My father's name was Frederick Westfield which changed to Brooks in the 1930s. He was in the First World War. My mother was Rose Brooks. My sister, Rose and I never knew why there was a change of name or how it came about. My family have been trying to find this out.
My name is Lilian Brooks and I was born in 1927, the year when the first talking movies were shown.
I was born in Bethnal Green and I was 12 years old when the Second World War started. I was baptized at St. Andrew's, Finnis Rd, Bethnal Green.
We had been living in Dagenham when my mother died in 1935 of breast cancer and my father decided to take me and my sister, Rose, back to Bethnal Green where family were.
It was difficult for a working man to bring up two children by himself at that time.
The evacuation programme started even before the Blitz began and I was one of those who found myself evacuated before the bombing started.
Bethnal Green was one of the worst hit areas during the Blitz.
I was sent to Wales to a small place called Rhymney. Wales to us East Enders was like going to another country and I had never been so far away from home before.
Susan Braithwaite, a friend, was also evacuated. We kept in touch for a short time after I went to Leeds and then lost touch. She had 7 sisters who were all bridesmaids at her wedding.
My father died in December 1940 of pneumonia whilst I was in Wales. I was in Wales for
about 18 months. Rose, my sister, looked
after me and she came to collect me to go to
live in Leeds, Yorkshire. We took our Yorkshire Terrier, Queenie, with us.
These were my early years growing up and my teenage years were spent with Rose, her husband and his family. Rose's husband went through the experiences of Dunkirk. Then I met my own husband
who was in the Navy at the time. He had 4 brothers and 3 sisters, it was a big family. We raised our own family too and now have grandchildren.
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