A Guernsey evacuee in Rochdale reunited with relatives from London

Beryl Sebire (née Saich) interviewed by Matt Harvey, Social History Officer, Guernsey Museum. The interview recorded on video. The video transcribed by J David 5-8/9/2005

[Beryl Saich had been evacuated with the Girls’ Intermediate School from Guernsey to Rochdale. Her parents had remained in Guernsey.]

We went up to Rochdale, where Gracie Fields comes from, and some of the girls were really excited — ooh, Gracie Fields, wonder if we can see her, and all the rest of it — this wonderful big house, enormous big house, some gentlemen’s residence, and we all got in there, but I was only there for two days, and the headmistress, Miss Roughton, she called for me. I thought “Ooh, I hope I haven’t done anything I shouldn’t do”. “Come in, dear,” she says “Now then, Beryl,” And I looked, and I looked at this gentleman — “Uncle Graham! Uncle Graham!” I said, “I’m so pleased to see you!” “So you know him” “Yes, he’s my uncle”. He said where he was living, and we went down into a place called Southall, not a very nice place anyway, went down there, and he owned this shop, what I can describe as more or less like Marquands, [Transcriber’s note, Marquand Bros was a long established ship chandlery, ironmongery, and kitchenware shop on the Quay in St Peter Port] Marquand brothers, and same thing, not quite so large, china, he had two shops, a china shop and a hardware shop, and before the war we used to go over every Christmas to be with relations at Christmas, I used to love to get behind the counter, in the blue bags, two pounds of soda, all weighed up in those days by hand. And a pound of soap flakes, I can see myself doing that now, behind the counter, oh I was pleased doing that, “Can I get behind the counter please Auntie Elsie”. “On Soda and soap flakes, please”. I was in my element.. That went on fine, just for a few months, then the Germans come over, with bombs.

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