´óÏó´«Ã½

After the November Blitz on Coventry, it was decided that I should be evacuated. Most of the Stoke Heath school children were evacuated to South Warwickshire. We set off on ‘Bob Bolton’s’ bus on what seemed an interminable journey and eventually reached Radway at the foot of Edge Hill.

We stood in lines outside the village hall and were then selected by different families. Being young, I don’t think that any of us realised what was going on and were utterly bewildered.

My first billet was in a thatched cottage with a nice lady but I was so upset that it was decided that I should go to a lady with a son the same age as me. They had come from London and were living in a temporary wooden bungalow little more than a large garage in the middle of a field.

What a bad mistake. After 65 years I still recall the horror of my months with her. I was treated appallingly by her and her son. Eventually my mother, seeing the state of neglect that I was had, had me home.

Just in time for the April blitz.

This story was entered by Jenni Waugh, ´óÏó´«Ã½ People’s War Outreach Officer, on behalf of Mr Wrigglesworth who accepts the site’s terms and conditions.

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