大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the People's War site by Linda and has been added to the website on behalf of Mrs. Senior with her permission and she fully understands the site's terms and conditions."

I was born in 1935 and from 1938 until 1940 I had been in Carshalton Hospital with rickets, then down to Cambridge to get better. In May 1940 my brother and I arrived at Waterloo to start our journey to Bridgewater in Somerset. We stood around with our labels on our coats and gas masks on our shoulders. My brother said the best part was when they came around with egg sandwiches since he knew that I hated eggs and no way would I eat them. They gave up in the end. We arrived in Bridgewater and were told we were going to Carrington to Mr. And Mrs, Findlay. We stayed a year with them and what I remember about the house is that they had a lovely walled garden. I had my tonsils out while I was there as well.

Next, we went to Nether Stowey to Mrs. Glass. She had kennels and a summerhouse that turned on a swivel; we stayed another year but had to move on. The village of Chedzoy was outside of Bridgewater and our last stop. Mr and Mrs Priddle lived in the lane towards Chedzoy they had a small farm. Their front room had two paraffin lamps on a large sideboard but we were more in the kitchen. Up on the landing were stuffed birds in glass domes I hated them.

Mrs Priddle鈥檚 brother lived there but he was in a wheelchair and he had an old wind up gramophone with a big horn and he used to sit in the garden and we used to play it for him. Mr Priddle worked for the G.W.R. and he went off on his bike every morning he would get tickets for us and we would go all over the place: Weston Super Mare, Cheddar Gorge and Minehead. We really enjoyed it. Mum, Dad and my sister would come down when they could and stayed, we used to take them everywhere.

We had a seesaw in the field and in the orchard goats. One day my brother said if I ran with the little goat I would be able to keep up, so I set off running with the kid then heard something behind me it was the mother goat coming to sort me out I soon let go of the rope. We used to help with the haymaking and I used to enjoy the picnics.

My brother found a job in the holidays working in a grocer shop. He worked three days getting everything ready then the next three he travelled in the van round the country delivering the goods.

We returned to London 1945. In 1947 we went back to Mr and Mrs Priddle and they were glad to see us, but we heard later they didn鈥檛 last much longer.

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