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This story was submitted to the People’s War website by Kieran, Melantha and Melissa, pupils from Teversham Primary School on behalf of Mr Michael Marshall and has been added to the site with his permission. Mr Marshall fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

I was 7 ½ when the war started. Initially it did not have much of an impact on me but it did later that year when I was sent to Wales as an evacuee. During this time, I helped a local shepherd look after his sheep and when I returned to Cambridge I brought a lamb back with me (more of this later!). I went to the local school for two terms. However, my parents became worried that I was getting a Welsh accent, so they sent for me to come home to Cambridge!

Later, in the summer of 1940, I went to boarding school near Epsom. After a short while, this school was evacuated to Canada, so my brother, sister and I were sent across the Atlantic to Canada. My mother took us across and we sailed in a boat called the Empress of Athlone. We stayed with a family called the Wilson’s who my Grandmother vaguely knew. I remember going into the woods at their house and helping the woodman on the estate. My mother did not stay with us for long and she soon returned to Cambridge to be with my father.

We travelled with the Wilson’s on a train to Ottawa and stayed at their house. In the summertime, I remember seeing the tugboats bringing logs down the river to the timber mills. Senator C. Wilson was the first lady senator in Canada. The Wilson family were lovely and they lived in a big house. I remember that they had two spaniels called Laddie and Paddy.
I went to school in Canada at Ashbury College. I found this very unnerving as it was full of rough boys who were very good at ice hockey — and I did not know how to play!

One sad thing happened when I was in Canada. My parents wrote to me telling me that they had eaten my adopted lamb, as food was scarce!

Whilst in Canada I was taught how to swim. A man took me out into a lake with the inner tube from a car tyre round my middle. He taught me breast stroke and with the ring round my middle, I made some progress. He decided that his job was done and left me to swim on my own. Unfortunately, the inner tube had a slight hole and as it deflated, I realised that I was not very good at swimming and had to call for help. Luckily I was rescued by two beautiful girls - although I did feel a bit embarrassed as I was only ten at the time!

I came back to England in 1942 because it was hard for my parents to get money out to Canada and they decided that it would be better if we came home. Because of the submarines in the Atlantic my brother, sister and I had to travel back separately. I came back first, travelling with Professor Thompson who had been working in America. When I returned to England I went to school at Byron House, followed by St Faiths in Cambridge and then after a lot of coaching I went to Eton.

Food had been plentiful in Canada, so it was noticeable at first, when I returned to England, that food was rationed. However, I soon got used to it. I’m sure people were healthier and fitter then as we did lots of walking and cycling. Living in the country meant that we had a bit more than our rations as we kept chickens and I grew vegetables in our garden. At Eton School, I remember our heating was rationed which meant that we only had heating in our rooms every other day. During the war I recall being taken up to London to see a film and then out to lunch and was delighted that spam was on the menu — we all loved spam!

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