大象传媒

Joan Krimpen is now 72 years of age but if we go back to the time when she was evacuated in 1940, she was 8 years old and this is her story.
Her father worked in the Merchant Navy and his job was to make the food to take to England. On his second journey out he was blown up by a Torpedo. Only ten months later her mother died at the age of 29. Joan and her sisters were left with their grandfather who wanted them not to be separated when they were evacuated.
Joan was evacuated with her two sisters, Elizabeth and Patricia. Elizabeth was 4 and Patricia was 9 when they were evacuated to Layburn, Yorkshire. Everyone carried a gas mask and clothes in a pillowcase when they were evacuated to the country. When Joan got off the train she was taken into a big hall with lots of other children. The local people who lived round the area came to pick some children mostly the old boys were picked by farmers. Some girls were picked by the woman to tidy round the house until finally Joan and her sisters were left until last. They thought that nobody liked them but in actual fact it was because nobody wanted three girls. There was one posh woman who wanted two girls but refused to take three however eventually they persuaded the woman to take all three of them. When they got out there they were put in a very posh and big car which was a Rolls Royce.
When they arrived at the gigantic mansion called Leyburn Hall they were taken by a nanny who looked after them for the duration. The gardens were massive and Joan and her sisters looked after a horse each, however they were not aloud to mount them without someone to accompany them. One day they decided to mount them themselves and fell off. When their guardian found out they were banned from riding the horses for a month.
After a while one of Joan鈥檚 sisters, who was called Elizabeth, caught tuberculoses and had to go to hospital. When she recovered they were moved to an evacuee hostel where they met ten boys and after a while they became good friends and became tomboys. They would climb trees and play dares.
When the war ended they went back home and never saw the boys again, however Joan visited the two places where she was evacuated to recently and it brought back many memories.

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