大象传媒

In 1938 eveyone knew war was inevitable. I went to school. We lived in a place called Plumstead. Woolwich was the main town and also the home of the Royal Artillery. Soldiers, horses and parades were a Sunday morning treat. Many of us enjoyed trips to the barracks with the schools. We were able to help train the horses for ceremonial occasions by making noise, waving flags , streamers and ballons or blowing whistles.

In August 1939 we went to Weymouth for the school holidays, my mother, my two younger sisters and I. Father was at work as a 'tram conductor' with the London Transport. He was unable to holiday with us,.. however, as the news worsened we were recalled back to london as they were starting to evacuate the children to safer places.
I was attending the 'Borough Polytechnic' in Southwark; we were to assemble at school. As I was almost fouteen I was to take my five year old sister with me. We did not know where we were going. Every child had to take a change of clothes, a gas mask in a box plus a name label pinned to the coat. We had to walk to Waterloo Station with our class mistress and board a train. Only then we knew we were going to Devon. The date was the 2nd September. Arriving at Exeter, we were divided into classrooms with a teacher in charge of each group. We walked in file to a district where householders had already said how many children they could take. My sister and I were billeted in the St Thomas area of Exeter. We were quite happy although missing our family. My other sister had to go with her own school to Middlesex. Our school took over a hall and that was where we continued our schooling.

Of course some children were most upset and had never been away from their families; there were many tears and I guess quite a few soon sent for their parents to take them home again, and many did. I stayed in Exeter till I left school then went to work in Epsom. It really was an experience.

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Helena Noifeld of 大象传媒 Radio Kent and has been added to the website on behalf of Thelma Barnett with her permission and she fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

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