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A CHILD’S MEMORIES OF THE WAR

I was a girl of 8 when the war started, living at Gosport. I well remember being evacuated with my two brothers to a village about twenty miles away carrying our tins of Cornbeef and biscuits. My dad, having been in the TA, was called up and was a gunner on Portsmouth Common. After 18 months my family moved to Shoreham-by-Sea and my mother had us home; but after only a couple of months we were off again, evacuated this time to Yorkshire. It seemed a very long train journey from Shoreham to Yorkshire. We eventually arrived and spent the night in a big building in Wakefield; probably an empty hospital. What a night! — children crying everywhere- but of course my brothers and I had done it all before. Next morning we were taken on a bus and eight of us were left in a small village, Green Moor, and a school teacher took two of us. I can truthfully say I spent over two very happy years there; all the villagers accepting us and treating us like one of themselves. The village chapel was the focus point for all the activities that went on, First Aid classes etc. We were the patients. I remember the slogan I wrote for War Savings Week at Stocksbridge School for which I won a 2/6d Saving Stamp. School Holidays were 4 weeks in the summer and 2 weeks in October during which we went potato picking earning the princely sum of 6d per hour, less 6d taken out for lunch cooked by the farmer’s wife. This money was saved to buy our Christmas presents with. While in the village Us soldiers arrived and we were introduced to chewing gum.

We returned to Shoreham before the war ended. One of my worse memories were the ‘Doodle Bugs’ or ‘Flying Bombs’, most of which fortunately landed on the ‘South Downs’. One did however land in the next road —luckily on very wet allotments- and not too much damage was done. I’m afraid though for many months after the war ended the sound of low flying aircraft filled me with dread. My dad was one of the soldiers chosen to take part in the Victory Parade in London and I can remember my mum sleeping all night on the pavement there so she could be sure to see it.

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