- Contributed byÌý
- West_End_at_War
- People in story:Ìý
- Shirley Nightingale
- Location of story:Ìý
- East London, Wales and Kensworth
- Background to story:Ìý
- Civilian
- Article ID:Ìý
- A2769780
- Contributed on:Ìý
- 22 June 2004
This story was submitted to the People War’s site by Annie Keane of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ on behalf of Shirley Nightingale and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.
A baby's view
I was born in 1938. My first memory is being wrapped up in a blanket by my dad and seeing all the sky lit up out of the window of our flat. We lived in City Road — round the back of Moorfields Hospital.
We had a shelter at the bottom of the flats which was for everyone in the block of flats. It was nice in there, my mum made it up nice and homely. We had our own sheets on the beds and we were really comfortable, I think I slept better there than at home.
The last straw
We were evacuated to Wales first, me, my older sister, my mum and my aunt. I don’t remember much about it but my mum didn’t like it. The last straw was when the coalman who we were staying with, had a bath in front of the fire, not caring that we were all in the room as well! She didn’t like that and we left soon after.
My sister who was about 3 years old at the time, remembers being in a field picking cornflowers. A spitfire was flying low overhead and the pilot waggled his wings at her!
The best gooseberries
The next place we were evacuated to was Kensworth (outside St. Albans). It was lovely, me, my sister and mum stayed in a little house with a man called Cutler. He had the best gooseberries there. We had to use an outside loo there and he used to put that on the gooseberries. We went to the village school which had two rooms, but it was great everyone was really friendly.
Phyllis Calvert - the film star - used to live in the village and we used to see her walking her dog. She was beautiful.
We came back after the Blitz and our whole block had been bombed we had nothing left except a glass vase. We were given another flat in the same estate. We just carried on really.
I still live in the same street now and I’ve seen it all grow back again after the war damage. We’ve been back and visit Kensworth where people still remembered us.
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