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This story was submitted to the people’s war site by a volunteer from Fivemiletown Primary School on behalf of Mr T.T. Mills and has been added to the site with his permission.

During WW2, a young boy called Stephen Senator was sent from London to Clogher, Co Tyrone as an evacuee. He was too young to be officially evacuated without his mother. However, his parents wanted to assist in the war effort yet wanted their little boy to be safe.

Stephen’s father was Italian and his mother was a sister of Mr Fred Webb originally from Leeds. Fred was married to a nurse, Ivy Mills from Ballymagowan, Clogher, Co Tyrone. The little boy was sent to live with Ivy’s parents; Boydie and Margaret Mills. He loved life in the Clogher valley, and all the people of the village grew to know and love Stephen with his little English accent. He was particularly enthralled with the Clogher valley railway and became friends with one driver in particular Hugh Murphy from Aughnacloy.

Every evening without fail Stephen waited for the six o’clock train from Clogher to Fivemiletown. He would hop into the driver’s carriage with Hugh and ‘steer’ the tram along the track at Fivemiletown. He became very proficient at driving the engine onto the turntable and as Hugh did the manual work, Stephen helped turn the tram round for its return journey to Clogher.

While she cared for young Stephen, Margaret Mills endeavoured to remind him of his parents but as time progressed she was fearful that the young boy was forgetting his mother. As pictures of his parents provoked no response, Margaret relayed this anxiety to Stephen’s mother and Mrs Senator felt it was best if Stephen returned home to London.

So, his bags were packed, as he thought for a holiday, but his time in the Clogher Valley was over and return to England he must. Many tears were shed at his departure none more so than by Hugh the train driver. The little English evacuee had made a lasting impression of the people of the village and they missed him enormously.

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