大象传媒

I was 7 years of age when the second world war started, on the very day 3rd September 1939 it was a Sunday and as usual in the afternoon I went to Sunday School. On my way I had to walk through Lightoaks Park in Salford, the sky was thick with Barrage Balloons. A little while later the whole school I attended - St. Johns was evacuated. We had to stand in two lines opposite one another and the person in front of you was the one you went with (in two's). I was with a girl called Dorothy, I didn't know her very well. We travelled by train to Haslingden there we were moved into some kind of school hall or church hall. We all wore labels on our coats and had gas masks and a bag with a few cloths and some sandwiches. We waited about to be chosen, someone came over and picked Dorothy but left me, they must have only wanted 1 child. I didn't quite know what to do next as no one had told me of this eventuallity, time went by and the hall was emptying then I saw a girl called Barbara who lived near me so I went over to her and said "have you been left too?" "yes" she said so we then stood together and eventually someone came and took us - a Man and Woman. They were very nice people and lived on a main road. There was a small garden at the front of the house and a few days later Barbara and myself were playing out, I looked accross the road saw my Mother walking along the pavement, I shouted "Mum" at the top of my voice, she was out looking for me she didn't know where I was billeted - no one had told her. We only stayed there about 6 months my Mum was evacuated with my baby Sister to Baxenden, we were not allowed to be together! We were home in time for THE BLITZ in 1940. Ruth Jepson (maiden name Taylor).

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