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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Rachel Conway from Brighton and has been added to the website on behalf of Maureen Blakey (nee Goodyer) with her permission and they fully understand the site’s terms and conditions.

All children over the age of five were evacuated with their school as part of ‘operation pied piper’. I was almost six in 1939 when I was evacuated with my sister Honor who was six. The week before evacuation we were sent home from school with a note and a list of what we would need to take with us: soap; flannel; toothbrush; change of underwear; sandwiches and an apple for the journey. Me, my sister, and brother Owen were among the first group of children to be evacuated in those early days of war. They said it would be over by Christmas but our teachers told the older children, like my sister to allow for a year. I’ve no idea how we were supposed to manage for a year with a toothbrush and one change of socks!

The actual day of evacuation I remember quite well, but the importance and seriousness of it I didn’t understand. I was only six years old. I saw my Grandma packing sandwiches for the journey and thought we were going on a picnic by the sea which used to do with our parents and aunties, I thought I was only going for the day!

At Links Road School, Tooting we all lined up in the hall for our last assembly — a teacher played ‘Blaze Away’ and we all marched out to the play-ground, where all the charabancs (coaches) were waiting to take us to the train station. Goring-by-Sea on the Sussex coast was to be our destination for Honor and myself. We had ‘brown labels’ pinned to our coats with our names and school written on them. I carried small case, some children had proper carrier bags; others small bundles under their arms with clothes in; some with nothing only the clothes they stood up in. We all carried gasmasks in little ‘brown boxes’. Once on the coach I could see the Mums and Dads, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles all in the playground and along the pavements waving us off. Some waved handkerchiefs and some coloured scarves to be noticed as the coach went by..

My dear Dad and Grandma were in the playground, both waving and trying to look cheerful. Some parents were crying! Why? We will be back tonight (or so I thought)! As we passed Cromor Road, where we lived, Granddad was standing on the corner waving his walking stick. He suffered badly with ulcerated legs and to have walked from our house to the corner must have been the greatest of efforts, but there he was and it was wonderful to see him. This was the last time we saw him, he died a few months later.

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