An evacuee tells her story

Summary

Pamela Costello recounts her experiences as a child evacuated during World War II. Born in 1939, she and her siblings were moved from their home in Hendon to Derbyshire, where they faced the challenges of living with host families. Despite the hardships, including a lack of welcome and basic necessities, the siblings managed to persevere. Pamela shares a poignant memory of her brother Ronnie running away to return home, highlighting the resilience and adventures they faced. Their story concludes with a return to family life post-war, filled with shared memories and community spirit.

Highlights

• Pamela was born in 1939 and evacuated with her siblings during WWII. 🚼
• They faced difficulties with their host families, lacking basic amenities. 🍞
• Ronnie, her brother, famously ran away back to their original home. 🏃‍♂️
• The children’s community life was filled with playing in the streets post-war. 🎮
• Their father returned home from the army and life began to normalize. 😊

Key Takeaways

• Pamela's story provides a personal look into the life of an evacuee during WWII. 🚂
• The siblings faced many challenges but displayed resilience throughout their journey. 💪
• Community life post-war was vibrant, with children playing in the street and neighbors supporting one another. 🏡
• Reflects on the emotional impact of war on children and families. ❤️
• Highlights the importance of family connections and resilience amid adversity. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

Overview

Pamela Costello's early life was marked by the trials of evacuation during World War II. Born just before the war, she was swept into the massive relocation effort as children were moved from danger zones to safer, rural areas. Pamela, along with her siblings Sylvia and Ronnie, found themselves in Derbyshire, thrust into the care of strangers – a move that brought its own set of challenges and adaptations.

The relationships with their host families weren't always smooth; Pamela recalls not being warmly welcomed and missing basic comforts like morning drinks. Her brother Ronnie's bold escape back to Hendon at just ten years old shows the siblings' courage and desire for familiarity. The story takes an interesting turn as Ronnie manages, albeit briefly, to live off the land at their abandoned family home until he is discovered by a neighbor.

As the war ended, Pamela and her siblings reintegrated into a society adapting to peace. The streets that once echoed with air raid sirens became playgrounds for spirited children. Pamela’s father’s return is emblematic of many families who had to rebuild their lives and homes. Their narrative is a testament to resilience, community spirit, and the enduring bond of family through adversity.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Early Childhood Pamela Costello, originally Pamela Muchmore, was born in Kentish Town in 1939. Her family relocated to Hendon, where she was evacuated from Alon Road School, marking the beginning of her early education at the age of three.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Evacuation Process In the chapter titled 'Evacuation Process', the narrative describes a scene where children are gathered and seated on rush mats in a playground, indicating it was likely around June or July. Identification tags are affixed to the children as part of the process. The group then prepares for an evacuation as they start walking from Alon Road to an undisclosed location.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Journey to Derbyshire The chapter titled 'Journey to Derbyshire' recounts an evacuation experience from the station on Station Road, Henden. The narrator and their siblings, Sylvia and Ronnie, had their names and addresses recorded before embarking. They were evacuated to Derbyshire from their original location as part of a larger evacuation effort.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Temporary Stay in Derbyshire In the chapter titled 'Temporary Stay in Derbyshire,' the narrator describes a moment when they and their siblings sat in a school hall waiting to be chosen by families who would temporarily take care of them. The atmosphere was tense as each child was allocated to different families, effectively becoming their temporary parents. The process was a significant moment in the narrator's life, marking the beginning of a temporary yet impactful change in their living situation.
• 02:00 - 02:30: Living Conditions in Derbyshire The chapter titled 'Living Conditions in Derbyshire' revolves around the allocation of children to host families during a certain period. The narrator, along with Sylvia and Ronnie, were the last children to be assigned. Ronnie was placed with one family across from a school, while Sylvia and the narrator stayed next door with another family. There is a lack of detailed memory shared about the living conditions, hinting at fragmented recollections or possibly the passage of time affecting the narrator's memory.
• 02:30 - 03:00: Family Separation The chapter 'Family Separation' explores the narrator's experience with an unwelcoming environment, particularly focusing on the lack of hospitality and care given to them, such as not providing drinks in the morning. The narrator recalls needing to rely on school provisions for basic needs like milk. Additionally, there is a mention of the narrator's father being in the Army, suggesting a backdrop of military life contributing to family separation and possibly influencing their childhood experiences.
• 03:00 - 03:30: Brother's Escape The chapter titled "Brother's Escape" reflects on a time during which the narrator's mother and two siblings were evacuated to Sheffield, leaving their house empty. The narrator recalls the absence of the brother during this period and the lack of communication or letters from the mother, highlighting a sense of disconnection and uncertainty.
• 03:30 - 04:00: Reunited in Sheffield In 'Reunited in Sheffield,' the narrator recalls a significant event from their childhood just before the end of a war. The narrator's brother, Ronnie, who was about ten years old at the time, ran away from the house next door without informing the narrator or their sibling Sylvia. Remarkably, Ronnie managed to return to Oley Road Hendon on his own.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Life During the War The narrator describes a person who was living in their house and surviving off fruit from the garden and vegetables from a vegetable patch. This individual was eventually noticed by a neighbor while climbing a tree. The neighbor then took the person in. Following this incident, the narrator, along with Ronnie and Sylvia, were evacuated to stay with another family.
• 05:00 - 05:30: War Ends and Family Reunion The narrator recalls their childhood in Sheffield during wartime. They describe their living situation with their mother and two siblings, and the various shelters they had access to for protection against bombs. There was a large communal shelter across the street, a metal table converted into a shelter in their dining room, and another shelter located in their garden.
• 05:30 - 06:00: Father's Return and Final Thoughts The chapter 'Father's Return and Final Thoughts' reflects on life during wartime, particularly focusing on community dynamics and daily life activities. People had options for shelters, and there was a strong community involvement. For example, the milk was delivered by horse and cart, and community members, including children, would take turns helping the milkman. This chapter highlights the essence of community support and camaraderie as children played in the streets and the town came together even amidst adversity.

