大象传媒

When war was declared in 1939, I was a young girl living with my parents in Alexandria, Egypt. I can vividly remember the consternation of my mother, who was desperate to return to England to be with her family. My father, a regular soldier, was station in barracks nearby and we lived in a block of modern flats overlooking the sea.

Italy entered the war on the side of Germany, and we were warned that we would soon be evacuated. A few weeks later the air raid sirens sounded and we witnessed a dog fight between two aircraft over the sea; we were given 24 hours to leave. We could only take what we could carry and were picked up by army lorry and taken to the railway station, where we bade farewell to my father. A band was playing 'Old Lang Syne' which was the last straw for the many weeping wives and mothers. We were not told our destination and the journey took three nights. Our train was regularly shunted into sidings, where we waited in appalling heat, without food or water. Once we stopped in the desert and had to trudge some distance to a tent where we queued for refreshments.

Eventually we arrived in Jerusalem. Buses took us to a school on the outskirts of the town, where we lived until finally being evacuated to Durban, South Africa.

Arrangements were made for us to live in an hotel and my mother and I thought Durban was lovely. During this time British soldiers were being shipped to the Far East to fight the Japanese and sometimes they were allowed shore leave. The South Africans hosted them and showed them the sights of Durban.

Durban at that time was totally different from the United Kingdom. Large modern buildings and hotels by the seashore. Huge rollers breaking on the wide sandy beach. Warm sun, no blackout, plenty of food, no bombing - in fact Utopia to all those boys from back home!

One hot summer evening, I went with my mother to the band stand overlooking the sea. It was a balmy night with a full moon shining down over the sea and twinkling stars. A concert was being held, mainly for the benefit of those service men, and during the concert one of them appeared on the stage and sang the song, 'When they Begin the Beguine'. He had a wonderful voice and sang so poignantly that time seemed to stand still. The waves could be heard gently lapping and the trees swayed and it was as if the sorrow and uncertainty of the future for all those men, some of whom would not return home, swelled the atmosphere with emotion.

This for me is the most wonderful memory I have, and whenever I hear that Cole Porter song, I am transported back to those South African days. We heard that before enlisting, the singer sang with Geraldo's band. I have since wondered if that young man survived the war. He certainly made this memory which I, and I am sure, many others, have never forgotten.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.