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Born in the year of a general strike, Harold Taylor shares with us his personal memories as a child, when London was evacuated during the Second World War. Harold lived with his parents in Chichester and was one of six children. His father was employed by the local council.
My father was responsible for probably all of the evacuation placements in the town. For some time before the War, in fact I would say it was prior to the 1938 crisis, he had been working on it. Of course I expect it was Nash's (the head of my father's department) responsibility, which he delegated to my father. During the course of the day, as he visited his workmen, he was no doubt making house to house enquiries as to where he could fit people in. After work and during the evenings he would compile lists.
When the evacuation of London took place, he was down at the station all day allocating the schools to various groups for making placements.
We were only down for one child; there were already five of us (Flo, the eldest, having left home) in a three bedroomed house, but we finished up with two girls, which created a bit of a problem. However, my eldest brother was due to go away to university in the autumn term.
Every day people would call, and my father always seemed to be out on the re-disposition of children with dissatisfied temporary parents.
I recall going out with my father one night about midnight to Ormonde Avenue and coming back with yet another girl. She was a bit of a misfit, though attractive, and despite being at the same school as the other two girls, was a source of trouble. She was a bit 'boy mad' and must have been allowed to please herself at home a lot as to the hours she kept. Fortunately she soon got fed up with the rural life and returned to London.
The other two girls stayed a lot longer. In fact one must have been there for almost two years and continued correspondence with my mother right up to the time she died in 1976.
The girl who left after such a short stay, was, I believe, the daughter of a builder. The one who stayed longest was a bank manager's daughter, and her friend was a Custom and Excise official's daughter. They were all attending the Streatham Grammar School, which was housed in the Girl's High School. These latter two also had a friend, Inga, who spent a lot of time with us.
She and her brother, Hans, were refugees from Berlin. I believe their father had nine shoe shops in that city, but the rise of the NAZI Party and their policies brought ruin to the family. They had managed to get the children out via Switzerland, when they had been adopted by the family of the Customs man. Inga ultimately went into nursing and eventually went to Israel after the War.
Hans was keen to go into law and became a barrister. I met him once when I was in the police and on duty at Fontwell Race course. Later on, still whilst I was in the police, he made the newspaper headlines as a man who successfully defended a supplier of 'fruit machines', which at that period, about 1954, was a very doubtful area.
I wonder what Hans' opinion is today on the vast amount of amusement arcades and casinos there are in every town and city? Isn't it amazing how times have changed!
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