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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by a volunteer from CSV People’s War Project on behalf of Ms Monk and has been added to the site with her permission. Ms Monk fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

I was a child living in Gibraltar at the start of the war.

In May 1940 we had to go to French Morocco, crossing to Casablanca. It was a nightmare journey, about a thousand on the ship. We were returned to Gib, but without food or water. They wanted us to remain aboard ship, but the men threatened to riot, so they let us back to our houses.

But again we had to get out within 4 or 5 weeks, as they wanted the houses for the troops. Our furniture was packed in one room, the other rooms being left for the troops. We lost some of our furniture — the troops sold them. Uncle Charlie saved some as he saw them and stopped it in time.

We were the first to leave Gib, not knowing where we were going. A lot of ships, and three destroyers guarding us. There were also captured enemy ships with us — at times they tried to get away but the destroyers would chase and bring them back.

We were 17 days at sea. We did not know at the time that they did not know where to take us. We ran out of bread - it went green — and we ran out of water, it was contaminated in the tin. We only had fruit left on the last days.

We landed in Wales in July 1940 and were put on trains to London. As the London children were leaving in 1940 we were coming in. We were supposed to go on to Jamaica. Those who could afford it went to Madeira or Tangier.

Aunty Julia — Charlie’s wife — had her baby and left Gib after us on a Red Cross ship but reached London before us.

Our first sight of London was the barrage balloons. We went to the KPM Hotel Kensington (still there). The bombing raid started when we we arrived, and by 1944 it was the flying bombs in London.

Before the war ended Aunty Julia went back to Gib, as Charlie her husband claimed for her, but as Dad had died, we had no-one to claim for us. We were to leave London in 1944 for a camp in Northern Ireland — due to leave at 6am, but at 4am we had flying bombs, and lost all our belongings. We were taken to Northern Ireland camps from London in 1944 - some were there until 1947 as they had no-one to claim them.

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