![]() All the bag contained was a tin of condensed milk, a tin of corned-beef, a packet of very hard unsweetened plain chocolate that tasted like laxative, and two packets of hard-tack biscuits, which were tasteless and impossible to eat while dry. Some of us were given a white carrier-bag containing rations, which I believe was meant to be given to the people we were billeted on to tide us over, but following the example of my friends, I dived into mine to see if there were any eatables. Tired and hungry, we were herded into a hall near the station and seperated into groups, family members together. The journey took for ages, as we were shunted about quite a bit, and by mid-day we were getting hungry.Īt last the journey ended and we found ourselves at Worthing, a seaside resort on the Sussex coast I don't remember there being any problems in my compartment, although I was bursting by the time we arrived at our destination, but I expect there were some red faces in the rest of the train, especially among the younger children. ![]() The old type train carriages had seperate compartments and no corridor, so there were no toilets. This time it was for real, and there was a special electric train waiting at the station, with plenty of room for all of us, but to the consternation of the big crowd of Mums and Dads who came to see us off, no-one could tell them where we were going, so it was a mystery ride. On Friday the 1st of September, we assembled again at school early in the morning and walked in our procession to South Bermondsey Station, just a short distance away, each wearing a label, gas-mask case on shoulder and carrying a case or bag. We never heard the reason why, but I think it must have been something to do with the railway being busy with military traffic. Our evacuation had been cancelled and we were sent home again. ![]() We all got in and waited for what seemed an interminable time, then we were ushered out again and marched back to school. An engine-less train stood beside the wooden platform in the dim light of the goods-shed. Some of the kids were a bit quiet and weepy, but most were excited and chattering, speculating about where we were going.Įventually, we walked in a long crocodile all the way to the back entrance of Bricklayers Arms goods station in Rolls Road. We duly turned up next morning with our little bits of luggage and had a label with our details on it tied to our coat lapels. Although John and Percy went to different schools, they were allowed to come with Iris, Beryl and myself in order to keep the family together. On the Wednesday of the week before War was declared in September, us school-children were told to pack our things and bring them with us to school next day as we were going to be evacuated from London. Brother Percy remembers getting timber and plywood off-cuts from the local timber-yard to floor it out, but we were never to use this shelter in an air-raid as we moved to our new home in Galleywall Road before the Blitz started. It was in the summer holidays when we got our shelter, so I didn't get a chance to gloat. So the main topics of conversation at school were: "Got your gas-mask yet?" Or perhaps: "They've dug a big hole in our back-garden and are putting the shelter in today." This made one quite a celebrity, with looks of envy from others who were still shelter-less. Similarly, throughout the summer, gangs of workmen came round erecting Anderson shelters in the back gardens, street by street, a slow process. Of course, things didn't happen all at once, you went to collect your gas-mask when it was your family's turn. All I knew about war was what mum and dad had told me about the Great War, when dad was a soldier and mum's family were bombed out in a Zeppelin raid when they lived at New Cross, Deptford. It was a time of some excitement for us schoolchildren, clouded a little by fear of the unknown. There was a special one for infants, which completely enclosed the baby, and came with a hand-pump for Mum to operate. Children under five got a "Mickey-mouse" model in pink rubber with a blue nose-piece and round eye-lenses. My mother was expecting another baby in December who was to be my sister Sheila.ĭuring the summer, war-scare was the main topic on the radio and in the newapapers, lots of preparations for Civil Defence were started.Įveryone was issued with a Gas-mask in a cardboard box with a shoulder string. I had two older brothers, John and Percy, two younger sisters, Iris and Beryl and a little brother Ron. In 1939, I was ten years old and lived with my family in a terrace house in Catlin Street, off Rotherhithe New Road, Bermondsey, South London.
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