大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥� War by a volunteer from The Chepstow Society on behalf ofNesta Marendaz,and has been added to the site with her permission. Nesta Marendaz fully understands the site.s terms and conditions

NESTA MARENDAZ

I was eight and a half years old on September 3rd 1939, I remember it well. I went with the white china jug to the Mill Farm just down the road to fetch the daily milk. When the door opened I could see that everything was not normal - the wireless was on and there was a very serious look on the faces of our neighbours. Miss Harris filled the jug with milk and as she gave it to me she said 鈥淭ell your Mother and Father that war has broken out鈥�.

It seemed such a strange expression, I had only heard it used before about animals - 鈥渢he cows have broken out of the middle field鈥�. When I told my parents the message they looked very sad - when I asked what it meant they said - there is a war with Germany.

I remember one evening when a kind of bus stopped outside our home. My parents spoke to some adults who were looking for homes for evacuees. As we had just a small cottage and three children, there was no room and we children were quite disappointed.

There were evacuees from West Ham and Folkstone, and also some teachers. During the following weeks Mathern School became overcrowded, the number of children had almost doubled. Some classes were moved to the 鈥楬ut鈥�, which was used as a kind of Village Hall; it was a black, wooden building, bought after World War l. I well remember having lessons there, I was happy to have a little less distance to walk to 鈥榮chool鈥�, while my sister and brother were in the school building. At first the evacuees were very upset, having been separated from their parents. They were terrified when they saw farm animals in the fields, they compared cows and even sheep to lions and tigers they had seen in a zoo. They did slowly get used to farm animals, for we had our Friday afternoon games in a farm field by kind permission...... As the children made friends and came to trust their new guardians they settled down well and we all worked and played together amicably at school and in the evenings.

The 鈥榚vacuee teachers鈥� were considered to be rather strict and harsh!
I have often wondered about the children. I remember some of their names - I think we enjoyed having them with us and we were made aware of the needs of others. We carried out gas masks to school every day; I wore glasses and was not happy with a gas mask on. We wore them for practice periods, but thankfully never needed them.....

It was necessary to make plans to disperse children from the school in the event of an air raid. Children who lived near the school would go home, others would go to houses nearby(by arrangement) but there were many children who came quite long distances - from Mounton, Bayfield and Parkwall. The Headmaster considered that our family could run home in the time allowed(I think it was three minutes).but it was a considerable distance. Although we were all good runners, our parents prevailed upon the Headmaster to make other arrangements for us.

When an air raid shelter was built we were among the children who used it. It was not big enough for half of the children - many were afraid of it, because it was dark and became the home of many frogs!

My Mother鈥檚 sister, her husband and four children were living in Southend - my uncle was a Manchester man, but he had moved in the thirties to get work. The four children were evacuated - the older two to Cyfathfa Grammar School at Merthyr - the younger two had nowhere to go. Very quickly space was found for a bed in an alcove on the landing and a bed appeared downstairs! They stayed with us for a considerable time and came to school with us - so we did have our evacuees! Later their parents were 鈥榖ombed out鈥� and came to a house at Merthyr where they were all re-united, until the war ended and they returned to Manchester.

Children in school helped the 鈥榳ar effort鈥� too - we went out on walks from school to pick blackberries and rose hips. We also knitted pullovers and socks for members of the forces - the younger children were helped by their mothers - we did most of this at home.

A number of ladies in a kind of uniform appeared in the community seeking work on farms. Farmers were very sceptical about Land Girls working on their farms, most of them had been city dwellers. While agricultural workers were generally exempt from serving in the forces, some were 鈥榗alled up鈥�. There was a great urgency about growing crops for food. There were few men in the community to help at busy times like harvest time. The Land Girls proved to be good workers, though at first many of them were quite scared of the animals.

I believe the Land Girls were housed at Mount Ballan House, Portskewett.

Some of them married locally and never returned to the cities.

Every available piece of land was used to grow food - I remember the slogan 鈥淒ig for Victory鈥�.

The deer were all shot and buried in St. Pierre Park, and the land was used to grow sprouts. It is a sobering thought to realise that so much food was grown to feed our people in wartime. What a contrast to the declining farming industry of today!

There were children housed at St. Pierre House - children who had been 鈥榖ombed out鈥� in Bristol - I believe some were orphans.

At a later stage German and Italian prisoners were housed in the area, some lived in a camp at Bulwark, while others were in a camp at Llanmartin. Injured prisoners were treated in the hospital which later became St. Lawrence Hospital. Many prisoners came to work on farms; there was much feeling aroused by this - had they not been our enemies?

They were excellent workers and in time some were allowed to 鈥榣ive in鈥� on farms. They made many friends in the community and people began to realise that many Germans and Italians did not want to go to war. I recall the way they made things out of wood in their spare time; at home we had a lovely carved bird, painted in blue and white stripes, made by a German prisoner.

After the war a number of prisoners married local girls - this too aroused considerable passion - but some still live locally.

Two German prisoners working on a village farm were 鈥榖orrowed鈥� to help a vicar at Mathern to dig beneath the church porch in search of a long buried font, which they found!

I remember the visits of the ARP Wardens. I believe they brought the gas masks and later they brought a huge kind of container when we had a new baby. They also monitored the 鈥榖lack out鈥� to make sure that no lights were visible, but as there was no electricity(mains)in Mathern, bright lights were not really a problem.

While food was rationed, country families were at somewhat of an advantage - we had hens and eggs and kept a pig. Butter was made on many farms. When a pig was killed people 鈥榮wapped鈥� meat with their neighbours, who would do the same when their pig was killed. With fruit and vegetables in gardens, there were few shortages.

The slogan 鈥渕ake do and mend鈥� was the order of the day. Mothers often made clothes for children from an adult鈥檚 garment. Clothing coupons were sufficient for most families; there was poverty and clothes were rationed by their price more than by coupons.

When we went to 鈥楲arkfield鈥�, blue check dresses were worn in the summer. During wartime each year鈥檚 material was different - one could look around the school and see in which year each girl had started!

Paper and books were in short supply and we learned to use paper carefully.

For some reason farmers used to go out in the evening to count their animals at dusk. The Harris brothers used to go out together and call out to one another. On several occasions my mother and one or two of us children were walking by a hedge in the fields, a short cut to home. As they counted we heard one of them say 鈥渢here are the other two under that hedge!鈥�.

The bombing of Bristol was very near to many people - just across the Bristol Channel. I remember that enemy planes used to circle round us at night and then go over the river.

My youngest sister was born at home on a Saturday morning - April 25th 1942. That evening and night were very fearful, many planes were circling around and there was a severe thunder storm, some enemy planes were struck by lightning. We never went to bed that night - it was so frightening - but we spent the night suggesting Christian names for our new sister. It took our minds off what was happening outside, but it was amazing that the baby ended up with sensible names!

Twenty-one years later in 1963 I was working with a lady who had spent the war years in Bristol. When I mentioned my sister鈥檚 birthday, she immediately said 鈥渙h, April 25th 1942 that was the worst night of the war鈥�.

These were difficult years in which to grow up, as were the years that followed, for rationing was to be in force for many years after the war ended.

My final memory is of visiting Bristol with a school friend and her mother at the end of the war. Her mother was a midwife and had trained as a nurse in Bristol. We walked along the streets among piles and piles of rubble - for the city centre was completely destroyed. My friend鈥檚 mother stood forlornly looking for some landmark, but was unable to see any building or any sign of anything she recognised. It was a very sad experience.

Some evacuees were later joined by their families - some married locally and a number still live in the Chepstow area.

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