Wales<\/a> to see the sea, which I\u2019d never done before. All I could say was, \u2018Ooh, look! All that water!\u2019\u201d<\/p>Their new environment, however, was often unfamiliar to the children who encountered differences in housing, dress, food, language, dialect and religion. Audrey Patterson was placed with a family in Bideford, Devon. \u201cMy sister Gwen and I were lucky to be placed with Mr and Mrs Shute who were very kind to us. However, she used to make something called \u2018junket\u2019, a white sloppy substance sprinkled with nutmeg which I hated.\u201d June Somekh was from an Orthodox Jewish family, and was evacuated from Manchester to Derbyshire with her brother. \u201cHe was billeted with the local pork butcher! Had my parents known about this, I don\u2019t think we would have been allowed to stay the course!\u201d When Bob Cooper arrived at his billet in Cornwall, he was extremely shocked to discover that his new home had no gas, electricity or running water. \u201cWe collected water from a well and used a bucket for a toilet. It was normal to them but very strange to me. They looked after us very well though and we called them Aunty and Uncle.\u201d<\/p>
On the other hand, some children were ill-treated by those who took them in. John Mathews was badly underfed, and after school each day his billeters locked him in his bedroom with no toys or books. Sharing his story in the Telegraph<\/em> in September 2009, John stated, \u201cIt was obvious that my letters home were going to be censored, so in the first one I wrote the sort of thing one should \u2013 \u2018Having a wonderful time, wish you were here.\u2019 The following morning I somehow managed to steal an envelope and stamp and wrote a rather more truthful letter home. The gist of it was that if something didn\u2019t happen quickly, I was going to run away. Two Saturdays later my mother turned up at the door to collect me.\u201d Rosemary Hall and her brother also endured harsh treatment from the woman who took them in: \u201cWe slept on camp beds in a hallway and we were constantly hungry. After four months our mum tracked us down. She saw the state of us and immediately removed us from the premises.\u201d<\/p>On 8 May 1945, the war in Europe was finally over and the evacuees began to return home. However, for some the five years of separation had dire consequences, not least John Helyer: \u201cWhen I was reunited with my mum and dad, I didn\u2019t understand them and they didn\u2019t understand me. We just couldn\u2019t get on.\u201d For others, the bonds forged with their foster families endured. Sheila Gibson explained, \u201cI wrote to Mr and Mrs Croft in Derby regularly and I visited them every year until they passed away. I will never forget them.\u201d<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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