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I was only five years old when the Second World War started in December 1939. I had never been away from my parents, so it was a bit of an adventure to be sent with my sister to Ware in Hertfordshire to live with an elderly couple, so we could be safe away from the bombing. As I realise now Ware was not all that far from London but to a five year old it seemed a very great distance. We lived there for about 10 months and then came back to London because the very nice couple we lived with could not cope with two children.

I can remember sleeping in a cellar with my family in Islington the night before I was evacuated again to South Wales to the home of my brother-in law’s family. I was there for nearly six years. During that time I only came home twice to see my family. My mother was working in a factory during the war and only had one week’s holiday a year which she spent with me in Wales.

I did not experience any bombing as the small town that I lived in did not have anything of importance to bomb. We did have air raids however and at those times we sat underneath the dining room table until the all clear.

There were terrible shortages of everything during the war — food was short and everyone grew vegetables on an allotment or in their garden to help out with rations. We kept chickens, so we did not have an egg ration. Any spare eggs were preserved in isinglass to use at a later date.

As I was an evacuee I went to school with other evacuees. We had two classes in a scout hut. We had a coal fire at one end and a big black stove at the other during the winter months, which were very harsh in Wales. Our teacher (Miss Upton) was from Guernsey. Her family were prisoners of the Germans who were occupying the islands during the war years. It must have been very worrying for her as her family were there.

We had no holidays. We spent one day a year on a trip to Barry Island. It had a lovely sandy beach and we thought it was paradise! Apart from that we only had Sunday school trips.

My mother wrote to me every couple of weeks and sent me a small parcel of sweets, which were on ration, also some comics.

I remember when some Americans came through the town in a fleet of lorries. We were so excited, and stood on the roadside and cheered. The American soldiers threw us sweets and chewing gum — we thought it was wonderful.

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