket money, assured me that Newcastle had not been bombed yet, told me to be a good girl, and left.

Things felt a lot better now I knew where everyone was, and soon cheering letters came from everyone, including Gran, who sent long picture letters of Portsmouth, with words of encouragement. Mother was very unhappy in her billet, the hostess was unpleasant and they felt anything but welcome. They had to sit in a tiny little kitchen, and Mother, who was used to running her three story house in Newcastle with a maid to help her, didn't take kindly to it.

At one point she went back home, to be immediately sent back by Father. She brought back our cat with her, as Father was working such long hours at the docks and in the Ministry of Transport office, that he had no time to look after him. Her hostess said she would look after the cat, but she didn't want them so they moved into a billet with a retired headmistress, where once again Mother had to sit in the kitchen in the evening - but this time it was warm, and had a big table and they had a radio, which was so important in those days.

Moving on

Miss Sewell was very pleasant, and tried to make them feel at home. But as the weeks went by it became obvious that the war was not going to end by Christmas as everyone had thought, and Father put a suggestion to Mother that perhaps it would be wise to find a house to let in Carlisle where we could all be together, to close up our home in Newcastle, and Father would get lodgings in the countryside outside the city, where he would get over to us as often as he could. Mother was all for the plan, so Father came to Keswick to fetch me to her, Miss Sewell kindly made room for me for a week or two, and Mother and I started scanning the local paper for likely places and went to see several of them.

One took our fancy at once, it was a bungalow in a village outside the city, built in the corner of a big field. We went to see the owner at Whiteclosegate, who thought it would be better to let the bungalow to a family with two girls as we would be less likely to kick the place to pieces than a couple of boys!

Pleased as punch, we travelled out to Linstock on a coach from the bus-station to measure up for curtains and work out just what furniture we could fit in. We found a lady busily packing to move out, her husband had been called up, so she was moving back home with her mother until she joined one of the women's branches of the armed services.

The most important thing was to buy some black-out fabric to make big curtains to cover the bay windows and the other smaller windows. We couldn't put the lights on until we did. It was nearing Christmas, and the nights were drawing in early up in the north, so blackout curtains were the first priority. Mother sent a list of furniture and boxes to come over the following Saturday, not forgetting the electric sewing machine, and Father was coming too for the weekend.

I can't express the joy it was to be all together in our own home, with all our own things around us! The big refectory table and chairs had been left behind and the wardrobes and all Mothers' pretty drawing room furniture, but worst of all there was no room for Mother's piano. It was never closed because Mother was always playing it, while she dusted the room and when she had fetched our pudding and any other time she was passing. We had all gathered round her to sing our way through Hymns Ancient and Modern and the National Songbook from when we were tiny girls.

Nevertheless it was amazing what had been rescued. Mother bought a circular mahogany table in the auctions for 15 shillings, and it was worth its weight in gold when we had more and more visitors staying with us later on. Our toys were all with us and my best doll had travelled safely, also our books, which went into our one bookcase.

Mother worked away on the machine to make the curtains, and had them up in time and Father came up from Carlisle with a big roll of blackout paper and some lathes to make frames to fit in the windows. When it was dusk we all went outside to see the effect and close any chinks. I don't remember any Air Raid Warden coming round at night to check, so we had to rely on ourselves.

Sitting at the table for the first time to eat our lunch in our own home with our own plates and cutlery, must have been one of the happiest times in my life. As long as we were together, cat and all, things couldn't be too bad.

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