大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People's War site by Simon harris and has been added to the website on behalf of Eileen McClelland with her permission and they fully understand the site's terms and conditions.

My 10th birthday fell on the day war was declared. With a father (John Leslie Smith)in the RAF reserve, he was soon called up and we moved to Market Harborough and then the Isle of Man. The boat across zig-zagged its way to avoid torpedoes.

My mother (Winifred) had my brother and I put into the evacuation scheme and we were to be shipped to the USA. I remember my brother having a great sulk about this. In our photos he looked grumpy whilst I was cheerful. The day before embarcation for the USA my mother went by car to the RAF camp to complete some formalities. She had not driven much before and evidently distracted by the prospect of separation from her children, she crashed the car on the way home. Much to my dad's annoyance the car had to be retreaved from a ditch. On the morning of our departure dad announced that we were not going to be travelling as mum was too upset. It was only years later that my brother told me the boat we were to tavel on was sunk with horrific loss of life.

This might well explain why the subject of evacuation was never brought up again for the duration of the war. We remained on the Isle of Man and had a comparatively quiet wartime experience.

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