大象传媒

My father came to England from Austria in 1911 at the age of around 17 or 18 and worked in London as a waiter. During the First World War he was interned in Douglas on the Isle of Man where he worked as an Orderly in the hospital. After the war he was deported back to Austria but in 1922 he was able to return to England working at the Austrian Legation. My mother was Viennese and came to England as a Nanny. After 6 months her work permit expired and she went to the Austrian Legation to get it extended and they offered her a job as maid to the First Secretary. It was there she met my father. They married in 1924- my sister was born a few months later and in 1926 I came along. We lived at the Austrian Legation until I was 6 years old when father bought a house in North Wembley. When it came to wartime our family home was deemed to be Enemy Alien Property and liable to confiscation.
In 1938 at the time of Hitler's annexation of Austria I remember my mother sitting by the radio listening to Radio Vienna and the announcer said, 'We are now closing down Austrian Radio'. They played a lot of Mozart, Strauss and other Viennese music. My mother was sobbing her heart out and swore she would never go to Vienna again until Hitler had gone. Then on the radio came a brass band announcing the Deutsche Rundfunk- and to this day I can't stand brass band music.
My father was in a quandry- the Nazis were taking over the Austrian Legation in London- what should he do? He was a foreigner- if he lost his job he would be deported back to Austria and my mother would never have considered that, as she was violently anti- Hitler. But in order to stay in England he would have to be a servant of the Nazis. They offered him a job in the passport office on double his wages and he took it. I think he felt very responsible to his family and he was also mindful of paying back the debts he owed on his house. From what I remember he was not so opposed to Hitler as my mother was.
When Chamberlain returned from Munich with his piece of paper saying 'Peace in our Time' I remember my father coming home with a bottle of champagne to celebrate- but a year later England was at war.
At the outbreak of war my father didn't want to be interned again so he decided to go with the german embassy staff to Berlin. I remember him saying to me on Sep 4th- the day he left- ' Look after your mother- I'll be back in 6 weeks.' I was a daddy's girl and I was shattered at him leaving us. I didnt know at the time but it would be 11 years before we set eyes on each other again.
My mother- like all 'enemy aliens' had to register at the local police station and attend a tribunal. She was put in category 'B' - 'A' being considered dangerous and resulting in immediate internment, and 'C' being deemed friendly. In May 1940 when Hitler invaded the Low Countries the 大象传媒 announced that all category B foreigners would be interned. My mother was devastated at the news but relieved when she heard that she could take her children with her. Having 'lost' my father a year before I was most upset at having to leave my pet dog behind.
Early one mornikng two policemen in plain clothes arrived unannounced at our house and they said, 'You know what we've come for' and we did. My mother said, 'I've got 2 children, a dog and a cat, do you expect me to leave them just like that?' The police officers were very courteous and kind and said, 'We'll be back in an hour' My mother took down the black-out curtains to wrap the eiderdowns in- the neighbours offered to look after our pets- and within the hour we had packed our basics. The police took us to Wembely Police Station - and with other 'aliens' we were put on a bus and taken to Fulham Workhouse where we slept 12 to a room on campbeds. The next day we were put on a train to Liverpool. We were kept for hours in a boxing arena without any food- but a policeman brought us his own sandwiches. We had to walk through the streets of Liverpool to the docks-. The crowds on the streets were shouting at us abusively and waving their fists. I remember hearing the cry 'Hang the lot of them'. I just kept my head down and kept walking and was very glad not to be on my own. We got on the boat- I think it was a Belgian ship with a dutch crew- or vice versa- and I remember asking a sailor for the Ladies and he pointed me to the Gents- I protested and he shrugged his shoulders- 'There are no men passengers on board'. He was right - all the passengers were either women or children. We slept on the deck of the boat and we took it in turns resting our heads on my mother's lap. We arrived in Douglas Isle O man and thus began a strange new chapter in my life.
(Contd)

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