 Neatly dressed evacuees from bomb torn London at a tea party in neighbouring Worthing in 1940. |
THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
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Neatly dressed evacuees from bomb torn London at a tea party in neighbouring Worthing in 1940. |
AN EVACUEE REMEMBERS
This is an extract from "West Sussex — Within Living Memory" a publication by the West Sussex Federation of Women's Institutes in 1993....the memories of an evacuee living in Findon during the Second World War —
| It was towards the end of our annual seaside holiday at Ramsgate that my mother and father returned earlier than planned with me, to our home in inner London. War against Germany was declared on the Sunday morning after our return and on the very next day Monday 4th September, I, an eleven year old schoolgirl joined one of the evacuation-special trains taking children away from the danger area of London to safer places in the countryside. The tears and anguish at leaving parents behind were greatly softened by the extremely kind people we found after leaving the train at Worthing and proceeding by coach to the very beautiful village of Findon. The sudden change in lifestyle I and my schoolfriends experienced was both great and dramatic. I remember so well our contingent arriving at the village school. I wondered where I would be staying that night. Would I be on my own or with others? In the event I and a schoolfriend were taken to Graywalls, the house of Mr and Mrs Clarke. We were wonderfully received and we both fell in love at first sight with this beautiful house. The village school with its existing pupils was far too small to accommodate our party from London consisting of perhaps as many as 50, mainly schoolgirls and a few schoolboys in the age group of eleven to 14. The solution to this problem was that we had classroom lessons in the afternoons. In the morning we went for walks in the village and the surrounding area learning about the history of the village and being intrigued by Cissbury Ring and highly excited at the sheep fair on Nepcote Green. This schooling arrangement did not last very long and after about a couple of months we were accommodated in the village hall thus leaving the village school for its own pupils. This went on for some time and after that we were bussed to a school in nearby Washington. It was whilst I was living with the Cundalls that I reported to my teacher that I thought their German maid might be a spy after I saw her ironing a blank piece of paper and seeing writing appear. Teacher informed the police who quickly investigated. My suspicions however were not well founded!
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Here are a few memories from Barrie who now lives in Folkestone, Kent —
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29th November 2002. HELLO VALERIE .......JUST A LITTLE MORE FOR VILLAGE; ON SATURDAY AFTERNOONS I USED TO SCRUB THE BUTCHERS BLOCK OUTSIDE OF THE SHOP IN THE VILLAGE SQUARE, I CAN NOT REMEMBER HOW MUCH I WAS PAID FOR THAT BUT IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN VERY MUCH. I REMEMBER IN SUMMER TIME THE MEN AND BOYS OF THE VILLAGE USED TO HAVE THEIR HAIR CUT IN THE YARD BEHIND THE GUN. I ALSO REMEMBER THE YOUNG GIRL WHO JOINED THE LAND ARMY ,HER FIRST JOB WAS TO MILK A GOAT, SO SHE ASKED ONE OF THE VILLAGE LADS HOW TO DO IT.I AM AFRAID HE LED HER UP THE GARDEN PATH OVER THAT ONE, HE TOLD HER TO LAY UNDER IT AND SUCK THE TEATS AND THEN SPIT IT INTO THE BUCKET,; YOUNG VILLAGE BOYS WERE NOT VERY NICE.
REGARDS BARRIE
Barrie Smith, Folkestone, Kent.
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Continue if you would like to read Gladys Labourne Remembers the War.
THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — was launched by Valerie Martin in January 1999 and will grow to be a historical record of life in Findon, West Sussex, U.K.
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E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com |
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