I will be making an animated short telling the true story of my Grandad's difficult time as an evacuee during World War II (September 1939 - September 1945). Born December 1930, he was 8 when the war started, his older sister was 12, Doris and him were evacuated to Yorkshire leaving their parents Rosa and Fred behind. Once in Yorkshire Doris and Grandad were taken in by different families, Doris went to a kind family and my Grandad went to a cruel one.
Left Image: Fred (my Grandad), Rosa and Doris - April 1938
Right Image: Fred (my great grandad) and his best friend.
Valerie will be sending me an email soon with any more information and dates she can find, after a long phone call with her today she told me as much as she knew and with Mum's knowledge the story goes...
Beginning:
Before the war begun, this family of four (five including family dog Peggy) were very close and happy, Doris was a kind big sister to Grandad and looked after him, the family were always together when they could be, Rosa and Fred never argued or rowed. Doris was a Daddy's girl and Grandad was a Mumma's boy. The war broke out in 1939 and evacuees left home the same year, (according to BBC) evacuees left with washing things, a book, food to last two days, (cold meat, hard boiled eggs, fruit and biscuits). Doris remembers wearing her evacuee tags and carrying a gas mask, she also remembered being very emotional leaving their parents behind, both of them on the platform, Grandad was really frightened and Doris took his hand and off they went, evacuated to Yorkshire.
I also asked my Nan (Grandad's ex wife) for her evacuee story, she was born in 1940 so doesn't have any memories of being evacuated, she remembers being on an electric train and the train being jam packed with people - many being soldiers. When she was about 2 or 3 someone grabbed her and put her in the luggage part of the train above the seats because there was not enough room. The luggage part was a cotton mesh like a hammock and she fell asleep for that journey.
Middle:
Once Doris and Grandad arrived in Yorkshire they were taken to a church where the locals came and picked a child to take in, Grandad told my Mum he remembers being freezing laying on a cold concrete floor and hearing people say I'll take her for my daughter or him to keep my son company - he felt awful there without his parents, in a foreign part of the country, freezing and hungry in the middle of a war, people not really caring, just we’ll have him because we have to and to keep someone's child company. Parted from his sister Doris they went to their host families, she went with a kind family and she befriended the daughter who lived there, Grandad went to a horrible family who had no sympathy, they wouldn't let him inside unless it was dinner time or to go to sleep, the family's own son was allowed in whilst Grandad remained outside in the dark and in all kinds of weather, he didn't have any shoes I'm not sure if that's literally no shoes or shoes with no soles at the bottom - either way it was neglect.
Doris's host family didn't live far from Grandad's, luckily they went to the same primary school, after school everyday Doris would walk with Grandad past the house, he walked to the door as she walked on by assuming he went inside. One day she saw him on the doorstep crying and found out about the mental and emotional abuse he'd been suffering. I'm not sure how long Grandad and Doris were in Yorkshire for but once Doris found out, she had the initiative to immediately write a letter home to her parents remembering the address in Deptford, London explaining what was going on.
Back in London, Rosa was working in Hartley's Jam Factory, since most of the men were in the war more job opportunities for women were available, Fred had TB (tuberculosis - a deadly infectious disease that attacks the lungs), he was unfit to go to war so remained in London continuing his job as a ship riveter, (on Grandad's birth certificate the official title is Riveters Mate). When Rosa and Fred received Doris's letter, they got a train there as soon as possible, Rosa said no one was gonna treat her children that way, gave the awful family a mouthful and brought Doris and Fred back home to London.
Ending:
On December 5th 1940, Fred died from TB in hospital surrounded by his family, Doris took his death the hardest, his final words to her were to look after her brother and help her Mum, the family dog (Peggy) wouldn't come out from under the bed for ages and whimpered a lot.
Grandad said at home his Dad would cough up bloody phlegm and throw it into the fire, it was amazing that neither Rosa, Doris or Grandad caught it.
With hardly any money, Doris remembers the cupboards being empty and no benefits were given at the time, social services came to the house and told Rosa to sell furniture and their belongings. Grandad took it upon himself to get a job and went in every shop one after the other willing to take any job. After some time Grandad and Doris were evacuated once more from London leaving Rosa and Peggy behind, this time to Cornwall where they both were taken in by nice host families until the end of the war. When they returned home, Rosa got Doris a job as a waitress in London's Civil Service Ministry of Defence serving polite gentlemen-like airmen and used to take her Mum to the cinema every week, Grandad also got a job immediately. On April 3rd 1948 Rosa died from a stroke, Grandad was 9 when he lost his Dad and 17 when he lost his Mum.
In my animation I would like to drop subtle aspects of my other family members's stories (my Nan and my Dad's grandad Ernest) from that time. Ernest was on the frontline in Norwich and to incorporate him I'd like to costume a couple soldiers in the background with his uniform, (images below). I'd also like to include my Nan, she's always told me stories about when she was an evacuee and it would mean a lot to her if I included her somehow, I was thinking in the scene where Doris and Grandad pull away from the station you can see a girl above them asleep in the luggage section, so the camera would be inside the train looking out the window at Rosa and Fred. Also my Nan was evacuated to her Mum's cousin's pub in Manchester called the Red Lion, so when Doris and Grandad are walking down the street there could be a street sign they pass saying Red Lion?
(Right image is dated 25/3/1945)
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