大象传媒

My recollection of the Evacuation of myself Cyril Petit, and the stay on the English Mainland,
The German Invasion and Occupation of Guernsey June 30th 1940.
The EVACUATION JUNE 20TH 1940 OF ST MARTINS SCHOOL.

The War in France was getting close to the Islands. We lived in the then New Couture States Houses
A field away from St Martins School to which we went, we were informed of an EVACUATION
And were asked to be at the school early next morning, my Brother Donald, was to accompany me,
My three sisters, all of school age were to be kept together, I seem to remember being sent home, and to Return in the morning with our Lunch, and our clothing in a pillow case, or something similar in
Only one container, leaving home we arrived around the corner, and down the lane the buses were waiting Which we had to board, and with other children were taken down to the Cargo boat "VIKING", at St Peter Harbour, on which there were numerous children,( and unknown to me was my future wife MARION ENEVOLDSEN, with St Andrews School,) also being evacuated from the Island. We were sat down with
Our gear and being looked after by the Teachers/Helpers, my brother was with me, but my Sisters were Somewhere else on the boat. We left Guernsey, and arrived in Weymouth, herded aboard the waiting
Trains,(never seen one before), and duly taken away, and arrived in Stockport, and we were taken to the Stockport Sunday School, the building was a mass of children ,boys one part and girls another, most of
Us I think were in shock, but adventure and curiosity gradually taking over, I remember soup being
Distributed sometimes with bread, we slept on the floor, no doubt we were given blankets, there were
Some showers and wash basins used by three or four at a time, we may have been taken to the baths,
We went out as a group with a leader, or by People who offered to take a couple at a time. My Brother
And I had a couple of adventures but don't remember where we went, a week or so later some people
Came, to see who they would take to live with them, as evacuees, we were getting excited to go with
A couple, but then my Mother, who had also arrived in Manchester with the two small children ,found
Us, and the Girls, at the Sunday School ,and were duly united with them. My Mother and the two small Children had been billeted in the lower district of Manchester in Longsight Avenue, with an elderly
Couple who had a retarded son, 15yrs old but large in stature. Two small bedrooms and a boxroom where my Brother and I slept ,eating was done in the kitchen by our family, the host family ate in the lounge as
The antics of their boy was said to not be in goods taste. As we now had a bit of freedom after two to
Three days ,adventure set in and we decided to go to the park a little way away from where we lived,
On walking down the road we were stopped by a man and woman and asked why we were not at school,
I suppose an explanation was given by us, but we were escorted back home to my Mother, in a couple
Of days we were then taken to Clitheroe Road School, when we arrived ,questions were asked, about
Being Evacuees, we answered as best we could, the master was very considerate and seemed to explain
To the class the area from which we came,(Islands close to France) and I suppose then, the reason of
Why we were Evacuated. The lessons were OK ',the trouble was we had already learnt all which they
Were doing.. We having already learnt quite a bit of French especially as our Grandmother ,my Mothers Mother was French and also spoke Guernsey French ,My Mother spoke French in her family with her
Brothers and sisters, so the Teacher benefited by my reading the French books, and explanations to the
Class. We must have been in Manchester for about three to four months.

[Marion Enevoldsen, now Mrs Petit, has also contributed]

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