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15 October 2014
WW2 - People's War

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My War Story from South East London - Agnes Knight

by Hailsham Local Learning

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Archive List > Childhood and Evacuation

Contributed byÌý
Hailsham Local Learning
People in story:Ìý
Agnes Knight
Location of story:Ìý
South London
Background to story:Ìý
Civilian
Article ID:Ìý
A6483873
Contributed on:Ìý
28 October 2005

I was born on 23 August 1928.

I attended a primary school in South East London and was evacuated from there to Nutfield in Surrey at the end of August 1939. As we walked back from church on Sunday morning 3 September we were told that war had been declared. When air raid sirens sounded we returned to the house where we were billeted, the house was owned by a policeman. We sat together in the same room with our gas masks on our laps whilst the owner sealed all the windows and doors. We were very relieved when the ‘all clear’ sounded, although really we did not understand what was going on.

Two weeks later I transferred to Hastings to join the grammar school, which I was due to start at, and which had been evacuated from Greenwich. We shared the Hastings Grammar school attending only half days for lessons and doing activities/ sketching during the rest of the days. One vivid memory was watching the small boats in the Channel from the east cliff in Hastings during the evacuation of Dunkirk but did not realise the significance of what was happening. Later in 1940 my father who was in the army, took me to Wales with my sister to live with my grandmother, he felt we would be safer there. My headmistress objected strongly, however, within a month my school in Hastings was re-located to Wales, 30 miles from where I was now living. I did not join them.

I returned to London in 1943 after my father had been discharged from the army following a serious injury from an unexploded bomb which went off. I then rejoined my school in Greenwich, and went by train every night to sleep in the Chislehurst Caves for safety. The smell of dank earth remains with me to this day.

In 1943/44 I joined the Women’s Junior Air Corps. Our uniform was a grey skirt, black shoes, grey shirt, grey forage cap and badge. I learnt Morse code, first aid, and learnt to march correctly for parades. As a JAC as we were called, I did voluntary work in a local children’s hospital at week-ends, helping to prepare the children’s tea, feeding them and reading to them. Towards the end of the war I joined a local youth club, went hiking in the country at week ends and on one occasion we even went camping.

We frequently went to the cinema, especially on Sunday afternoons, regardless of what was showing, it seemed that whole of our youth club went! We went to loads of dances, mostly to other youth clubs and to the local swimming baths which were converted for dancing at the week-ends. School uniform was strictly adhered to but at week-ends it was short skirts which were great for jiving. Immediately after the war we went to southern Ireland where clothes were imported from America, were very fashionable and available without clothing coupons. Although there were restrictions, we would wear as many layers as possible to get through customs on our return.

Towards the end of the war I worked in the local Food Office, issuing ration books, collecting the coupons that had been collected by the shopkeepers, and issuing statistics to the main offices in London. I was paid fifteen shillings per week!!!!
Three months later I left the Food Office and joined Barclays Bank where the work was more interesting, by now I was earning one pound per week. However, at the end of the day everything had to be balanced, we were not allowed to leave until it had, but if we worked beyond six o’clock we were paid two shillings and sixpence tea money. Sometimes the manager would stand over us to make sure we did not go beyond six o’clock. The tea money earned gave us more pleasure than our weekly pound.

When VE-Day finally arrived we were so excited. We went to a nearby church to thank God. With friends, we went into London, singing and dancing in the streets with the crowds but unfortunately, we had to catch the last train home.

For months after the end of the war every street had a VE party. We went to them all, pianos were dragged into the streets and a great knees-up was enjoyed by all.

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