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I was evacuated to my aunt and uncle in Herefordshire; we didn’t go to school if there were potatoes or hops to harvest, as that was more important.

I remember not being allowed out to play; previously I had lived in a street where all the children played hopscotch (usually we found a bit of china to mark the hopscotch). We played with hoops, with old tyres, and we skipped with a piece of rope. Instead we had to stay in, we used to knit socks for the soldiers on 4 needles; my mother would turn the heel. I was unhappy in the country so came back home.

I also remember the evacuees that came to live near us, especially Eddie Buckingham from Peckham; I think he was everybody’s boyfriend.

I once had a medical to be evacuated to Canada, but for some reason we weren’t selected. As it turns out, the ship carrying the children was sunk — so isn’t it lucky that we didn’t go!

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Becky Barugh of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Pauline Jones and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Pauline's stories:

• Pipelines under the sea
• Any gum chum?
• What a 10th birthday present!

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