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This story is transcribed by me Graham Shepherd , from notes taken during a discussion with Mrs Buckland - Jones , and will be added to the web site with her permission . She understands the sites terms and conditions .

I was born in 1912 to a German mother and an English father , but my father ensured that I was registered as a British citizen right from my birth . My maiden name was Marsh .

My father owned a mineral water factory called Josia H Russell which was part of a London based company , which was a thrithing business and we led a very comfortable life . I was no stranger to England having regular holidays in London , staying with my Aunts and Uncles .

I was given a very good education in Holland and studied to become a Medical Laboratory Technician . Life was very enjoyable for my family , but when Hitler took power in Germany people began to get concerned , and as time passed nasty stories began to emerge that he was persecuting the Jews , and setting up concentration camps .

We really felt threatened when he marched into the Rhinelands during 1936/7 , and then occupied the Sudeten Land and Czechoslovakia .

My father said that we would be all right since the Germans had not invaded Holland in the first world war , so there was no reason why he should this time and if they tried we could flood parts of the country to stop them .

We used to listen to Hitler's speeches on the radio and became more and more worried .

We then got notification from the British Consulate asking if we were aware of the severity of the situation , and that children should be sent back to England and all capital transferred . This was a big decision and following a long family discussion we decided to take no action .

When war broke out in 1939 and Hitler invaded Poland we became very worried , and were warned by the British Consulate to take action and leave the country , but again we chose to take no action .

The 10th May 1940 turned out to be a fateful day when we were wakened in the early hours by the noise of heavy planes overhead and my father got out his binoculars and discovered that they were German planes . We then heard explosions in the distance , and rumours followed that soldiers had been seen parachuting in .

We contacted the British Consulate who told us to get out as fast as we could . We were told to take just one suitcase each and go to a certain Harbour where two passenger liners were available to take the British out . This was still a big decision to make having to leave the business , our house and our capital behind , so it was decided that myself and my younger brother would leave and my parents would follow later .

When we arrived at the harbour the two liners St. Dennis and Malines were there which would take us to the Hook of Holland and on to Harwich . There were only a few other people on board the St Dennis , and we waited and waited and could hear bombs in the distance . When evening came we decided not to leave without our parents so went back home . They were rather surprised to see us , and we spent a very uncomfortable night !

Next morning I had a very long talk with my father trying to persuade him and my mother to leave , but he kept saying that at his age ( 65/67 years old ) the Germans would leave him alone . Eventually I managed to pursuade him to leave , and all four of us left with a suitcase each - mother also packed a small case with Jewellery - and boarded the Malines . The St. Dennis and Malines operated a regular service between the Hook of Holland and Harwich . Like the previous day we waited and waited and when evening came we were told that they were still waiting for Embassy staff to arrive .

It was decided to put us on a different ship which would take us to the Hook of Holland . It was dark and I was very frightened having to clime up a rope ladder over the swirling water . They tried to make us comfortable , but with its cargo of coal , it was very dirty , and although they provided us with drinks there was no food available .

We set sail next morning and as we got to the middle of the river there was a terrible explosion from the back of the ship and the ship started to sink almost immediately . Everyone quickly came on deck and we could see our luggage floating away . The captain managed to get the ship onto the south side of the river and we scrambled off onto a thick mud shelf , my handbag being my only possession . We learned that we had hit one of the magnetic mines dropped by the Germans .

We were eventually put into a lifeboat and towed back to the north side of the river where we spent some of the night in a Seaman's hostel at Vlaardingen

Next morning it was back to Rotterdam and aboard the Malines yet again . We were still in our original clothes and in a terrible mess . Again there was plenty of water but very little food available . The captain then decided that he could not get out into the river due to it being mined , so we were all taken off again and the Malines was scuttled . The situation was getting worse all the time and there was now heavy fighting all around us , at the airport and the main bridge to the south . A petrol store was also alight and the skies were filled with black smoke . We despared about ever getting out . As we stood and waited and waited to see what was to happen to us , eventually being advised that they were going to bus us to the Hook of Holland.

When the busses arrived they were one driver short , so a brave young man volunteered to drive , although he had never driven a bus before . Unfortunately the Germans spotted us and dropped bombs which hit the last bus . The survivors were all taken on board the other buses and we set off on our hazardous journey . Many roads were blocked by trees which had been felled to stop the tanks and numerous Dutch soldiers challenged us looking for Germans . My mother had never lost her German accent so she had keep her mouth covered to ensure that she did not speak .

We arrived at the Hook of Holland and were overjoyed to see the British destroyer HMS Mohawk and British sailors . All the women were given life vests and taken below deck to an area which was very oily and the men stayed on deck . The sailors said that we all looked a mess and they couldn’t take us to England looking like that , and told us to get out our lipsticks and compacts and make ourselves look pretty .

Before setting sail we suffered an air raid and all the ships guns started blazing away - it was a terrific noise . The crew were wonderful to us all and set up a ladies toilet . There was plenty to drink but again no food . We were all now very tired and hungry after days of being constantly on the move .

We then set sail for England , taking a zig zag course to avoid the submarines which due to the speed we were travelling at kept throwing us about . We landed safely at Tilbury next morning , and after going through the controls which did not present us with any problems since we all had our passports and identity cards with us , went to stay with my Aunty and Uncle in Barnes . We were luck , many of those who arrived with us had no where to go .

We came to Britain to be safe , my only possessions being my handbag and British Passport . On the same day Rotterdam suffered a big air attack - the city centre was devastated and there were many casualties . After a few months the Battle of Britain started and we were bombed out . AN unexploded bomb landed outside the house and when it was detonated it caused a lot of damage to the house . I had now found a job working as a Laboratory Technician at Rohampton hospital , but seemed to spend more time in the shelter than at work . My father and myself stayed in the house sleeping on mattresses on the floor .

In October that year I was offered a job at Chapel Allerton in Leeds which had been shut down many years before as a Medical Laboratory Technician , having to reopen the laboratory . I remained there for 25 years . While there I married my first husband who was an administrator at the Polish hospital at Penly near Wrexham .

Unfortunately my father never got over the experience particularly loosing his business and house , although we did eventually get some compensation , it took many years to resolve , having to deal through the ‘ Custodian of British Property in Enemy Occupied Territory ‘ . I think we got about 15% of the pre war value .

My father returned to Rotterdam as soon as possible after the war , but although the house externally was still intact , the Germans had destroyed everything inside the house . We did get a few of our possessions back from our neighbours , whose son had climbed through the attic window after we had left , and managed to save some small items before the Germans occupied our house .

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