大象传媒

I was only five years old when the Second World War started in 1939. I had never been away from my parents, so it was all a bit of an adventure to be sent with my sister to Hertfordshire where we lived with an elderly couple, safe from the bombing.
As I realise now, Hertfordshire was not all that far from London, but to a five year old it seemed a very great distance. We lived there for about 10 months and then came back to London; the very nice couple we lived with couldn't cope with two small children.

I can remember sleeping in a cellar with my family in Islington the night before I was evacuated again, this time to South Wales, to the home of my brother-in law's family. I was there for nearly six years. During that time I only saw my family twice. My mother was working in a factory during the war and only had one week's holiday a year which she spent with me in Wales.

I didn't experience any bombing, as the small town that I lived in didn't have anything of importance, worthy of bombing. We did have air raids however, and during those we sat underneath the dining room table until the all clear.

There were terrible shortages of everything during the war, food was short and everyone grew vegetables on their allotment or in the garden to help out with rations.
We kept chickens, so we didn't have an egg ration. Any spare eggs were preserved in isinglass to use at a later date.
(Isinglass is very pure transparent gelatine obtained from the swim bladder of certain fish, especially sturgeon. It was used for making jellies and especially as a fining agent to clarify wine. Now it's been replaced by animal gelatine).

As I was an evacuee I went to school with the other evacuees.
There were two classes held in a scout hut. We had a coal fire at one end and a big black stove at the other, used during the winter months, which were very harsh in Wales.
Our teacher was from Guernsey. Her family were held prisoners of the Germans who had occupied the Channel Islands during the war. It must have been very worrying for her as the other members of her family were still there.

We didn't have any real holidays, but we spent one day a year on a trip to Barry Island. It had a lovely sandy beach and we thought it was paradise! Apart from that were Sunday-school trips.

My mother wrote to me every couple of weeks and sent me a small parcel of sweets, which were only available on ration, and some comics.

I remember when some Americans came through the town in a fleet of lorries. We were so excited, we stood on the roadside and cheered.
The American soldiers threw us sweets and chewing gum. We thought it was wonderful.

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