大象传媒

Evacuees in Monmouth from June 1940 up to the end of the war.

Old friends wanting to get in touch, please contact Evacuees Reunion Association, The Mill Business Centre, Gringley-on-the Hill, Nottinghamshire, DN10 4RA telephone 01777 816166

I was living in Ilford, Essex, at 81/2years old I remember leaving Ilford on a steam train, but cannot remember anymore, not even which school I attended. But the host parents hosts were Mr & Mrs Cockerel, 76 West ?? Road, Ipswich. Every week my mother bought a 10/6d stamp from the post office, to cover the cost of my keep whilst away as an evacuee.

I only stayed from September until my Mother collected me in Novemeber and took to me to Teddington, Middlesex. My father worked for Warner Bros, he was chief projectionist, at the films studios. They called this the 'phoney war' and because nothing happened, we all went back to London

But within two or three weeks I was off again. The journey was by bus to Barking Station, they took us up to Paddington Station, there onto Gloucester, then to Ross, then to May Hill Station at Monmouth. We walked then over the river bridge to the Rolls Hall which is now the Library.

You had to go up on the stage, where you were weighed, your throat examined. We had gone all day without food, so were given a cup of tea and a bun and icecream, but I refused the ice cream because I had my best coat on. ( I was nine)

Bearing in mind I had only returned 2/3 weeks before, I didn't know anybody. I sat next to this girl, Sylvia, and we sort of decided to stick together. We went in a car and it was dark, we went to a big house, Westbury House, Dixton Road, now a centre for brain damaged adults. I just remember us going to bed, and the lady asking us what we wanted to call her. We decided we would call her Auntie Dorothy.

The next morning, I opened the front door and the sun was shining, and the view was of The Kymin, and it was a fantastic sight. Dorothy Bowers was an author who wrote detective stories, including A Deed without a Name, Fear for Miss Betony. I was there for thirteen months, then I had to go to another billet as her father was ill.

I was lucky there as well, and here the two girls were from Ilford and the same school, Cleveland Road Junior School. They were slightly older than me, so they were in the class above. They bought one of Dorothy's books for their foster father birthday and I got Dorothy to autograph it, we were friends from then on. When I had to find another billet, they asked their foster mother and father's parents to take me in, which they did. So we were all together in the same road, which was in Wonastow. We had to go to the Baptist Church three times on a Sunday, which meant we had to walk the length of Monmouth six times every Sunday, you wouldn't forget Sundays. Wherever one went, three of us went for the next year.

My two friends, Connie and Gwyn and myself were up in the woods, a German plane flew down the valley to machine gun us, but fortunately he missed. They had two bombs drop in Monmouth when we hadn't been there very long, but we took it in our stride, and went to look at the hole.

Going back to when we arrived in Monmouth, we went to Jones' Endowed School, which is where the modern comprehensive school is now. Our morning school was in the Institute, which was behind St Mary's Church, and then in the afternoon, we would go for a walk.

I won a scholarship to Ilford County Hugh, so went home in June 1942.

Connie and Gwyn were my bridesmaids, and we still remain friends. We talk together on the phone, and meet up sometimes.

Rita Doughty, (Kohler)

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