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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Mairi Campbell of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ on behalf of Cristopher John Butlin and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

Evacuation to Scotland: the Butlin family

My name is Christopher John Butlin and I was born in Worthing in 1937.
Early on in the war, the Luftwaffe flew fighters along the South coast in an attempt to demoralise the local population: I can remember picking bullets out of my Dad’s carrots! I can also remember him digging at the bottom of the garden to erect the Anderson Shelter.
He was forced to close his Garage owing to a shortage of petrol and not enough customers. He went to work in the Workshops at Ford Aerodrome. When that was hit with a V2, the Royal Navy requisioned what was left and sent him to King Alfred’s in Portsmouth for training and then posted him with the rank of Sub-Lieutenant RNVR to HMS Condor at Arbroath to maintain aircraft — the planes were flown up from England at night under cover of darkness
At the same time, a letter arrived from the Home Office advising all mothers with children under the age of three to get off the south coast! My mother and I travelled to Arbroath by steam train and we were all taken in by a Scots family beside the harbour!
I still have a love of Arbroath Smokies and fresh eggs since the latter came in brown boxes stowed in the aircraft gun-pods!
Later in the war, my father was moved to Yeovilton in preparation for the D-day landings. I remember him telling us how a prison was emptied near to Lee-on-Solent and he organised the convicts to work round-the-clock to maintain and prepare aircraft sent over by the Americans
At the end of the war we enjoyed a street party in Yeovil to celebrate the Allied Victory

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