- Contributed by听
- epsomandewelllhc
- People in story:听
- Ronald Weeden
- Location of story:听
- London
- Article ID:听
- A2097966
- Contributed on:听
- 01 December 2003
Back to London
In August 1939 I was 6 years old when I was evacuated from the East End of London and went to Weston-super-Mare. I didn鈥檛 see the sea. At the house that I was evacuated to I was kept in my underwear, as the lady couldn鈥檛 cope with me. I tried to get back home, I kept doing a bunk. I managed eventually to get home. On Saturday 7 September 1940 the area was bombed. The school opposite my house was bombed. The school was Latham Road School, East Ham. Fortunately Mum and I were out shopping. My Dad saw planes coming and hid in the chimney corner of the fireplace. When the bomb dropped on the school opposite, the soot came down the chimney and smothered the room in soot, when my Dad moved he left his silhouette on the wall. My parents were told that 鈥淛erry鈥 was going for the Docks, and as we lived in Dockland, my parents decided to leave. We were told to leave, if we had relatives in the country, go to them. We didn鈥檛, the firm my dad worked for had a branch in Wandsworth, so we all got on the Underground in East Ham. District line through to Wimbledon. We stepped out of the station, looked to the right 鈥 decided that our chances of finding digs was minimal, so turned left. We tried Queens Road, mum didn鈥檛 like it 鈥 too near the goods yard, mum had thought not a good idea. We went on down towards the Broadway, turned left into Kings Road. There was a woman walking towards us and mum asked her 鈥渄oes anybody down here do digs?鈥 鈥 she turned 鈥 looking at the red glow in the sky over London and said 鈥 鈥渉ave you come from there?鈥. We said 鈥測es鈥 and she said 鈥渃ome along with me I will take you in鈥. We stayed there for a couple of days whilst mum and I looked for permanent digs and dad looked for a job.
We actually found a whole house to rent in Monkleigh Road, Morden.
In June 1944 my family and I were evacuated for the second time in my life to Harrogate in Yorkshire. At that time I was 11 years of age, this was all due to the Doodlebugs and the Flying Bombs . As hostilities quietened down we returned home to Morden.
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