大象传媒

I was evacuated along with my two sisters Esther, Jean Southers, I was ten years of age, Esther was nine, Jean was six, we went from Holy Trinity School, Anfield Walton Breck. We left and got on the train at Clubmoor station Anfield, our parents were very upset seeing there three little girls going away to Aberystwyth, she was going to Blackpool to be evacuated, she was having a baby. However, the journey to Wales seemed never ending. On our arrival to Aberystwyth, we were very tearful, me being the eldest was asked to stay together and keep an eye on my sisters.
We were taken to Alexandra Rd School in Aberystwyth, we lined up in the hall waiting to be chosen by our foster parents. I was holding my sisters鈥� hands very tight, we were terrified, the people were walking up and down the line, looking at each child. I thought, as the line was getting shorter, nobody seemed to want three children, most wanted two or one. However, at last a man came and picked my little sister up and said 鈥淔ollow me girls.鈥� Well, Jean was so tiny, she was six the day we left Liverpool. It was a very sad birthday for her, that was September 2nd 1939.
We arrived at 6 Trinity Place Aberystwyth, very tired, it seemed late at night. We stayed with Mr and Mrs Roberts who had a boarding house. We were of a family of nine children, we were very poor. My mum made us haversacks out of sacks and bought us second-hand clothes to go away with. We were missing our family very much, we were very well loved. Our foster mum; Auntie Annie was very kind and looked after us very well. After a while, we settled down. A special bus would come from Liverpool every Sunday, our parents could only afford to come once a month, but my older sisters would try and come in between. After a while, my Auntie Annie developed Arthritis, so we had to move to another billet.
Jean and myself were very unhappy, there we were only allowed in the scullery for meals and made to wash in the out house. We were allowed in the living room on a Sunday. We would be told to go out at 10 on a Sunday morning and wait for the Liverpool bus to come. All the children would jump up with joy when it arrived, but some relatives would come and call some children to one side and tell them their family had been killed, it was very upsetting. I would go to my first billet; Mrs Roberts after school and tidy up for her, then I would join my younger sisters and play on the old castle or the beach. That was a treat, as our parents couldn鈥檛 afford to take us to the beach; just a walk to the park with a bottle of lemonade powder.
Mrs Jones; our second billet, brought her sister鈥檚 husband from London, he had loss of memory and would often open the door and get lost. I was always sent to look for him, I was very nervous, but him and his wife were kind to us. Our foster mum would not allow sugar on our porridge, so his sister would sneak us some. We were very hungry at times, but never told our mum. I would have been scared of the air-raids, as I had been in a convalescent home, that was the reason my parents sent me on the evacuation.
The time came for us to go home, we were very excited to be back home. We do return to Aberystwyth every September for a small reunion and memories come flooding back, some happy, some sad.

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