- Contributed by
- BBC Open Centre, Hull
- People in story:
- Mrs Marjorie Stockton (nee Fisher)
- Location of story:
- Hull
- Background to story:
- Civilian
- Article ID:
- A4157471
- Contributed on:
- 06 June 2005
Story told to Christine Barker at the VE Day Celebrations in Beverley 2005
I was seven when war broke out. We were evacuated first to Grosmont on the moors, we had two homes there then we were sent to a home in Robin Hoods Bay. We went with the schools, we all had to report to school early one morning, and we didn’t know where we were going or how long for, they just took us, no parents with us.
We didn’t say goodbye to any one.
It wasn’t very nice at all. My sister and my brother went too, we were split up at Grosmont, but I think the woman who fostered us there was getting too close to us, she wanted to adopt us, so we were moved on the Robin Hoods Bay, me and my sister it wasn’t nice. I know people now go there for holidays but then it was awful, I was beaten every day — not good memories. I got back to Hull about the last year of the war I’m not sure why — I think my brother came and saw we weren’t very happy so he said “I’m getting you home” and he did.
It was frightening being back my father was an ARP Warden and he kept us in touch with what was going on I remember being in the shelter one night and he was off duty and he came running in and said “look up, there’s a doodle coming down” and I remember being terrified. It landed somewhere on the park in West Hull but it literally shook the shelter. Very very frightening, we’d not seen anything like that when we were away. You could hear the Costello guns going from the shelter and you knew there was something above.
I remember VE Day — my father came home and we wondered why and he said the war was nearly over. Everyone was happy to think there was no more bombing.
I remember VJ more because that was the day we all had parties in the street that was good. There were the tressle tables down the street we wore fancy dress, there was singing, and all the flags, someone lit a bonfire and did potatoes but mainly people were happy. It was a happy day.
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