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Title WARTIME MEMORIES BY DAISY LOWE (NEE BRANNON)
Description
We were a family of three children living with our parents in Eccleston Road, Islington who were evacuated at the start of the Second World War. The school arranged for mothers and children to be evacuated as family units. My mother's two sisters, Lilian Clarke with her daughter Maureen and Violet Davy and her son Ronald came too. The coach took us all to Euston Station at 9 a.m. We had a nurse in our carriage as my mother, Daisy, was recovering from a mental breakdown following the birth of twins Terry and Joyce in September 1938. Unfortunately by the time we were evacuated Joyce had died.

On the journey from Euston to somewhere in the midlands, we were puzzled when the train stopped at Hemel Hempstead & Boxmoor station at about 11 a.m. WAR HAD BEEN DECLARED. All transport was immediately halted in England and we had to get off and lie down under the horse-chestnut trees on the moor by the Fishery Inn. A beautiful spot. My sister June (6 years), Terry (almost 1 year) and myself (7 years), were enjoying our "holiday". Later we had to take what seemed a long walk to St. John's Hall where the W.V.S. (Women's Voluntary Service) had tea, orange juice and biscuits organised for us. The good ladies gathered to choose who they would accept as evacuees to live with them. My mother had to choose the two younger children to go with her to Mrs. Smith in Sebright Road, I was left out!

My aunt, Vi Davy, took me, together with her son Ron, to live in Grosvenor Terrace, and my aunt Lil and her daughter Maureen went to Horsecroft Road. After a very short period of time Mrs Smith agreed for me to join my family and before my father was called up into the Royal Artillery he also spent weekends with us. We attended Cowper Road Infants School and later St. John's School with Mr W.G.S. Crook as headmaster. We used to ride our roller skates to St John's School but a policeman stopped us because the skates made a sound like something dropped by German aeroplanes.

During the war we used to enjoy our time at the evacuees club in Marlowes opposite Mrs Dean's house and garden where she gave us tea parties. Her husband was a dentist. We were given sweets, food and presents from the American servicemen at Bovingdon Camp and a Christmas party. I remember going potato picking following the tractor with big baskets, gleaning corn for our hens, picking rose hips to make into syrup and blackberries for jam. I also remember picking raspberries at Ley Hill common and getting a lift on an army truck.

Our mother and aunts took us to the golf common where we rolled hard boiled eggs down the slopes in summer and tobogganed in winter. My mother made many of our clothes and for others too. One day hurrying to machine sheets she ran to aunt Kit Street and got her to use a pair of pliers to remove a broken machine needle from her finger. That was whilst we were living at Sunnyhill Road where we had moved to a house in 1940. We kept chickens for eggs and for eating. One cockerel used to chase us and bite our ankles. He made a good Christmas dinner. We also kept rabbits.

When we visited my grandmother and family back in Islington I was very scared. We saw lots of damage, barrage balloons and searchlights. The firemen were very brave and so were the ack-ack gun crews. I was always glad to travel back on the train to Hemel Hempstead.

At the age of 11 years I was not allowed to sit the examination for the Grammar School because I was an evacuee, even though I had attended local schools for 4-plus years. Mr Crook was incensed at the discrimination and arranged for me to sit the London Board examination. As I passed this examination he again put me forward for the Grammar School but by then I had to spend a year at Corner Hall School where Miss Jones was headmistress.

Whilst at Corner Hall School we were taken swimming and one day a teacher was vigorously demonstrating what to do when she fell into the pool! Lots of cheering from us but Mr Whittle, the pool superintendent, restored order. At Corner Hall I spent many hours in the shelters during air raids when we were all encouraged to sing and were given barley sugar sweets.

I started at Hemel Hempstead Grammar School in the 2nd year.
Keywords WVS, Marlowes, St John's Hall, St John's School, Cowper Road Infants School, Corner Hall School, Fishery Inn
Collection Evacuees
Place Hemel Hempstead
Year 1939 - 1945
Conflict World War Two
File type html
Record ID number 142

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