大象传媒

I was ten years old living in Aston, Birmingham. My Mother was dead, my little sister was living with my Grandparents, my Father had joined teh R.A.F. in June 1939.

On 1st September 1939 I was evacuated from Albert Road School, Aston to Sandhurst near Gloucester, not returning home until February 1945.

We walked in Crocodile fashion with our gas masks, labels and brown carriers, some with attache cases. I do not think I took any clothes, the bag was from Cadbury's. No parents came with us on reaching Aston Station we boarded a train for place unknown (Gloucester). This was my first ever train journey.

How we reached Sandhurst I do not remmember but I do remmember I was the last girl to be chosen. Photo0graphs show a plain child with an awful hairstyle.

First impressions of the village was that the houses were not joined up and there was fields inbetween. Was it blacked out by then? I know it was very dark and people spoke funny and I couldnt understand them.

The house 'Ajel Dene' was just like a child's drawing - four windows with a central door. In its own land. An orchard and large garden. The nearest cottage was a bit away. In fact I never knew who lived in them. There was a well, an outdoor privy, electricity downstairs only and a small built on room with a bath only but no taps.

I had come from a modern house (for Aston) in Grange Roa where we had an upstairs bathroom with flush toilet, hot water from a back toilet, gas and electricity. Using candles to go to bed, pumping water and going outside to the lavatory was strange and needless to say I wet the bed on the first night no then knowing about chambers, I was mortified. Never forgotten.

Mr and Mrs Juggins had two daughters - one my age. They were good to me and treated me like their own daughters. Well fed too. Unfortunately I hated the country. It was boring and we never did anything.

A bit of a lie as we saw the Severn bore several times, Queen Mary once in Gloucester (informally) and the best of all Conformation. On a school day so we had the afternoon off. Wore white dresses made from a generous freind's wedding dress. Also white veils. After the service which was in Gloucester Cathedral we went with the Vicar for tea at the Karsoma Cafe. What a treat. I have been an Anglican ever since.

In the Autumn of that year, (1943) we newly confirmed, went out on our cycles for a day in Tewkesbury. It was a wonderful day well remembered. Picnicking under a haystack, boat ride, Abbey visit. Tired teenagers (had that word become common then?) encouraged home with juicy plumbs from the Vicar's garden.

Back to the first year. I went to the village school wthich had an Infants room with teachers and a Junior room with Headmistress. I do not think I learnt anything in that year except how to knit balaclavas for Sailors. At least I became a good knitter. We were more advanced at Albert Road School. Anyway it must be difficult to teach ages seven to eleven in one room. The school was heated with round black stoves which burnt wood. We children went on "Nature Rambles" but primarily to collect wood. I think from nearby hedgerows. They were hungry stoves.

At eleven, June and I moved to Longlevens Elementary School in Gloucester - a very good school. We were bussed there from the surrounding villages. Mr Wager was the Headmaster. We left to my deep regret at fourteen. I considered myself a very deprived child because I lived in a family who did not read. No books, papers or comics. My Father was an avid reader and so was I and we had gone regularly to the public library. It was a great loss to me and I think the school realised and helped where they could but you couldnt take a book home.

After leaving school I went to work at Timothy Whites and Taylors in Gloucester - a chemist and hardware shop. Lots of things were in short supply and we would have queues for such things as matches, soap, plain white crockery and such like. I think in the streets that people told one another - so and so has such and such in. I do know that I queued often at Marks and Spencers when they had buscuits (not on ration) and after about an hour you bought half a pound and thought you were in heaven. Incidently M and S had taken out most of the counters so you could queue inside.

The war did not come very near to Gloucester and I certainly did not see G.I's. The worst to happend was the bombing of a factory in Churchdown where people were just coming out of work and many were killed and one strong bomb dropped in a field neart Twigworth (Nearest village to Sandhurst). We still had to carry those wretched gas masks, now in ties as the boxes had worn out.

The result of the boming in Churchdown was that the waiting buses lost all their windows and as they were also the school buses we had boarded up buses from then on and were kept 'boys at the back' 'girls at the front' to stop any hanky-panky I suppose.

How did we spend our time? We were kept busy as Mr Juggins worked full time on the Railways and put in many hours with the Home Guard. He also had a large vegetable garden, orchard and thirteen beehives. We helped inside and out. Inside there was a lot of glass to be cleaned also buttons on the HG jacket and tow on the hat (special to the Gloucester regiment), knives and cutlery to be cleaned each week, coats cut up to be rag rugs (oh the blistered fingers). From the wax - polish to be made. Pummping water to a storage tank in the bedroom, fifty strokes each every day so that you could have cold water out of a tap in the kitchen.

The bees caused endless work and to this day I do not eat honey and hate the smell. I do not remember ever getting stung.

We cut the lawns and weeded. Fed the hens collected wood for the fires, coal was rationed. Fruit picking and mushroom collecting.

There was so much to be done that I wonder if books would have had purpose in that house.

We were well brought up - no smoking or swearing and I dont think drinking as I never saw any. Grace at mealtimes, prayers before bed and church every Sunday. I cannot remember any rows or fights. Strict.

I caught Scarlet Fever and went to the Isolation Hospital and never went back to "Ajel Dene" again for reasons that were never explained. It was a strange ending as I did not ever return to see them all.

I still prefer living in Birmingham ans can read as much as I like, the country is not for me.

P.S. I hated the blackout too.

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