大象传媒

This contribution to 大象传媒 People鈥檚 War website was provided to Beah, a volunteer Story Gatherer from 大象传媒 Radio Norfolk Action Desk at an event organised by the Norwich, Norfolk and Suffolk Pensioner鈥檚 Association. This story has been written and submitted to the website with the permission and on behalf of Joan Lancaster.

In September 1939 I was six years old and thought I was going on holiday abroad with my elder sister Eve, who was twelve and my brother Steve, aged five. We had been collected from school in Dagenham, Essex and taken to Royal Daffodil which was packed with lots of children and teachers. I remember feeling very excited, not understanding the reason for the trip and not realising that it would be a long time before we were able to return to our Mum and Dad and two elder sisters who were both working. We sailed to Lowestoft where we disembarked and were taken to a Hotel where we were given straw bedding on the floor to sleep on. Eve looked after us and next day were moved to Wenhaston, Suffolk where we were taken to stay in a bungalow at the edge of the village with a family who already had a child of their own about Eve鈥檚 age. Being so young I have no clear memories of people鈥檚 names; my sister died five years ago and as my brother now lives in Australia I haven鈥檛 been able to compare memories. The one thing that always sticks in my mind is walking down a road from the village with snow piled high and the trees bending over from each side of the road meeting in the middle and forming an arch. Also there were lots of Cobnut and Chestnut trees which we picked as we went along. I also remember that that year I received a black doll wearing a lovely hand knitted dress and bonnet which my eldest sister gave me as a Christmas present.

After about a year we were moved to a village near Henley in Arden. I was billeted with a farmer and his wife, while Eve and Steve went to another couple who just lived up the road. The family I lived with were very good to me and I used to like going to the cow shed where the cows were milked and smelling their lovely warm smell mixed with hay and silage. Unfortunately Eve and Steve were not so lucky and suffered a lot of ill treatment. When the Germans started bombing Birmingham and Coventry we used to see, some mornings, streams of refugees coming through the village carrying their possessions. We attended school in the village hall which was by the canal and one time some boys pushed Eve in; luckily she managed to get out again. Eventually our Mother came and fetched us home. Although we had to spend many hours in an Air Raid shelter both at home and school, we were all a lot happier.

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