大象传媒

I was six years old in 1939 Living in the London Borough of West Ham and going, to Park Junior School. Ham Park Road. Stratford E15. My recollection and experiences at that time may be of interest to you.

The whole school (or may be all those who鈥檚 parents wanted to ensure there children were going to be safe for the duration) were evacuated. Me and my 5year old sisters good fortune to be sent to village in Cornwall with the lovely name of St. Just in Roseland. Put on a train 鈥渢he Cornish Riviera鈥� at Paddington Station with one label a rucksack a bag, our mother had made over our shoulders with food for the journey. It goes without saying we had never been on a steam train before. I suppose we must have been among the youngest two children on this journey. I remember stopping at Truro station. All getting on a bus, which took us to the seaside village of
St. Mawes. We stopped just out side of St. Mawes at the water tower, the first one of those I had seen as well.
It was dusk, and the men stationed at the tower , possible the ARP must have given the coach driver instructions on where to go. The Village Hall. We must have been exhausted !
The next thing I recall was being allocated to a lady. I don鈥檛 think they were given any choice as to whether they took in evacuees, and I doubt if very many were prepared to take in two one six and a half and the other 5.
We were taken to a cottage by this nice lady and put to bed. When we woke the next morning, we looked out of the window, were overlooking a farm yard.
I don鈥檛 know if we missed our mum and dad. So much to take in, every thing was different
The toilet was down the garden, news paper on a piece of string, no toilet roll, no flushing water.
The water to be used for everything had to be pumped up from the village well.
No electric, for light or cooking. Smelly oil lamps to see in the dark. Cooking was by a wood fired stove.
We then found out that the lady was going to look after us, was not the lady who collected us. She had a baby son and her husband was a soldier, based in the midlands and she had taken their son to see him.
When she came back we soon settled down as a family.

Some of the experiences have stayed with me for the past 65 years.
I remember my first day at St Just Village School, there were two classes, the head teacher was a Miss Lott who came with us.
Having great times in the farm yard. Watching the swallows fly in and out of the barn.
Helping with harvest, all the local farms seemed to help each other, first to cut the corn, mostly by Horse Very few tractors about in 1939.The rabbits running out, the farmers would catch and kill some. Gut them and the helpers, mostly women of course would take some home for dinner.
When all the harvest was in, the threshing machine would come to the farms and bag up all the corn.
鈥渘o such thing as a combined harvester in those days鈥�

My father was exempt from going into the armed forces during the war.
He worked for a civil engineering contracting company who specialized in laying Gas and Water Mains. He worked in the City of London in the Blitz. He was lucky to come through the war. His most memorable experience, came when a bomb was dropped on St Pauls Cathederal. 鈥淚t did not explode鈥� By profession (at that time) he was a pipe layer and jointer. Before the Engineers could go down the crater to de-fuse the bomb, he went into the crater to plug off the gas pipe from which the gas was escaping.
The bomb was made safe, and taken to Hackney Marshes and blown up safely.
Dad was presented with a Clock for his bravery and I have the letter he received from the Dean of St. Pauls thanking him for his bravery. The only chip he carried on his shoulder until he died at the age of 86 was his foreman who stood and watched, was awarded the George Cross. He also worked in the City of Exeter for some while, helping to restore their services, after they were badly blitzed.

While we were far away from the trouble, we had no idea what Mum and Dad were going through. They did come down and see us. The School organized a coach trip, for a short break.
When they did eventually come to bring us home to West Ham. I recall walking from Plaistow station to our home long side West Ham Park and seeing all the houses that were either bombed to the ground or derelict, and our house still standing and many derelict and empty on both sides.

My parents remained in contact with my second mum for year y wife and I still visit once or twice a year. Both my second mum and he husband will be ninety this Christmas. We still get a great welcome and a Cornish Pasty lunch every visit.

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