大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by a volunteer from CSV/大象传媒 London on behalf of Jean May and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs May fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions

A Poem

A WAR TIME EVACUEE

Arriving at the station with my gas mask in a box
The teacher asked quite firmly would I please pull up my socks.
Turning to my mother, I was feeling full of woe
鈥淧lease take me home with you鈥� I said 鈥淛ust do not want to go鈥�.

My pleas went unanswered and soon the train set off,
So settled down resignedly my sandwiches to scoff.
Little Don sat beside me, school cap rammed on his head,
He was so still and silent, we wondered was he dead?

The train rattled on to Worthing, 鈥淕et off now鈥� the guardsman said.
We marched along the road in two鈥檚 arriving at a shed.
Waiting for selection, all others long since gone,
We formed a semicircle 鈥� five girls and little Don.

It seems no one wants us, my feelings I must hide.
It didn鈥檛 work for Audrey; she just broke down and cried.
Then it was like a miracle, this jolly man appeared
鈥淔ollow me you kids,鈥� he yelled, as through the doors he steered.

Then in a car we travelled to this lovely grand abode.
Now this is very nice I thought, it beats the Old Kent Road.
A cook, a maid, a chauffeur, a gardener as well,
Had never known such luxury 鈥� it was like a big hotel.

They were all so kind to us; we had a lot of fun.
Little Don cheered up a bit, but he sadly missed his mum.
To school in the motor it was very grand,
The other kids were envious, their digs awfully bland.

Cook was my favourite; she was nice and fat,
And gave us lovely things to eat, could find no fault with that.
She gave little Don cuddles; he was such a pet,
And didn鈥檛 seem to mind when the bed he sometimes wet.

But the lady of the house didn鈥檛 like us I could tell,
She said we were noisy, untidy and we made her life hell.
Suddenly we had to leave this place we had come to know
And went off sadly, with little Don in tow.

Not a dry eye among us, staff and children too,
Except the lady of the house,
She didn鈥檛 say goodbye to us, perhaps she had the flu.

The next place we were sent could only manage three,
So it was decided they would send Audrey, Little Don and me.
It was so small, so cold, so damp and we were feeling lost,
Heard a knock upon the door, could it be Jack Frost?

The lady didn鈥檛 light the fire till five; this seemed to be the rule,
So it was always chilly when we came home from school.
Pulled the curtains in the morning and we got such a fright,
The cemetery across the road was not a pretty sight.

Things seem to go from bad to worse; it鈥檚 winter now you see,
Oft times the lady wasn鈥檛 in and we hadn鈥檛 got a key.
So we sat on a gravestone, that seemed the thing to do,
Lifted little Don up so he got a better view.
We tried hard to keep warm, poor tiny tot,
Wrapped a scarf around his legs but it didn鈥檛 help a lot.

My mother learned of these goings-on and she was very cross,
Turned up unexpectedly and we soon knew who was the boss.
鈥淭his will not do鈥� I heard her cry 鈥淚 m taking Jean away
No I won鈥檛 wait until tomorrow, I am taking her today鈥�
Just hated leaving little Don and his sister too,
But had no choice, just had to go, wished they were coming too.

It was just a little later, perhaps a month or two,
When we were doing shopping and the air raid siren blew.
We hurried to the underground; the Warden waved us on,
and standing on the platform was darling little Don.
He looked so contented, as if he had found the Promised Land,
it was really all he wanted just to hold his mother鈥檚 hand.

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