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A ����ý “People’s War” story by Tom Coyne of South Shields

Remembering my wartime evacuation to Whitehaven

I have previously written a story for the ����ý “People’s War” website about being evacuated to Whitehaven in West Cumberland and included some of my various encounters (A4026836). I will not repeat much of that part of my wartime story here. Rather, this story explains how I found out a lot more about the people and places I remember from my wartime evacuation. This came about as a direct result of posting that first article to the “People’s War” website.

Having been evacuated from the North East between 1940 and 1944 with Jack and Elizabeth Finnegan, for many years afterwards I had never returned to Whitehaven. My brother Robert, who had been evacuated with me for about a year, had revisited Whitehaven sometime in the 1950s. He had stayed with Mrs Finnegan for a short holiday. By that time Mrs Finnegan had been widowed for some years.

In 1962 I decided to write to Mrs Finnegan with a promise to come and see her. But, with being in the Merchant Marine I was never able to get around to it. Then later on, after I left the Merchant Navy, I got married and with family commitments I had still never managed to revisit Whitehaven, although I always promised myself I would.

Then, in the year 2000, I travelled over from South Shields where I now live to Whitehaven in the North East with my young grandson Christopher. We stayed at the Chase Hotel, Corkickle about a mile from the town centre. I made various enquiries and went to various public buildings seeking information and telephoned all over the place. Nobody could provide any information about Mr and Mrs Finnegan, or even any of the people I remembered from the years I had spent as an evacuee in the town.

Eventually, we paid a visit to the house on Ennerdale Terrace where I used to live. But it was all to no avail. I could not find a single soul from my childhood days! Although it seemed only like yesterday, it had all happened long ago and time had moved on. I returned back to the North East with my grandson Chris with a heavy heart and a bit perplexed.

Posting my wartime story to the “People’s War” website

After that initial disappointment, I put a request on to Channel 4 ‘Lost Touch’ asking about one of my former schoolteachers, a Miss Davine. As a result of this, a local clergyman answered my request telling me that my teacher Miss Davine (by now Mrs Daley) was indeed alive and living in a retirement home near Whitehaven.

In 2005 I went on the Internet and I found the ����ý “People’s War” website. This earlier story I wrote, referred to above, was mainly about a plane crash I had seen in Whitehaven during the war. I remember this incident very well, although my dates were a bit vague as I was only a young lad and I had nothing written down. I was not even exactly sure how long I had been evacuated.

Then, out of the blue, this chap got in touch with me via the “People’s War” website and he unfolded the whole story to me. Although much younger than me, this gentleman had the correct dates and other information to hand. Yes, the gentleman in question was called Joseph Ritson, a resident of Whitehaven who had been writing wartime stories for the "People's War" website. I think God had sent him down to me because from that day forward things just fell into place!

Revisiting my wartime memories

So, in the summer of 2005 I went back to Whitehaven with my young grandson Christopher again. Christopher was keen to learn about my time as an evacuee. We met up with the said Joseph Ritson (alias ‘ritsonvaljos‘) and we started to find some of the people I had been looking for. With the help of his uncle John McCrickett we began to trace various people I had known in the war years.

One of the people I met was Maureen Cottier (née Curnow) who had been a neighbour of the Finnegans on Ennerdale Terrace. Maureen's family had taken in another evacuee Billy Conlin. As Billy's parents both died in the war years Maureen's family adopted Billy so he became Billy Curnow and Maureen's bother. Sadly, Billy had died some years ago but Maureen was able to tell me all about what had happened to him after the war. Maureen and me also talked over a lot of things we did and of course about the friends we had known as children in the war years. These friends included Paul Costello and Gordon Irving who was in a wheelchair.

