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Shortly after my brother was killed, the local social people told us we were having evacuees sent up. We thought a couple would perhaps take my mother’s mind off things so we took two little girls in. One was aged 12 and the other was 10 ‘the Totty Sisters’. They were from Birkenhead and they stayed with us for a year. They were super kids.

Their father and uncle worked on the docks and they turned up one Sunday in an old van. They’d borrowed this van to come up and see the children and meet us of course, and we all got on very well. A month later they came up again and the van was packed with tinned fruit — pineapples, peaches, all sorts of fruit. It was all off the docks, and they went back in their van with half a pig, some dressed chickens, eggs, butter, bacon and more. We all did pretty well out of it! They left us after about a year as the bombing had finished and it was getting towards 1944.

My mother and I went up to see them later on in 1958 and they were both married and all grown-up.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Ron Gamble and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Gamble fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Ron's stories:

• 1) My Brother and I
• 3) To have loved and lost
• 4) Jack’s last letter
• 5) The hazards of bird watching
• 6) It was a strange time really…

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