大象传媒

The first thing I remember about being evacuated was being at Newcastle Central Station. Hundreds of children with stunned faces! Most of the children were very young. My sister was seven and I was twelve. All of the children were dressed in their Sunday best. Some had cases and we were all issued with a name tag and gas masks, which we had to carry at all times. Most had never been on a train before, not knowing when we would see our family again. Most of us had sisters or brothers to take care of. Everyone was given a brown carrier bag and as we boarded the train, all of our faces seemed in shock after saying good bye to our families.

On our journey we opened our bags to find we all had a bar of chocolate. (Wow!) Was this to take our minds off leaving our families behind and also our little brother Billy who was only four years old?

Our journey end was Seascale,Cumbria. After leaving the train we were taken to the village hall. Many families were there to choose the children who would be living with them. My sister, Mary, and I stuck together like glue so we would not be parted. The Butler (?) family chose us. They were a lovely family of husband, who worked on the railway, and wife and their two daughters and one son. They all made us very welcome. Our room was huge with a huge bed. I remember the look on my sister's face (and on mine) of total bewilderment.

Bewilderment turned to joy when we looked out of the window on a sunny morning. We saw the sea and sand - it was like being on holiday. We spent a lovely time there but we still missed our family. It was not long before our Mother and brother came to stay, because our Father went into the Air Force. They stayed at the home of an old couple who lived around the corner from us.

My mother cooked and cleaned for the couple as she was such a good cook. We were so happy to be together again. We still kept in touch with other members of our family and not very long after Mother came to Seascale. We had a message from our aunt, mother鈥檚 sister, who was also evacuated to Eskdale in the Lake District. She had three children and they were not in a very happy situation. Transport was not very easy during the war, so mother hitched a lift with the coalman who supplied the whole area. They sorted out some better accommodation and when mother returned to Seascale we said a sad farewell to the Butler family and all headed for Boot in Eskdale so we could be together. The environment was completely different with streams, mountains and a small village atmosphere. I can also remember attending school, which was quite a walk from where we were staying. The accommodation was not very comfortable and after some time we decided to head home again.

It was good to be back home, but things had changed. When the sirens sounded, we all had to head for air raid shelters, which were quite a distance from our house on the Little Moor near the barracks on Barrack Road (Newcastle upon Tyne).
One night we were in such a rush, mother forgot her false teeth. A warden kindly went back to our house for them. At the time, we had a dog called Peter. Peter welcomed the warden into the house but wouldn鈥檛 let him leave. He was stuck there until we returned.

When we became accustomed to the sirens, we would stay in the house to save us walking to the shelter. On looking back this was a little dangerous! Life went on as normal we changed schools from St. John鈥檚 to St. Andrew's and when we returned, we would listen to the gramophone and sing with our brother Billy. Mother taught us how to dance which we have never forgotten. Times were hard, but happy times, which I will always remember, dancing to Victor Sylvester and his ballroom orchestra.

I would like to thank the people of Seascale, Eskdale and Boot for the happy times. I remember with fondness and will never forget how they welcomed us into their homes and their lives. Thank You.

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