大象传媒

I lived in Warple Way, Wandsworth. My elder brother(aged 9) and I (aged 7)were evacuated 3 days before war was declared. Wandsworth Town railway station was at the top of our road but the platforms almost ran down the lenght of the road behind the houses opposite ours. Our school was assembled with what ever belongings we had plus our gas masks on the platform and entrained to go to we did not know where. As the train pulled out we could see our mother standing in the road waving and crying we were in a similar state.
After a journey of I do not know how long we ended up at Reading. There the school was split into two and my brother and I were then sent on to a place called Whitley Wood and placed with Mr & Mrs Goodliffe at 28 Ashmore Road, they also took in a neighbour of ours Terry Bryant. We did not attend school for some weeks for it seemed that the group of children who had been sent to whitley Wood had been misplaced and no one seemed to know what to do with us. Also our parents had not been told were we were other than that we were somewhere in the Reading area. In fact our mother and Terry's mother came to Reading and finding we were not where most of the school were came over to Whitley Wood looking for us. They found us by knocking on doors and asking if there were any evacuees in the area. After they found us they then went to tell the school where we were. Soon after that we started to school in a scout's hut near the main school in the area. I don't think that we evacuees were ever really accepted by the local school children, but my brother and Terry and I were accepted in the local gang because the leader lived next door to us. The Goodliffe's did their best to give us a stable home until my elder brother passed the 11 plus exam and won a place to Wandsworth County Grammar school. To take up his place he had to return to Wandsworth. so he and I plus Terry returned to Wandsworth during the Blitz. My brother was then evacuated to Woking whilst I went to the only school which was open in the area St Faith's C of E Girls School which had to take in boys, to make matters worse I was a R.C in a C of E school. This proved a little problem especially when they went into the church which was attached to the school. The Head mistress always told me to remain outside. later on I passed the 11 plus exam and was evacuated to Woking with my brother.
The Woking part is another story which I may add to this at a later date.

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