John knew many of the old neighbours from Ennerdale Terrace, such as Mrs Wilson, Mrs Slack and Mrs Wilkinson, and some of the local lads such as George Crellin. Another couple who welcomed me like an old friend of the family were Joe and Joan Toner who were relatives of Mrs Finnegan. Joe was a nephew of Mrs Finnegan. They told me about what had happened to Mrs Finnegan, and other relatives, which was really appreciated. All this help about the people I had known helped me fill in what had happened in the years since I had left to go back to my mother.

Looking round the town

In 2005 I stayed in the hotel at Woodhouse Mansion run by Tom Todd, whose grandfather had won the DCM in World War One. The Mansion has a small claim to fame as being the former home of relatives of the poet Wordsworth ("I wandered lonely as a cloud") and he had lived there for a short time. Jos picked up Chris and me from Woodhouse Mansion and took us round some of the various sights: Haig Mining Museum, 'The Rum Story' Museum and St Bees Head.

Mr and Mrs Finnegan had been publicans in their younger days, running a pub at Kells known as 'The Stump. We visited this public house which Mr and Mrs Finnegan had run many moons ago. When I met Jos I made an invaluable friend. He was such a help in every way, far too many too mention here.

Some precious family memories

Recently, I have tried to look back to when I was first evacuated, which was from when I was 5 years old. I can remember a lot of things from that time fairly well. But then I can remember back even further than that, to when I was possibly 3 or 4 years old.

My mother Isabella told me she was in service to the Shackleton family (the South Pole explorers). When she left to get married the family bought her a bedroom suite. Mother did say that they were a lovely family.

My mother and father had four children. Robert, who was a little older than me was evacuated to stay with the Finnegans for about a year. He went back home to the North East while I stayed with Mr and Mrs Finnegan. My younger brother and sister, Owen and Geraldine, were never evacuated.

I can remember one time when my father was home on leave he painted the bathroom and it was all over my clothes. The one claim in fame I have is that I never lived in a house with an outside toilet. On another occasion, I can remember him walking down the street with a huge stalk of bananas. Another time I remember he brought a large gramophone back home from Canada.

The daddy of them all was the pram my father brought home from Germany. He never saw my sister Geraldine as she was born about three months before he was torpedoed on board the M.V. Neptunian by the German submarine U-47 in September 1940. The pram must have been in the house from some previous voyage. It had two swastikas imprinted on it, one on each side of the pram. Years later, I could not believe it when my mother said that she had actually used the pram.

Conclusion

In conclusion I would like to add that as I was a child during the war some things I remembered were vague, such as names, exact dates and some place names. If it had not been for Jos Ritson I would still have been looking for so many things that I now know the answers.

I was a wartime evacuee who became part of the family of Mr and Mrs Finnegan. I gave a family name that I remembered, Turner, when in all fairness it was Toner. Now, many years later I have met Joe and Joan Toner, who are close relatives of Mrs Finnegan's.

Although I was 5 years old when my father died at sea I must have been 7 or 8 years old when I found out. I found a letter referring to my father's death so nobody actually told me. I do not know if my brothers Robert or Owen knew that their father was dead or even how they found out. It is only much later in your life, like now as in my case, that you want questions answered. By then there is usually nobody to turn to.

Tom Coyne
November 2005

Below are listed the stories on the ����ý “People’s War” website that cover my time as an evacuee, revisiting West Cumberland, the plane crash I witnessed and the stories of my father and father-in-law who both died at sea in the war:

‘American Bomber’ (A4026836)

‘A wartime evacuee from Newcastle-upon-Tyne revisits Whitehaven’ (A5071998)

‘ Welcome back to Whitehaven, Tom!’ (A5947789)

‘Meeting up again, many years after the war‘. (A5947888)

‘Whitehaven gets its ‘Wings’, and suffers a plane crash on the same day!’ (A4411388)

‘RAF Millom Museum and the Whitehaven Plane Crash of 1943’ (A4638819)

‘The M.V. Neptunian, Captain Günther Prien and German submarine U-47’ (A5072474)

‘The sinking of the SS Gasray in April 1945’ (A5993049).

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