BETTY′S MEMORIES OF FOLKESTONE AND EVACUATION

The Salvation Army had a hall in Bradstone Road and used to do free film shows and sometimes Mum let Bob take me. Also, once or twice Mum let us go to Saturday morning pictures in town.

I had to go to Mundella School in Blackbull Rd, but Bob had to go to George Spurgeon school in Sydney Street. Trouble was Bob wasn't keen on school and played truant. I was OK at school. I had a best friend called Grace. Every year on Empire Day, we had to march around Radnor Park dressed in our gym slips, white blouse, tie and Panama hat, behind a band and a chap carrying a flag.

Sometimes, Pop would take us for a walk along the beach to the pier while Mum cooked dinner. The pier is not there anymore. Sometimes we all went to watch Pop and his brother Arthur in swimming races at the swimming pool near the beach. Sometimes Pop and Arthur would dive from the harbour wall and swim around the harbour. I wasn't very old when we lived in Denmark Street, but Mum used to send me to the Co-op across Canterbury Rd for bacon bits to make a rasher suet pudding for dinner. They used to cut the bacon on a machine and broken bits would fall off. It was not in packaging like today. I also had to get yesterday's bread as it was cheaper. They didn't have much money. One Christmas, I had a doll and Bob had a lorry. That was it.

One of my favourite things was to walk down Dover Street to the fish market and watch the fishing boats come in with boxes of wriggling fish and Mum would buy some for dinner. We used to go to a wood yard in Tram Road to buy bundles of firewood.

Then along came a baby brother. I don't remember a midwife or anything, perhaps it happened while we were at school, but most ladies had the midwife. They only went to hospitals in emergencies. Then Bob and I got ill at the same time. We were both in bed with scarlet fever and your skin goes all flaky.

Then war was declared. Panic! Rolls of barbed wire was put all along the beaches and big signs put up saying “keep off – mines". They thought the Germans were coming over straight away. They didn't. Then one day some planes flew over and Bob and I were standing on East Cliff watching.

Then panic set in again. Someone decided all the children had to be sent away. Bob and I were taken to Central Station with a label round our neck and gas mask and a carrier with our clothing. There were some other children there and two schoolteachers. Mum stood there with baby Brian in her arms. I have never been so frightened. “Make sure you stay together” said Mum which was a silly thing to say because when we got to where we were going, and the locals had been told if they had room, they had to take an evacuee, but no one wanted two. We had to get off the train and get on a coach and a lot of the children were crying. We were taken to the school at Caerphilly. Taken into a big hall and given a drink and a cake, then we all had to stand in rows while the locals walked up and down choosing one of us. The line was getting smaller, and Bob and I were still there, then a couple came in who wanted Bob. They couldn't have children and took to him. The welfare ladies were sorting things out and writing where each child went. Then a young lady who lived in the next row to where Bob was going, agreed to take me, so we had another ride in a car to Nantgarw.

The lady who took me was called Evelyn and lived with her elderly Mum and Dad while her husband was away in the army. They made a fuss of me, gave me something to eat and drink and tucked me up in Evelyn's double bed. I remember crying for my Mum. I remember as though it was yesterday. It was a horrible experience! The next day they took me to the next road to show me where Bob was living. Mr. Brown had a shed where he used to mend shoes for folk and his wife used to cook nice dinners. I liked her thick gravy. We had to start school at the next town called Taffs Well. We were given a packed lunch and had a nice meal in the evenings. We used to play on the mountain across the road or near the canal. One Saturday Evelyn took me to Pontypridd on the bus and brought me a blue dress with long sleeves. I loved it. Another time they took me to Barry Island. There was a big fun fair there.

Bob lived with Mr and Mrs Davis. He had to go to Chapel three times on Sundays and they taught him to speak the Welsh language. Just up the road was a big coal mine, and the men would wait outside each other's houses for them to come out and they would walk by singing on their way to the mine. It was lovely and I have loved Welsh choirs ever since. We had to walk to school. No one had cars.

Mum's eldest sister lived in Putney Bridge Road in London. She decided to get out with her two children. She had a friend at Mayford near Woking who found her a job with tied accommodation. ‘In service’, they called it. Then my Aunt found rooms for Mum and Pop to get them out of Folkestone. Pop got a job driving a lorry for a Mr Ives who had a house to let round the corner on Mayford Green, so they moved into a three bedroomed house with a long garden.

By now the war had got worse over London. Mum decided it was safe to bring Bob and I back so sent Pop down. I was pleased but Bob and I both thought we were going home to Kent. Mr and Mrs Davis wanted to keep Bob and asked Pop if they could adopt him. He said no way!

It was all very strange at Mayford. Next door was a shop, (newsagents and post office) run by Mrs Knight and family. They were a big help to Mum as she was in hospital several times. I must have been about 13 because Pop had got Bob a job on the railway station at Woking. He used to ride a bike with a basket on front and deliver parcels round town and put mailbags on trains.

I had been enrolled at Kingfield school but often wasn't there. I had to drag my younger brother into school because he didn't want to go. Then the school officer was knocking on the door to ask why I wasn't there. I had to cook and wash for Pop and my brothers and Pop was delivering coal. Then Mum was home again, and Mrs Knight gave me a paper round. Pop bought me a second-hand bike. He used to love mending and doing up bikes. His dream was to one day have a cycle shop. He had a long garden with an apple tree and Victoria plum tree. Very nice! Then he built a chicken run across the bottom of the garden and bought chicks. I had to boil up potato peelings and mix them with bran for chicks.

The war was still going on round the country and Mum thought we were safe. Then guess what? In the night, a bomb dropped at the bottom of our garden in Jackman's nursery, Egley Road. Then the V2 flying rockets came. Very frightening!

Up the hill towards Hook Heath was an army camp and I remember just before Christmas, Mum went in there and said to the officer ”if any of these young men can't get home send them down”. We had two very smart military police turn up Christmas morning with their red caps. They were so grateful. One was from Fife in Scotland; I can't remember where the other one came from. Then later we had a Sergeant in the Grenadier guards called Ken and Mum gave him lodgings. He kept in touch for years. We always had a house full. We had one of the big iron tables like an iron cage, and bed clothes were put in there and the children slept in there in case the house collapsed. Oh, I forgot about the two evacuees from Fulham. Maurice and Peter. They were still at school but went to a special one in Woking.

I desperately wanted to go back to Folkestone, so did Bob but Mum needed me. Then the war ended, and a tea party was held on Mayford Green. We then moved to a cottage in Well Path, Woking. Very small, no bathroom but next to big fields belonging to Slocock’s Nursery. It had an air raid shelter in the garden.

Then Bob ran off with his friend and put his age up, and they both joined the Navy at Gosport. Bob ended up on a big aircraft carrier. They used to have a ribbon around their hats with the name of the ship on and Bob used to send me one. Can't remember the name of the first one but then he went on the Triumph. They went to Malta and everywhere he went he brought me a present home.

Bob and Shipmate
Bob(on the right) in the navy

Then they were sent to the Korean War and were fired on and Bob came home with shell shock. He bought me two beautiful Chinese fans and two silk cushion covers and two records of Chinese girls singing.

Pop heard that his brother, Arthur’s ship was torpedoed and when they were in the water, the Germans machine gunned them. I think they were picked up by another of our ships because Arthur had been shot in the back. If we sank a German ship, we picked up their survivors but not Germans. Pop's youngest brother Dick was also in the Navy in submarines and became a chief Petty Officer.

Note: I believe this was written in 2014

With thanks to Gillian for sharing these Memories.