An evacuee tells her story Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 my name's Pamela Costello but it was Pamela much more and I was born in kenish town in 1939 on the 26th of July when I was three I went to school in henden cuz we had moved from ksh toown to henden by that time we were actually evacuated from Alon Road School
• 00:30 - 01:00 um all the children who were to be evacuated were um all sat on Rush mats in the playground so it must have been towards the um June or July um and um and then we we had to have um things fixed to our body you know who we were and everything um and event and eventually um we all walk from Alon road down to
• 01:00 - 01:30 the station which is in Station Road henden and that's where we got on the train um but everybody had their name and address and um and we were put together with our siblings my sister Sylvia and my brother Ronnie and we we were being evacuated to darbishire from the state we walked to a
• 01:30 - 02:00 school hall um and we sat in that hall waiting to be um chosen or selected to go to the people who were going to be our temporary parents um I.E um like um the people who were going to be looking after us we sat with our siblings in the school hall and then they started allocating the children to different families who were then taking
• 02:00 - 02:30 the children away to you know to be hosted by that family um Silvia and Ronnie and myself were in actual fact the last children to be allocated and but we ended up um just across the street from the school Ronnie in one house with a family and my sister Sylvia and myself in the other next door um can't remember very much but syvia and I she did share a
• 02:30 - 03:00 room um not particularly um they weren't very welcoming and um when it was the morning and when we had to go to school they didn't give us a drink we actually had to go to school and get our milk from the school um well in actual fact my mother my father obviously was in the Army so
• 03:00 - 03:30 he wasn't around um but my mom and the other two children um were evacuated to Sheffield to another family um so so the house in henden in Oley Road was empty um and as far as I know I don't I don't think we obviously had letters from them but I can't really remember any letters or things from my mother to be perfectly honest
• 03:30 - 04:00 no there was an instant before um the war finished my brother Ronnie um I mean I think I was four or five and he is six years older than me so he was probably about 10 but he actually ran away from the house next door he didn't tell syvia and I that he was going to do that um and he somehow managed to get all the way back to Oley Road Hendon on his own
• 04:00 - 04:30 and he was living in our house um only eating the fruit from the trees in the garden and any vegetables that were left in the um vegetable patch that my father had grown um until he was noticed by a neighbor climbing the tree and then she took him in and um and then what happened then Ronnie Sylvia and myself were evacuated to stay with the family
• 04:30 - 05:00 in Sheffield with my mother with the other two children I do have in our street right opposite our house was um um a great big shelter um and we had a shelter in the um dining room which was a metal table which you could hide under if the bomb started falling and we also had um another shelter in the garden that we could go to as well
• 05:00 - 05:30 so there was a choice of three shelters um but I think towards the end of the war the shelter in the street was the one that most people used I know that in the milk was delivered by horse and cart in our street um and we all took it in turns to help the Milkman um and um and it's and we all the children in the street played in the street we all
• 05:30 - 06:00 played together in the street once the war was over and we that's what we did all the time we all played in the street I I know when the war ended because my father came back and the first thing he did was washed all our faces in the sink cuz we must have been pretty filthy which he wasn't very very welcome
• 06:00 - 06:30 H he was mentioned in dispatches and and he was Ronald Charles much more