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This story has been written onto the ´óÏó´«Ã½ People’s War site by Callington U3A — Meg Bassett — on behalf of Mrs Kathie Seldon who fully understands the terms and conditions of this site.

My name is Katharina Seldon (nee Ponsens) and I was born in June 1939 in Koln, Weidenpesch, Germany. I was one of eight children, five of whom are still alive — three girls and two boys. My brother, aged 22 years, was killed in Russia in 1942. A brother died aged 16 of tetanus infection and another, who would have been older than me, died at birth. My father died in 1941, from cancer, leaving my mother to bring up their five remaining children.

We were bombed out of our house in Koln in 1943 and were evacuated to Turingen. We had to walk 250 miles to get there, with me in a little wooden cart being pulled along by either my brother or sister. My seven year old brother mainly walked. On the way my older sister stole from the fields we passed so that the family had at least something to eat. When we arrived in Turingen we stayed on a farm in only one or two rooms. My mother had to work to provide food for the family, as did my older sister, who is 14 years my senior. She had trained as a furrier and made what clothes we had from anything she could find. She also made uniforms for soldiers. We did not have much to eat — sometimes potato scraps which others had thrown away. Bread was baked in huge loaves in communal ovens. It was very hard so we dipped it in water and sprinkled sugar on it — it was delicious!

We left Turingen in 1945 when the Russians drew near. We had heard about the killing, looting and raping. So we walked the 250 miles back to Koln. Our house had been destroyed in the bombing so we moved into an empty house. No-one was sure whether the owners were still alive. We stayed in that house for two years until the owners did return. We moved into the house next door, although we had to brace the side wall. By that time the Americans had come and some food was available. We also had Red Cross parcels. As children we played in the ruins of the bombed buildings, building little houses and making walls with the fallen bricks. We also collected lead and scrap iron which we sold to dealers for pennies. One memory I have of the bombing is going to the communal bunker, during a raid, with my second oldest sister. I said ‘Look at all the beautiful lights in the sky’, which must have been flares. She just told me to hurry up! We were very short of fuel so my sisters and brother would steal coal from the nearby railway, and were caught a few times. As a child I was very happy because everyone looked after me.

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