大象传媒

I was evacuated on 1.9.1939. I was 11, about to start Senior School, but it was decided I would go with my Junior School as I knew the teachers and pupils. As I was one of the eldest with Rita we were put in charge of Elsie aged 5 who was with her brothers, but it was thought best she was with girls.

It was nearly dark when we arrived at Ashby St Ledgers in Northamptonshire, we thought we were in Scotland as the people talked different to us and it could not be stranger than our homes in Islington- one street of thatched cottages owned by the Lord of the Manor, no electricity and water from a tap serving 6 cottages that was fetched in a bucket and was yellow. Our hostess wanted to put Elsie in a bed in her room but we would not be separated. We slept in a 4鈥� bed with Elsie in the middle. When she had her cry and went to sleep we had our cry.
Next morning we rushed out to see if our friends were safe and to explore the village. On the Sunday 3rd I was sent by our hostess to take Luke his gas mask on the farm at the other end of the village. I met the Air Raid Warden on the way back who wanted to know where was my gas mask- back at the cottage! It was a lovely sunny morning, as I passed an open window I heard Chamberlain鈥檚 voice saying 鈥淲e are at war鈥� and the siren sounded. We had been told we might only be away for a weekend, I remember thinking it would be a long weekend.

I enjoyed the next 3 months, as an overprotected only child I loved the freedom to paddle in the stream and play cowboys and Indians with the local children. We shared the village school half a day each, we thought each other 鈥榝unny鈥� but gradually made friends, I with a farmer鈥檚 daughter. We used to help get the cows in for milking- good job they knew where to go. The hens were very free range and we did a good trade in finding eggs in the hedges and selling them to the farms- probably not the right ones. We found the fallen fruit and nuts- no we were not scrumping.
Our hostess was kind and welcomed our parents when they arranged a coach to visit us. Elsie soon went home but Rita and I stayed on. Before Christmas the Education Authority decided I should take up my scholarship at Daventry Grammar school 4 miles away. Daventry did not have evacuees as it was thought to be especially dangerous because of the Wireless Station that it became very safe as it is the centre of England and the Germans used the masts to navigate, I stayed with a relative of my hostess and became part of their family. Throughout the years I have visited and now in 2005 I am still in touch with the last member who is 92.

After Dunkirk my parents thought it best to bring me home so we would be together if we were invaded. The blitz soon started, we had a flat on the 3rd floor so we had a trench shelter dug between the blocks. It had been thought raids would be short so there were planks to sit on, but we had to sleep on them. As the winter progressed the trench filled with water so it was filled in and replaced by brick shelters with bunk beds. I have always talked in my sleep and gave amusement one night with 鈥淵ou are a naughty man Hitler breaking all the poor peoples windows鈥�. One night Wardens shut the gates of the shelters as we were near Caledonian market, the gales were blown open and the terrified cows were rushing down our road, it would have been a tight squeeze with a cow in our bunk. I fortunately don鈥檛 remember too clearly the tragedies. As the raids went on my father who worked in a bank in the City was required to fire watch most nights so my mother and I returned to Daventry. We took lodgings, she worked in the shoe factory as a 鈥榗licker鈥� (cutting out shoe linings) and I returned to the Grammar School. My father came down when he could. We stayed till early 鈥�43 when there were few raids and it seemed the war would soon be over. I went to the school I would have gone to in 鈥�39 and made friends I have today.

We had some social life, I joined guiding- we all wanted a uniform. Our War work was cleaning corridors in Great Ormond Street Hospital.
On 6.6.1944 I went to apply for my first job, the director who interviewed me said he had just heard on the radio that the 2nd Front into France had started. A week later the doodlebugs started. We sat on School Certificate in a bricked up classroom, one dropped on the junction where I lived I never knew which question I answered that afternoon as I didn鈥檛 know if my mother or our flat were safe- they were, and I passed the exam!
My job in a clothing warehouse paid 拢1,15 (拢1.75p) 拢1 to my mother 15s covered bus fares, lunch in a British Restaurant and a little for pleasure, a monthly penguin book 1 shilling (10p). We had a bonus of 拢2 at Christmas for going to work with the doodlebugs, I felt very rich.
The warehouse was overlooking the steps of St Paul鈥檚 Cathedral we were allowed to sit in the windows when the Victory Service was held.

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