大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War web site by Karen Elmes at the Building Exploratory on behalf of Marie Lowe and has been added to the site with her permission. She fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Marie鈥檚 first wartime memory is of being evacuated with her cousin. They left Hackney with gas masks round their necks and wore large tickets with their names on. They were evacuated to just outside Welwyn Garden City and Marie vividly remembers the receiving families picking which children they liked best. Her cousin was picked before her but she refused to go anywhere without Marie! Whilst she was there Marie鈥檚 brother came home on leave and brought her a green cape that made her feel like the cat鈥檚 whiskers. She was in Welwyn for only a couple of weeks when she wanted to come home.

She came home and went to Shacklewell Lane School, which was closed down soon after so she didn鈥檛 go to school again. She was later evacuated to Salisbury where she spent two years 鈥渨ith the Yanks!鈥� However whilst she was there she contracted polio. She came back to London and lived with her family in Wentworth House in Upper Clapton Road in Hackney.

Marie remembers one occasion when her brothers came home and the house opposite them was blown up. Marie was pretty shaken by it:

鈥淭he boys came home on leave. I was only 14 at that time and we played cards. The air raids were so bad it blew up everything and everyone ducked under the table looking for their money! And then we started going down the shelter, but when the boys were home we never went down the shelter. And I never forget that because that was the first time I had a cigarette! I was pretty shaken up and my brother said 鈥榣et the kid have a fag to calm her nerves down!鈥欌��

Marie鈥檚 flat was hit by the blast but they just blocked up the damaged windows with canvas and stayed on in their home.

After the war Marie left Hackney for some time to be treated for her polio. When she returned to London she was taken back to Hackney in an ambulance. She couldn鈥檛 believe her eyes when she saw how much it had changed, she said she was so shocked she pulled a funny face, 鈥淚 looked like a bisto kid!鈥� The ambulance drivers were so thrilled by her reaction that they propped her up and opened both windows so she could have a really good look, they then drove her around Hackney, pointing out the new buildings that had been built on bomb-damage sites.

This story was recorded by the Building Exploratory as part of a World War Two reminiscence project called Memory Blitz. To find out more please go to ^{About links}

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