Thursday, May 15: We Thought it Was a Holiday

Jim and Margo were 9 and 10 years old during the Blitz in Plymouth. Both of their parents chose keep them in town “so they could all die together”, rather than go through the pain and separation of “evacuation.” It was enlightening to hear how they survived each day, and how war-torn their everyday life became. They drove us all around Plymouth to show us where they grew up, where they ran to get to shelter, and where all the American soldiers were stationed. (Another note about the small world we live in: It turns out that another couple we are going to visit tomorrow – George and Iris Williams – are best friends with Jim and Margo. They got so excited when they learned we were going to go see them that they asked us to allow them to take us over the ferry to Tor Point tomorrow so they can surprise their friends by showing up with us, then they want to take us all out to dinner!)
They also invited their neighbor and her brother over to meet me and tell me their stories. Sid and Audrey were sent out on the trains after the bombing began, and thought it was going to be a marvelous adventure for children too poor to ever go on a holiday. Later that night they arrived at a station in the country and were herded into a large building to be checked for lice and sorted for all the villagers to see. They were not chosen, so they and their other two siblings were loaded into a truck and taken around to houses, where they were separated from each other and forced upon people who were reluctant and disappointed to take them in. Their ration books were taken away and used by the host family, and they were given nothing but pasties to eat each day. All packages of food and other goods sent to them by their mother were also eaten by the host family and never given to the evacuees. The man and woman of the house would not allow either of them to leave for school each morning until it became too late for them to walk the three miles without being late. This meant the teacher would beat them with a ruler, and the beatings became a daily occurrence. All these cruel things and more were done so that their mother would come and take them home, and it worked marvelously. She came and rescued them from the wickedness they were enduring on the farm, in order to take them back to the relative safety of the nightly raids. They, too, decided they would rather all die together.
The cruelty of the human heart – both the Germans attacking the civilians in Plymouth and the English mistreating the children in the countryside, amazes and horrifies me, and it is obvious it has left a gaping hole in the hearts of these dear survivors. Sid Austin and his sister, Audrey Cook, have a story to tell, and they hope everyone is listening. They thought it was a holiday….