Evacuate! Cynthia's story
Cynthia Lemon (née Gooding), an old girl of NCH 1940-44, has very kindly written of her fascinating experiences being evacuated from the Sea View home in Wales one fateful night during the Second World War.
"We were too young to be afraid!"
"I entered into the care of the home at Penarth, South Wales, in
May 1940. On the night of 4th March 1941 there was a very heavy air
raid. For some reason we were not taken to the air raid shelter
that night and were all in the library.
"Incendiary bombs landed on an outside loft where the gardener
stored the apples - the scent of apples cooking always reminds me
of that. The shelter received a direct hit (by a 500lb bomb we were
told later) - had we been in there, I would not be here now,
writing this.
"A time bomb landed outside the front of the house, too, and it
was decided to take us to the boys' home, quite a long walk away.
About 35 girls and six sisters, walking in a crocodile line in the
middle of the night, was a great thrill for us children. We were
too young to be afraid, so it was all an adventure!
"After a month, we were all sent to various branches around the
country. Myself and a girl named Barbara Bangs were sent to the
Frodsham branch in Cheshire, where I stayed until 1944. It was a
very happy time - I have many nice memories of it all, and am proud
to be an old girl of Action for Children."
Thank you Cynthia
Huge thanks must go to Cynthia, for sharing her
wonderful memories and photographs with us. If you have
a story to tell about your time in NCH homes, please don't
hesitate to contact our Heritage Manager John Hughes:
Telephone: 01923 361 500
Email: john.hughes@actionforchildren.org.uk
Address: John Hughes, Heritage Manager, Action for
Children, 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford, Herts, WD18 8AG