Susan Boileau’s Children’s View of Wartime

I was born in Kenya, where my father grew coffee. When the was broke out, my mother, sister and brother came back to England when I was 3 ½ years old. These two little stories give a perspective of wartime.

I was quite small and one day I was with my sister and brother who were playing a made-up game. I was excluded from this and sitting, watching from a windowsill. My mother came in and as they do, asked what was going on! My sister explained their game and my mother said to me “Susan, what about you?” To which I replied, “I’m a F.U.G” (refugee!).

Going back to school by train in 1944 and with a number of other girls going to the same place, I managed to lose my gas mask and my Identity card. When we got to school and it became known, one of the girls who was really nasty, said “you’re in trouble now. If you lose another next time you’ll get a Green one and then a black one and if you lose that you’ll go to prison!” She was 6 years old!

This story was submitted to the People’s War website by John Boileau of the CSV Action Desk at BBC Hereford and Worcester and has been added to the site with Mrs Susan Boileau’s permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

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