Having lived a happy childhood with her parents and three brothers in Stoke-By-Nayland, Ada Newman must have been rather sad to be sent to stay with her aunt. Her parents ran the general stores adjoining their cottage.

Mother had been a schoolmistress, remembers Ada, and with the help of a village girl, Nora Tullet, she gave us our first lessons at home. When my brothers reached the age of 7 they went to the village school but I was not allowed to go there.

Instead, when I was nine years old I was sent with my oldest brother (then aged eleven) to stay with an aunt at Stowmarket, where mother was born at the Harness Shop in Bury Street. This was to enable us to attend the Stowmarket Secondary School.

I well remember my aunt taking us to school the first morning - complete with a pinafore for me to wear. But of course, we soon discovered these were not worn at secondary schools.

I was given into the charge of a girl called Chrissie D'eath - but my connection with girls (one reason for my being sent there) was soon severed - I was put in the Preparatory Class, with seven boys! We were mostly taught in the School Hall, there being no spare room available. Thus began eight of the happiest years of my life.

One of the boys used to bring me an orange or some sweets - and we walked home together, but not past his father's office. In spite of still having a hazy idea of pronunciation - calling subtraction sums 'substraction', I won the first prize at the end of the year's work!

I remember very little of our stay with Aunt Ada but I do remember having earache very badly soon after we went there. Also how thrilled we were to see Polstead Blacks (cherries) for sale in a greengrocer's shop (Polstead being our neighbouring village at home). We bought some for our aunt's birthday - hiding them in a dish under my bed until the day arrived.

We had an uncle in the town who was a baker. No one made bread like Uncle Arthur; he once took my brother and I in the wicker seat in front of his motorcycle, to see friends at Mendlesham.

Heavy weights had to be put in with us to steady it for it was accustomed to carrying his wife who was a very large lady. Uncle also had a sweet shop near the secondary school, where we must have tasted our first ice creams. None have ever compared to them!

After my year in the Preparatory Class I moved up into form 1 and I think it was while in that class I played the part of Alice in a sketch from Alice in Wonderland, at the school speech day. I remember that Lady Cranworth distributed the prizes that year and she told me I made a very good Alice!

Unfortunately Aunt Ada suffered badly with migraines so we had to be found fresh lodgings. These did not prove to be very satisfactory or happy, especially after the 1914 war broke out.

My brother and I were often hungry and used to buy buns and other things. But I did like the maize puddings we had and the Swede that we first tasted. The landlady also made lovely homemade bread. They were Chapel people and I still remember a text that hung on the wall: -

'Sunday well spent brings a week of content,
and health for the toils of the morrow.
But a Sunday profaned, what so e'er may be gained,
is a certain forerunner of sorrow.'

There were cordite works at Stowmarket, so when war broke out in 1914 there was fear of casualties if the Zeppelins dropped bombs nearby. During the raids we were brought downstairs with their two sons, and had to sit under the table on which had been placed an eiderdown!

The little boy's pram was loaded with cases containing things of value in case we had to flee. And we always spoke of 'Z-e-pps's' (spelling it) so as not to frighten the little boy, but he soon began speaking of 'p-ps's' too.

Whilst there I developed 'spots' and was sent to see the doctor, who diagnosed German Measles. When I went back and told the landlady she made me wait outside while she put some things in a case. Then I was sent to her brother, for him to take me home by car, as she did not want her sons to catch it!

Naturally I was pleased to be taken home to be nursed by Mother. I remember having the blind drawn to ease my eyes - and how I longed for an orange, and a kind friend brought some back from Colchester.

Soon after this, we found fresh lodgings with two old ladies who took in children from the secondary school. By then my oldest brother had left school to become a Marconi operator on board ship, and a younger brother joined me. Here we sat on the stairs during raids and I knitted scarves for soldiers.

Ada Newman 2001