大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by a volunteer from Swindon College on behalf of Joan Lloyd and has been added to the site with her permission. Joan fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I lived in Bridgewater while my husband Ernest Lloyd was stationed there with the Army in 1941. We were so happy because I was expecting my first baby in October 1941. This was short-lived as my husband was sent away to North Africa with the army. Before he went, he had arranged for me to have the baby in a local nursing home 鈥� he made me promise that I would stay in Bridgewater because he felt it was safer than going back to my family in London. I had no family around when my son was born but mother came to visit very soon afterwards. After the birth I wanted to be near the family so one weekend after discussing how safe London was with my sister, my brother-in-law came to fetch my newborn son and I and we moved back to London.

While in North Africa near El Alamaine, my husband was captured and taken to Italy as a prisoner of war. He went out to do any work he was allowed to do 鈥� this was one way of increasing his food ration. Food was in very short supply. One day whilst working in the fields he thought he saw a lorry with some of his army colleagues so decided to try and escape. He shouted at the lorry, chased it and finally jumped on it to find out it was the Scottish Highlanders. He was fed (sausages) and watered and helped them for a while. He spent a lot of time in hiding till he discovered a group of Italian people who were trying to help the prisoners because they disliked the fascists. They took Ernest to tunnels and helped him hide. Ernest knew he had to be very careful, because if the Italians were caught helping prisoners, the Germans burnt their homes down. He kept trying to work his way back towards areas where he thought the British troops would be, hiding when he thought he was in danger. He continued to do this till he got to the British Lines.

He was kept by the British army for another 6 months and had to be interrogated incase he was a spy (he was dark skinned and looked 鈥淚talian鈥�). At this point he sent me a card saying 鈥渟afe and well鈥�. No name because he thought he might be traced. I was so relieved as I knew it was him.

One day my neighbour came into my house and said 鈥淓rnie鈥檚 home鈥�. I was very disbelieving and told him not to say things like that as it upset me. But he kept on reiterating that Ernie was at my Mum鈥檚. I ran round to my mum鈥檚 house and there was Ernie at the top of the stairs. He saw his son for the first time, aged 4 years.

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