- Contributed by
- Peoples War Team in the East Midlands
- People in story:
- Peter Thomas
- Location of story:
- Derby
- Background to story:
- Civilian
- Article ID:
- A4564136
- Contributed on:
- 27 July 2005
"This story was submitted to the site by the BBC's Peoples War Team in the East Midlands with Peter Thomas'permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions."
As a child I used to go to Osmaston Park hotel to school in the basket room because my school was on Nightingale Road, near Rolls Royce and consequently too dangerous to attend. I could see the German planes coming over and they had dog fights. I’d go to school and I’d use the excuse to come home because there was a dog fight going on – my mother used to tell me to go back as soon as she saw me, so that excuse never worked on her. I was getting sent away as an evacuee to Canada. My relations had two ranches in Canada – they’d sent for me and my youngest auntie to go there and they were going to pay 700 pounds for me to go to stay. I didn’t want to go so I continued to go to school for all my tests. In the meantime six weeks before I was due to go they torpedoed one of the boats and all the children on it died. After that I was never sent.
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