大象传媒

The year was 1940, the month September and it was the third time the war office had asked my Mother if she wanted to join my Father in Southern Rhodesia, they also said it would be the last time they would ask. The war was hotting up and convoys would not be sailing with passengers for much longer.
I was born in January 1940 and my Father was already in the RAF. In April he was posted and on his way to a base in Southern Rhodesia. Every one thought the war would only last a short time, so my Mother refused the first two offers to join him. We lived in Trowbridge in Wiltshire; every thing seemed quiet, so when the Germans started to bomb Bristol, Mother became nervous when a stray bomb dropped near the town. So at the third and last time of asking she said yes.
She had little time to organise everything, the house was rented out, trunks packed and goodbyes said. We travelled first to my Grandparents in Leeds, then my Aunt came with us to Glasgow to see us off, and little did they think it would be five years before they would meet again.
Glasgow docks were packed with ships, the convoy was due to sail at midnight. But at six o鈥檆lock the ships silently started to creep out of the Clyde, only later did they find out, that Glasgow docks were flattened that night at twelve o鈥檆lock.
Conditions were not good on board, each cabin held four to six adults plus children, and I slept with my Mother in her bunk. Washing facilities were poor, especially washing nappies in cold water, no washing machines then, and little space to dry them. Each day life boat drill was held, but as babies were not allocated with any lifejackets, my Mother refused to attend, she said if the boat went down so would she
The convoy had to sail round the top of Scotland and Ireland and zigzag over the Atlantic for six weeks, dogging the submarines. Some of the ships never made it. On our ship an epidemic of whooping cough broke out, I was lucky and only had it mildly; others were not so fortunate, some children died. Water also became very scarce and had to be rationed. We had one stop and that was in Freetown on the Gold coast. Here we stayed for nearly a week and the heat was very oppressive, no one was allowed ashore and conditions became unbearable on board. During the whole voyage the portholes in the cabins had to stay shut and covered in case any light could be seen. Tempers often flared due to the conditions.
After many weeks we arrived in Durban in South Africa, after a long and stressful journey.
We then had to face another journey by train to Salisbury; this took a few days. By the time we arrived my Mother was quite ill, she had never slept properly on the ship, too frightened some thing would happen. She had also eaten very little and had never put me down or let any one else hold me the whole voyage. Mother never settled in Rhodesia, she did not like the heat or the insects and she was unwell most of the time. Meanwhile Dad and I thrived and loved it. I still think my Mother was very brave to set out with a ten-month old baby, knowing she may not have made it.
The RAF base was situated out of Salisbury in a small settlement called Belvedere. Our house was a nice airy bungalow. We had boys to help in the kitchen; house and garden, but mother never let them touch any food we ate. I used to creep down the garden when Mum wasn鈥檛 looking to watch the boys cooking their own meals of mealy meal in a pot over a fire.
The war years were good to my family; we had no bombs falling near us. But my Mother missed her family and constantly worried about them. My parents sat every night glued to the radio listening to news from home. We sent parcels to help, but many never arrived, the Germans had dispatched them to the bottom of the sea. I have memories of long hot sunny days, when Dad managed to get some leave, we went on holiday, one was to the Victoria Falls, we stayed at the famous Victoria Falls hotel. I remember the mist and the rainbow and the noise of thunder. We sailed down the Zambese river in a canoe and my Father shouted at me when I trailed my hand in the water, I wasn鈥檛 aware of the crocodiles and hippos.
The war came to an end in 1945; my Father left first and sailed home on a troopship. We stayed to pack up, and left with all the other wives and children. We were taken to the station in a convoy of lorries and boarded the train for the long journey to Capetown. It took seven days, each day the train stopped for a short while to allow everyone to stretch their legs, I hated this time, I had visions of the train leaving, and me still standing there in the scrub land.
We arrived in Capetown on V.J. day. Flags were flying and bands playing as we boarded the SS Mauritania. Again conditions were very crowded, each cabin packed with women and children. We set sail and again we had to zigzag across the ocean, there were still submarines about, they did not know the war was over. One was seen on the horizon one day and everyone was very nervous.
I was terribly seasick and never managed to make it to a meal, my Mother would leave me in the cabin, while she rushed to dining room, ate her meal and then brought me a bread roll. We stopped in North Africa to pick up some more troops to bring home. The last day all the children were given ice cream, I was determined to eat it, then rushed back to the cabin and was violently sick, but it was still good.
We sailed in to Liverpool to a huge welcome; my Aunt was there for a big tearful reunion after five long long years.

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