´óÏó´«Ã½

This is a recount of Jeanne Lindley view of the Second World War.

Jeanne Lindley lived in a large family consisting of close relatives and their siblings. She came from Belgium.

Jeanne at a very young age was given a lot of responsibility. Some would say this was because she was assiduous, others would say because of her nationality in a foreign country.

Anyway, this responsibility remained evident through the course of the war.

This story represents a conversation between Jeanne Lindley and i and I try my best to bring the reality of the war to life.

I would also like to thank her for her impeccable memory of the war. I learnt a lot from our conversation together, too much it seems as this story exceeds the 3000 word limit. I might have to break it up into two chapters. I hope this does not affect the flow of the story.

Undue responsibility

This story starts with the first siren wail in Jeanne’s village.

Jeanne Lindley first memory of the war was during the period when she was 16. The setting was in the quiet town of Radlette in Hertfordshire, close but safely away from the bombing in London.

She remembered acting as a billet officer, and having to put new arrivals into private lodgings. These new arrivals were evacuee children who had been cruelly separated from their families because of the threat of air strikes in London. This set of children had come from a school in Paddington, London.

The children had looked peculiar with their gas masks, and smartly ironed uniforms and a form of identification which were name badges stuck to them with the form of a loosely fitted wire supporting a cardboard, sort of like the placard you see on peace marches. Anyone with hyperopia — a medical term for long-sightedness - would have thought these individuals were a sentry battalion manning the town.

When Lindley had found each of the children a nice home, she left to go home. As she was walking back home, the first ever siren went off in Radlette vis-à-vis the Second World War. The siren post was by the terrace and so close to where Lindley currently was that it made her jump. She said that it sounded as if it was right next to her ear- very loud!

Anyway, Lindley started scuttling home, quickly turning into a gallop. As she made her dash for safety, she had noticed a rather subdued and non-plussed Chinese family standing motionless in the middle of the village street.

As a trained billet officer with integrity, she hurried to help them. They seemed to be in need of a place for their child to stay, or were implying that - unknowingly and unconsciously unaware to the danger that surrounded them. She quickly found all of them a place to stay in a church hall.

Strangely, after finding them a place, I continued back for home…. ‘Probably to be as close to my family as possible’. Anyway as I made for my destination, it did not seem such a good idea, and I speedily grabbed at a conspicuous largely built man in the side street, and found a shelter. I was only 16 then.

- end of part 1-

Please go to part 2 of this story titled - Allied Spy in Bletchley - Part 2

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.