大象传媒

EVELYN鈥橲 STORY
This story was submitted to the Peoples War Site by Peter Nicholas of Link into Learning, Cornwall County Council. It was recorded on behalf of Mrs. Bowden by East Cornwall Stroke Association and Link into Learning. It has been added to the Peoples War site with Mrs. Bowden permission and she fully understands the sites terms and conditions.
War broke out in 1939 and my sister Lilian got married in the December of 1940. I was out of work and 20 years old. Dorothy Loo came and found me and offered me a job at the International Stores, which I accepted and stayed until I was called up in March 1942.
We lived in the main street in Fowey and one day in 1940 I was in the upstairs sitting room dusting when I saw a German plane come over about 10am - it was a reconnaissance plane probably photographing the heavily laden cargo ship anchored off the Albert Quay. We think ammunition was being loaded in Fowey and this ship probably had that sort of cargo. By 11am the ship had upped anchor and left port. On the Monday afternoon I was in the gas show room near the ship hotel when a German plane came over and dropped some bombs off Albert Quay. Gran came racing down the street with her hair flying to make sure I was okay.
Another day I was in the kitchen getting ready to go to the library when I heard a plane come over. Gran had her head out of the window to see what was going on and I just shouted at her to get her head in as it sounded all-wrong. We all went down in the cellar and a plane flew down the main street firing its guns. Lilian was in the tailor's shop where she worked and hid behind the clothes! The front door was blown open by the blast. Polruan school was bombed during the war I don't think anyone was even hurt which was very lucky. A bomb was also dropped on the golf links about the same time again nobody was hurt. I went to a dance with Audrey (Combes) and met Victor.
He was getting over the loss of his family in a bombing raid on Hull where six members of his family were killed. I arranged to meet him at the cinema but he never turned up so I went with a guy from the navy. Lilian was rather surprised when I turned up as she was expecting to see me with someone from the army and there I was with a navy guy! I didn't know but Vie had been sent away to get over his bereavement. I said I wouldn't go out with him again as he had stood me up but I was persuaded to because it wasn't his fault. We got married in May 1942 and 2 days later he was off to Burma. Vic's brother Sam was a prisoner of war by now and Vic had been too young to go to France but not to go to Burma and India. He was with the 14th Army and didn't get back until September 1945.
I was called up in 1942 and had left before the Americans arrived in Fowey. I went into the WAAF and was sent to Pucklechurch near Bristol. I do remember on one visit home in 1944 the river was full of barges ready for D-Day. They disappeared over night. During the run up to the D-Day operations all leave was cancelled for six months.
After Pucklechurch I went to Bristol and trained as a winch operator on the balloons. It was very hard and dangerous at times we had to go out in all weathers day and night when we were called to. We all took in turns to do the cooking usually we did this in two's and some of the girls had never cooked before. Our job was to protect Bristol from the bombers. We were very close to Clifton Suspension Bridge.
The police were very good and kept an eye on us as we were all young woman and many of us had never been away from home before. Chatting one day to them I discovered that they had a Fowey man with them, PC Goodmanson, he came to see me the next night and we had a good chat about home. From Bristol we went to Weston-Super-Mare. We had a good time there I must say. We used to go to the Winter Gardens dancing. I was taught how to dance by some of the girls. There was an airfield near by so we used to go over and see the men and they used to visit us. We did our job though with the balloons as Bristol wasn't as badly bombed as Plymouth.
I met some wonderful people on the balloon sites and stayed friends with some for many years. Cicely lived in Wells and 1 used to hitch to her home with her on a Sunday getting a lift in all sorts of different transport. The Irish men and women had to go home in civvies because Ireland was not in the war. Only Emily and I are left from our group of friends now.
After the war we were living in Tavern Barn and we were out for a walk. I had Liz in the pushchair and Vicky had gone on to open the door. When I got there she had let in this lady and it was Lorraine (Cicely) Hole. They had been visiting the Minister in Tywardreath who her husband knew and mentioned my name. The vicar knew my Father so sent them in to Fowey to find us.
My Father was too old to join up but he would have if he could have. He was in the Home Guard instead.

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