大象传媒

Many books of old photographs have been published in recent years - and Trowbridge is no exception. Many of these are of the days of World War 2 and one of the most remembered is that of the evacuees arriving at the railway station. Again in recent years there has been much research into the effect the war had on the lives of these children. It is easy to look at this time through rose-coloured spectacles - especially if you were in the areas to which the children were sent, but there was so much sadness, trauma, break-up of families with loss of loved ones, not realised at that time. I am sure those who were evacuated will be able to write more fully on this, but I write as it were through the eyes of a small boy living in Trowbridge to which many of the children were sent. My first memory is of a small girl ariving at our home named Beryl. Evidently she did not stay long -it will be remembered that because of the 'phoney' war many children returned home quite quickly. I think however that it was her mother who came to visit her one Sunday on a special trip from London but intentionally missed the coach back and had to stay the night. Looking back this illustrates the point of how distressing it must have been for families split up in this way. The next exacuee was a small boy Raymond who also returned home after a short while. This brings me to our next - a teenager - and he was a terror. My parents were unable to control him. I well remember seeing him on the roof of one of the adjoining chapel buildings smoking a cigarette. My older sister was very placid, but one day she had enough and when he came in - I can't remember what had happened - she went at him with all fists flying. He came off worst -and that was the end of him. Then came Mary from Shepherds Bush.I think about five years old, but Mary became part of the family and stayed with us for the remainder of the war. We were playmates together and she shared in many of the wartime memories I have of that time. From time to time her mother would come from London, also her older sister and baby, and stay overnight - not missing the coach this time! I wonder now how we all fitted into our house with other wartime visitors and a family of five! Before the war there had been an annual Christmas party held for the poorer chldren of the town, but with the coming of the war this was changed to a party for evacuees and children of their hosts. We were therefore invited and had a great time. The evacuees actually went to their own schools - probably with teachers from London - but for the rest of the time they were just part of the community. It is sad looking back to remember the stories which often went around about children with sanity habits which were to say the least not quite what would be expected in a quiet West-country town - "Those children from the East End" There is no denying that this was what some of the children had to put up and now much regretted I am sure in a more enlightened age but apart from my parents having to be firm with one of the early children this was not the case in our household. We were happy together. Our last evacuee left for home just after the war, but returned one or twice for holidays with us in Trowbridge - and it would seem therefore that as far as possible in such circumstances she enjoyed those years with us. I hope so.

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