Experiences As An Evacuee

As requested I append some thoughts on my experiences as an evacuee at the start of the Second World War. It is hard for you to imagine what it was like then. My parents had survived the First World War, 1914 - 1918, only twenty one years before, and that had killed millions of young men. My father had fought in France as a “Gunner” in the Royal Artillery, and fortunately emerged unscathed, though he did have some pretty hairy tales. There were air raids by German aircraft in the First World War, but only on the South and East Coasts and with hardly any consequence.
In 1939 the Luftwaffe was a formidable weapon having been involved in the Spanish Civil War with devastating effect, and we were very conscious of the fact that their planes could reach Liverpool, and like most things, the fear of it happening is worse than the actual event. Not that being bombed was an enjoyable experience, but once you’ve been through something you learn to cope with it. No matter how awful.

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