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Children Evacuated to Armadale 1939
10 September 2008 |
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Help wanted! Were you evacuated to Armadale in 1939 or later? Did your family take in an evacuee? Do you have any memories of evacuees in Armadale? Does anyone remember an evacuee called James Vandepeear who was sent to stay with an Armadale family in 1939? He has told me, "I was an evacuee from Edinburgh at Armadale. I did not stay there long, and can only remember a row of terrace cottages sloping down to a field or play ground, and I recall sliding down a bing on a shovel. I was barely 5 years old at the time, and what I do remember is very little. The row of cottages on a slope is fairly certain, and a swing park at the bottom of the hill. As to the names of the family I was with, I cannot remember them at all, except that they had three sons, at least, and I think I shared a bed with them." If you have information, please e-mail Rosie |
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The History of Armadale Association has published many publications containing reminiscences such as this one in Your Magazine from A. Primrose (nee Kerr), Alberta, Canada: "During the war, children were sent from their city homes to board with people in the country to avoid the expected bombing in Scotland, but a friend from London told me that she and her little sister were sent away from home for five years to live with strangers. The grand-daughter of a friend came from Edinburgh to live with us. She was about a year older than I. School was out for the summer and we were free to do what we wanted. I didn't expect her to know anyone in our town, but as luck would have it, the headmaster's daughter, who lived almost next door, had gone to school with her in Edinburgh. So, our friend Margaret, and neighbour Cathy, my brother Robert who was a classmate of Cathy, and myself all did things together. There were a number of outbuildings in our yard which housed pigeons, hens, rabbits, white mice and budgies as well as their feed; cement and other building supplies. I remember sitting on bags of cement, playing monopoly for hours while it poured with rain outside! Margaret and Cathy shared their different experiences with Robert and me and we really had an enjoyable week. Yes, week. Margaret was homesick and decided she wanted to go home. There were lots of funny stories about the mis-match of evacuees and foster homes but some were rather sad. One boy in my class fainted from lack of breakfast and the teacher gave him her lunch. Another boy was the school bully and we spent much time avoiding him. On the other hand, a well-to-do acquaintance had three boys from a slum area of Glasgow who benefited greatly by living the good life. Unless living with relatives, most evacuees went home after a short time." If you have a reminiscence that you would be willing to share, please e-mail Rosie |
