- Contributed byÌý
- ´óÏó´«Ã½ Open Centre, Hull
- People in story:Ìý
- John Deane, Ronald Deane, Roy Minns, Harry Stapleton
- Location of story:Ìý
- Hull / Scarborough
- Background to story:Ìý
- Civilian
- Article ID:Ìý
- A4157381
- Contributed on:Ìý
- 06 June 2005
Story told to Christine Barker at the VE Day Celebrations in Beverley 2005
I was evacuated to Scarborough from Eastbourne Street in Hull. I was ten and my younger brother was eight, nearly nine. We went on the day war broke out. We knew why we had to go — to escape the bombs in Hull. We were put onto trains at Paragon Station in Hull by the schoolteachers and we were sent to Scarborough. We were met and arrangements must have been made in advance, for people to take us into their homes. My brother myself and two other boys, one called Roy Minns, the other Harry Stapleton also from Hull, were all put together and we went to 28 Newland Avenue in Scarborough.
The gentleman of the house was a self employed painter and decorator and the lady used the house as a landlady for holiday makers, so it was a kind of a boarding house and they had a dog called Mick. Well this lady for whatever reason didn’t feed us properly, for breakfast we were given bread and lard sandwiches. Now if you’ve ever tried to eat bread and lard it’s not very nice. We didn’t get enough; we had an awful long walk to school in Scawby Mills about two and a half, three miles. When school finished the four of us used to run like hell back to the digs to put the biggest of the sandwiches that had been laid out onto one plate so whoever was there first got the biggest and the most to eat.
We were there about two years, and when the risk had virtually gone regarding Hull being bombed our parents brought us back home. We could have stayed longer then but we anted to be home, mother wanted us home, father used to come and visit us now the food situation was different on those days of course.
Our teachers from Hull were a Mr Richard Wyvall and a Miss Daniels, he played the violin and she played the piano. Most of our schooling was singing, I think if anyone had listened we were probably the best child’s’ choir in the country at the time! The school was in a pub in Scawby Mills, well it is now, I don’t know what it was then, but it had been taken over in the war as our school.
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