´óÏó´«Ã½

Monica Perry

Interviewed by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Guernsey, probably by Becky Kendall
NB Documents with the recording sometimes say Mrs Parry
Recording transcribed by John David 11/11/2005

I………. You’re a local lady, born here, and how long have you lived here?
I lived here till I was eight and a half.
I………. And what happened then?
They took us over to England, because of the German Occupation, and we just never come back
I………. Who took you over?
The School,
I………. So you were evacuated with the school, like a lot of local children at the time, which school were you at?
St Martin’s.
I………. Did you have any brothers and sisters?
Yes, I think nine, there were eight of us over here, and two more born in England,
I………. Gosh, eight of you
Ten all together, eight born here, and four of us went with the schools, and the others were too old to go with the schools, because they'd left school, they didn’t come with us.
I………. You were one of the younger children?
I was the youngest, I never saw my parents again for four years, three and a half years, to be exact, yes.
I………. There were four of you that stayed together?
We stayed together at the beginning, and then we were billeted to different houses, we weren’t together living, we just were in separate houses. We went to Stockport first, to a like a big hostel place, and then they allocated us out to different families that wanted you, so you were given to different people that actually wanted you, not the choice of your…
I………. So who did you end up with?
Oh, different people, I can’t remember their names.
I………. And at what stage did you find out where your parents were, did you…
Oh no, they did keep in touch with us, they did write to us and they sent us presents, but we never saw them.
I………. Did you know where they were?
My dad was in the Wiltshire Regiment, so that’s where my mum was, and my sisters.
I………. You understand a lot of what’s going on, really, don’t you at the age of eight, so that now your family was being split up, such a big family, what did it feel like?
I don’t think we were really that worried, it seemed a holiday to us. As long as your sisters were with you, and they did look after me, being the youngest one, I don’t think we were that worried, and then coming back, she wasn’t my mother, she didn’t seem like my mother, not for a long time. I think the families we lived with were more like our parents, because we lived with husband and wife and a young girl, I think they were more like a parent to us, and they treated us like a parent. It wasn’t our parent’s fault, it was just that they wouldn’t let us go back until the war was over.
I………. Is that when you finally met up with the rest of your family, when the war was over?
Yes
I………. And you must have met for the first time your younger brothers and sisters?
And two more
I………. How did it feel to know that you had these two younger ones that you’d never met before?
I wasn’t very happy, not at the time, no. I was the youngest, I was dad’s baby, baby girl, and there was another girl. We grew to love them.
I………. So towards the end of the war, were you re-united with your family in the UK or in Guernsey?
No we never came back to Guernsey at all
I………. Why not?
My father had a job — well, he was in the Army — and he had a job where we were living, hence we all stayed there, in Somerset, and then we moved up to Wiltshire.
I………. Do you ever feel that Guernsey was your home, and that you should have come back here?
Yes, but there was nothing to come back for, not for us, no home to come to, so I don’t know what they would have done, never had a house to come to , no furniture, so I don’t know what they would have done.
I………. So deep down, do you feel like a Guernsey girl?
Yes, I do, definitely
I………. And how do you feel that the Island has changed?
What I remember of it, there seems to be a lot more houses, a lot more traffic, and as a child we weren’t allowed out from Jerbourg Barracks, - do you still call it Jerbourg Barracks?
I………. No, can you tell me what Jerbourg Barracks is, because I am not familiar with it
Well, it was called Jerbourg Barracks, it was right out at the point, it was little houses, and I don’t know what reason we were given them, its said they were Army houses, I should think from the First World War, and the poorer people went out there to live, so I think my parents must have been poor.
I………. Was it related to your father being in the Army?
No, I don’t think he was in the Army then. I mean coming from that big family, my grandparents. But Jerbourg Barracks is no longer there. There was a lady lived near us, a Mrs Turner, I don’t know if she was Mrs or a Miss, and she always kept the swimming costumes for us in the barracks, we used to have to go to her for the costumes and a towel, before we went down on the beach, then you went back to her, returned your swimming costumes. The boys had either light blue trunks or navy blue trunks, and we had a little costume that was either navy blue at the bottom and light blue at the top, or the other way round, and you just handed them back.
I………. Now one thing you did tell me, before we started this, you’ve been trying to trace your family. Obviously you knew your parents, why is it that you don’t know the rest of the family?
I don’t really know. I know some of them, one or two of them, like the aunties, but, I don’t really know much about the others. I mean, I’ve got cousins that are still on the Island, Ingrouilles…

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