大象传媒

I was born in England and went to India in October 1937 at the age of 7 months.
The family returned to England in early 1939 primarily to see my brother who had been in boarding school since 1936. I presume by this time my parents were seriously concerned that the War was about to start but like so many other people they were uncertain what actions to take. In the event my father returned to India in the summer of 1939 while my mother,sister and I remained in England.
In January 1940 decisions had been made. My brother remained in England and we did not see him again until June 1945 while the rest of the family set off for India.
This is where my memories of wartime start as we were unable to sail from England and had to get a boat from Genoa in Italy.It was a long journey and my first memory was sitting in a coach driving round Paris with the driver in search of the hotel.
We had to travel through France by train and I have no memory how long any of this lasted but I do remember going through the Mont Blanc tunnel in the company of two nuns and of later being on the ship to India.
"My" war was spent very peacefully by war standards although it felt very unsettled as we moved house so often as we left "the Plains" in the heat of the summer, and moved back again in winter. Unlike so many others of my age I did see my Father during the winters as he worked mostly in Dehli with the exception of one winter and a few worrying months he spent in Burma.
My memories of those years was my Mother being very involved with "sewing for the Troops" and constantly knitting operation stocking which she could do even during the occasional vist to the cinema.
We always listened to the 大象传媒 News or to the local Dehli radio station and we were shown maps of the progress of the war but my personal memories of the difficulties of war are related to being separated from the family. I still have a letter from my Grandfather sent by airletter which had been reduced in size(I think by a photographic process)in which he was saying he really missed us.He was a great loss in my life and sadly he died in 1943 before I could see him again..In other letters I wrote saying we thought a Christmas parcel had "gone down". We all seemed very distant and isolated.
In May 1945 just after VE day my Father came back from work and said that he was being sent"home" to work in London and that we were to return too. The rest of the family was delighted but I remember feeling intense sadness and anxiety. I had no memories at all of England and I was having to leave behind a beloved Ayah who had looked after and cherished me since I was 7 months old.
The journey was to be my first experience of the war. We went on a five day train journey to a transit camp where we waited, alongside thousands of servicemen, for our boat. We were there for about a week and it was in this camp that our Ayah had to leave us. Amid that huge sadness I remember hearing one night the distant voices of soldiers singing "There's a long long trail awinding" and many other wartime songs. When ever I hear them they still always bring a lump to my throat.
After what seemed a very long wait we boarded our ship the S.S.Orion and started a four week journey back to England.
There were very few civilians passengers as it had been converted to a troop ship in 1940 and had a wartime history of conveying up to 7000 troops at a time to where ever they were needed for the war. This time there were 5000 troops on board and they were all going home and they were jubilant.

It is from this boat that I feel I want to share memories.
As children we were blissfully unaware of the dangers of the voyage although we did all have our names and adresses written in permanent ink on our tummies!
We had to carry large life jackets with us where ever we went.They had attached to them a torch, a whistle and a small tin of what we were told was chocolate as a concentrated food. We spent the whole journey longing for it but it remained untouched for we had been threatened with dire punishment if we ate it..
Everyday we had deck drill at noon and we had to stand in allocated places and be counted and life jackets and names checked. It was at this drill that the lifeboats were tested daily and then the big guns mounted to the deck were tried out..as were the torpedoes at the rear of the ship. We kids thought to was all great! Adults must have had very different reactions! Every night there was a curfew and total blackout.
As soon as we left India my mother had malaria and had to spend some days in the hospital. I was 8 years old and my sister was 12 and we had unbelievable freedom which I found wonderful. When the ship rolled all the kids used to line up against the rail and wait until we could run "downhill" as the ship rolled and repeat the process over and over again.. I think all the adults were busy being seasick for it now seems amazing we were allowed to do it though I think the crew did watch over us.. as they did each evening while my mother was in hospital when some member of the crew would come to see if we were alright.
As far as the troops were concerned we met very few of them as they were on different decks. However to our great joy they could choose to come and see the children if they so wished. The best times we had were when they came and organized games and races or just sat and talked to us. I remember an airman who told me all about being a twin. He told me that every time either one of them was injured the other felt the pain. I have so often thought of him. Could he still be alive?
That was life on board until we got to Cairo where we stayed several days until 16 more ships collected and we left in convoy to get through the Mediterranean. Again the children thought it all great fun but the reality is that it was less than a month after VE day and the sea was full of mines.
We zig-zaged our way through the Med in very close convoy with mine-sweepers all around us . We spent our days watching them scurry across the water and would wait for an explosion and huge spray to go up at which we would shout and cheer.. For us it was like a firework display put on just for our benfit! But again, as an adult it is now possible to imagine the fear that all those adults had in that really packed ship..
We all arrived safely in Gibralter thanks to the Royal Navy and the relief and jubilation was felt as all the portholes were uncovered and the lights went up, in all 17 ships. We sailed from there in a now very loose convoy and went through a rough Bay Of Biscay where the kids once again had the freedom of the ship as the adults took to their bunks..
And from there we went to Liverpool.
I don't remember the first sight of land but I do remember a Welshman crying as we sailed by and saw his beloved country ...and I remember a vibrant entrance into Liverpool docks.
The 5000 troops who had been so quiet during the 4 week journey, exploded into cheering and shouting. The noise and atmostphere was one I have never, and will never, experience again. It was the sound of sheer and intense human joy which even as a young child I was able to recognize. As we docked the cheering became more focused. The docks were staffed by women doing every conceivable job that men had always done before the war. Each and every action was cheered and whistled at. The women must have loved it too for they were laughing and shouting back. I didn't want the moments ever to pass.
But pass they did and we made our way onto a packed train for London. It all felt very strange for it was a far cry from the sights and sounds and tastes and people in the India I loved and which to me was my only home.
Here I was to meet everything all the people in England knew so well. The crowds, the queues, the shocking remains of bombing,and later rationing and dire food which was relieved by Blended chocolate.
I have often had feelings of guilt that I was not part of what many of my generation had to suffer during the war. All experiences are different and my difficulties from the war arose from separation from the family with bonds that were broken, which in some instances, were impossible ever to repair.
Somewhere,somehow war touches us all.

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