Two little evacuee's

My grandmother has asked me to take some extracts from her memoirs
To include in this ‘Peoples War’ discussion.

My grandmother and her sister Mary were both evacuated to Devon, my grandmother was 3 ½ and her sister 4 ½ . I Hope I have chosen the correct extracts for you to share. Here goes;-

Extract 1
‘I could see mum was emotionally drained, because she would keep wiping away her tears. As children who did as we were told, we painfully began to accept. Even so we did not think it would happen so quickly. I had only just got used to the idea of going to school and now there were bags and labels being got ready. The words adults shared were of anger and fears.

It all happened too fast. We were at the railway station with labels hanging from our coats, still protesting. There was so much going on, that I became fascinated by mums and dads, kids and teachers everywhere. I decided I must accept very quickly what was happening. That if I was being forced to the seaside, I might as well try and enjoy it. After all I did not suppose it would be for long, maybe a couple of days.

Mums and dads were crying and upsetting the kids. Teachers seemed to be wiping their noses all the time. It was an incredible sight. I had never seen anything like this before. It was very interesting and I felt I might not mind so much after all with all this entertainment provided.’

Extract 2
‘The train journey seemed endless. We were exhausted mentally and physically by the time we reached our destination. Then the whole thing started again. We were lined up in 2’s and I gladly held Mary’s hand. As we marched off the train it was dusk, and teachers were herding children together in straight lines. Checking names and labels. Gradually we were marched into a big hall where there were children and adults milling everywhere.

There seemed to be panic in the air, along with some well meaning smiles. After a while apprehension crept in and I wanted to know where the seaside was. I began to feel fidgety and I looked at Mary’s face. She did not look confident either. Mum had said we would go on the beach and play. It was not happening. I would like to be angry with her, but felt too afraid to waste my emotions on the thought.
Page 2

Extract 3
“A lot of American soldiers started to be billeted in Exmouth, as they did in all small towns. Auntie Winnie housed 2 of them. They were cheerful and generous.

The local children soon got into the habit of asking any soldiers for sweets or chewing gum. The word got around. All you had to say was ‘got any gum chum?’

Then there came a time when the Americans were to give a party in the hall down the road for all evacuees. I could remember auntie (the very strict person we had come to live with) saying that we were not to go. A lady had come to the doorstep and she had insisted that we had to go to the party. She was a forceful lady and it seemed to us that auntie had no option but to let us go. As the day grew close we were of course lectured many times on how to behave. Not to show auntie up. Not t o eat too much. Not to drink lemonade, because it was bad for us. If we were given any sweets, not to eat them, but to bring them home.

The great day came. It was a funny feeling, knowing that someone had overcome aunties strong character. Mary and I walked hand in hand, we were not overexcited as auntie had given us so many warnings. We had never been to a party before, so we did not know what to expect. We turned right at the end of the road. The hall was not far. The doors of the hall were wide open and there was lots of gaiety amongst the soldiers. Streamers and colours everywhere and everyone wore big smiles. The hall had electric lights. We had never seen such brightness before. We were dazzled. Mary and I were overwhelmed by the welcome. Inside the hall it was another world. Long tressels were covered with white sheets, all loaded with sandwiches, food and sweets. There was music, noise and kids galore! We were ushered to seats by kind happy Americans. Mary and I looked at the mountains of cakes and chocolate biscuits. We did not speak. We were in awe of it all. We hardly moved from our seats. We spent most of the afternoon just looking and eating. We had never seen so many people grouped together in so much happiness. It was like a dream and I worried a little, in case I woke up.

Page 3
Arms kept coming across the table offering us more goodies. The Americans encouraged everyone to eat to the full. When I was offered yet another plate, I looked shyly at the face. Surely they knew I had already eaten lots and that I must not have any more. No, the plate was moved nearer to me. The soldier smiled and said ‘take some, its ok’ I nodded and picked up another biscuit. Was I being rude? “take two’ said the voice sounding amused. I withdrew my hand, knowing that it would be the height of bad manners. My eyes looked at his face and back at the plate. With that the soldier laughed at what he saw in my eyes, and took a handful of biscuits and put them on my and Mary’s plates.

After tea Mary and I agreed that we could not have eaten another biscuit. I had a queer feeling in my tummy, it was most put out and was rejecting any more goodies. By the time the lemonade came around, we just nodded yes to any colour and any amount.

Afterwards kids started rushing around and making a hell of a din, playing games etc., Mary and I stood together once again in awe that the children were allowed to do this. I thought that all these children must be naughty. The soldiers however seemed to think it was great and they looked satisfied. Mary and I stood in the background, unable to join in the rushing around, we had broke so many rules already. It was just not in us to break too many rules in one day. Our manners were so polished that we did not think it was right to rush around after having so much done for us. Also we were unused to the noise, having to be ‘seen and not heard’ for most of our childhood. After what seemed an endless time, things started to die down and happy kids bursting with food and sheer joy began to leave.

By the door was a long tressel laden with all sorts of mixed sweets. Each child was given a bundle in bags, pockets, anywhere that they could be carried. As Mary and I prepared to leave without having any sweets (we could not possibly accept more), a hand grabbed us and led us back to the table. We were told to take off berets, so that the soldiers could fill them with sweets, the soldiers stepped back looking pleased, they waited a minute or two, then slightly perplexed moved forward ‘why don’t you eat some of them? Is something wrong? One asked “oh no’ said Mary “but auntie said if we had anything given to us, we were to take it home and we were not to eat any sweets’. The soldiers grimaced as they looked at one another. One said ‘well your auntie is not here and she can’t see you. Eat them and she will never know” Mary and I were aghast, fancy grown-ups talking like that. We liked it. Oh, how we liked it.
Page 4
Our faces beamed and our eyes sparkled as we looked at each other. Our hats full of sweets. We thanked them enormously, the soldiers looked sad at our gratefulness, one leaned forward saying “now you can eat as many as you like and we will refill your hat when you go home” we nodded in agreement and walked in a dream. We sat on a bench to eat the sweets. Once more we did not speak. We had never met such agreeable adults, they actually liked children, they did not mind the mess or the noise, all the children were treated alike, be they fat, thin, tall, gangly, ugly or pretty.

Extract 4
The war was beginning to hot up for Exmouth. We were not allowed to go too far away. We had all had our drill of what to do in times of fire or bomb blast. It was all instilled in us by teachers and other adults alike. If we were out and bombing started, or an aircraft was firing bullets, we should lay down face first on the ground. Wherever we were. Most of our bombing took place at night. We were now proud owners of a table shelter, which was a large wire cage with a steel top. It was really for sleeping in, but grown-ups could just manage to sit up in it. It was new and exciting to crawl into the table shelter to sleep. There would be a flask of hot drink and sandwiches tucked in the corner just in case, as we were warned, our house got bombed and we could be buried for days.

One day when 2 enemy planes came down low and started firing machine guns, I threw myself to the ground as I had been taught, only to be scurfed up by the back of my collar by a stranger , thrown into an open door, there we scrambled for the “table shelter”, there were three other people there, we were all squashed in together. They all looked alarmed, giving a running commentary on what they thought was going on outside. I looked on in interest and wondered when the hot flask and sandwiches were going to appear, but none were offered.

I wondered what would happen if all the occupants of the table shelter were fat, this I decided I would discuss with my sister later, now my imagination saw me squashed with parts of me sticking through the criss cross wire. Eventually covering me with a pattern. Forever people would point and say “look she was squashed in a table shelter”. My thoughts interrupted by the “all clear” siren.

Joan Piper

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