Wartime evacuation

As I said above I only stayed there for two weeks maximum. Mick and I crunched our way across the carpet of cockroaches at about 5am sometime about New Years Day 1940. It was bitterly cold that winter, the canal was solid ice as we tried to walk along the towpath in total darkness to Tusses Bridge. When we got home to Hall Green Rd mum was getting ready for work, she was a nurse at Cov and Warwickshire hospital. Mum wasn't happy about our return home but as it was school holiday we were allowed to stay until something was sorted out for us. Nothing was ever sorted out. Mick and I remained at Hall Green Rd. As for bombs at Sutton Stop I cannot recall any but that doesn't mean that there were none. My sister remained at Sutton for about two years after I left, will ask her next time I visit. I visited Jean frequently during her stay at Sutton but she said nothing to me about bombs. The only local bombs that I recall were a stick that stitched their way across Kay's farm narrowly missing the community shelter, then onto the Bell Hotel car park, couple in Old Church Rd and Gayer St area. Same night I was told that some fell into Wyken Slough without exploding so suppose they are still there. They would have sunk 30ft or more in the soft mud so would be very difficult to recover. Bombs falling from high up were always a problem, suppose there are several unexploded bombs buried deep in and around Coventry. There was what we called a Bread Basket (parachute bomb) that fell in Taylors farm just about 200 yards from our house that did some damage to our roof. At Windmill Rd school, after a raid, some of us children were sent to search the school grounds looking for signs of unexploded bombs. Can't see that sort of thing happening today. The cottage by the car is where we were sent to. Except for the door and windows nothing has changed since 1940. Our evacuation was not a school or Government placing. Ma Beales was just a friend of my parents.

LesMac. As I thought, a friendship arrangement, same as mine for evacuation. You're right about the weather, boats were locked in for six weeks. Pity you did not know the area, there was a footpath that crossed the field from Grange Road bridge to Tusses Bridge, and another that branched off to the Miners Arms. The ground has changed, it was a sludgy bog half the time. Thanks for the picture, haven't seen that area for 75 years. Regards, Kaga.

My elder brother was in the Kindergarten around 1937 and the next year evacuated with the rest of the school to Bridgwater. The conditions were not favourable, on my brother's sixth birthday my dad visited and found all the pupils had impetigo from bathing in the same water. He quickly removed him and brought him home. He then informed all the parents he knew of the situation. Was probably the shortest evacuation period of the last war with Germany! Post copied from topic King Henry VIII Grammar School on 13th Jul 2020 7:18 pm