大象传媒

My brother and I were evacuated from Alston Road School, Bordesley Green East, on 2nd September 1939, with 94 others comprising of pupils, parents , teachers and other helpers. We boarded the train at Adderley Park station and arrived at Evesham sometime during the Saturday afternoon. We then went to Merstoe Green school where we were formed into various parties where we were taken off to several addresses in the Evesham town area. We were allocated to our respective foster parents.
My mother came to visit us while we were in Evesham, although it was not until the Christmas hoildays that we found out that our father had died the following day after we had left Birmingham. We returned to Birmingham the week before Christmas to our new address in Balsall Heath. We returned to Evesham after the Christmas holiday, somewhat fretful after learning of our father's demise. I suffered from immediate homesickness and a few days later went to the High street with my brother and told him I was going back home to get some money so that we could both return to Birmingham as soon as possible.I gave him explicit instructions not to return to our foster parents home until the Midland Red bus had disappeared out of sight, which was the 148 which left Evesham High Street at 6:48 in the evening. I boarded the bus and I offered the conductor 1/1d for the single fare back to Birmingham. The conductor turned my blood to water when he said that the fare was now 1/3d. He followed up with the sentence "Are you another one who doesn't like the evacuation?" and issued me with the ticket, and we arrived at Station street terminus at 8:45. I then went staright home to our flat in Vaughton Street and was suitably comforted by my mother and grandfather.
Two days later was my 12th birthday and I went with my mother to the Luxor cinema in Balsall Heath road. I returned to Evesham on the following Monday, my mother having previously written to the headmaster of the school and also to my foster parents. I had a severe telling off from the foster parents, as we were, even in those days, a source of income.
My brother and I duly returned to Birmingham on a single decker bus that towed along the Calor Gas container due to the petrol shortage.All the frustrations of the evacuation, and the tears that were shed by the children and their parents. According to the Duty Teacher who kept a log book, (which is now in the Archive Section of the Birmingham Public library)the last entry in the log book the teacher stated "I am going back to Birmingham tomorrow as I am the last one here". This was 2 months before the first air raid on Birmingham, which was on 12th August 1940.

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