War-time Evacuee visits Year 6

Year 6 were fortunate to be given a talk by John Godfrey, who was invited to share his experiences as a war-time evacuee.

Mr Godfrey explained what it was like to be sent away from his mother, sitting on a steam train not knowing his destination, wearing Mickey Mouse gas masks and taking cover in various shelters. He remembers the stunned silence as people heard the declaration of war on the radio. His collection of artefacts brought history to life – torn remnants of parachute he had retrieved from a bombing raid on London, pictures of doodlebugs and V2 rockets (which travelled at 3500 mph!), the scarf his mother had knitted for him when he went to grammar school (over 70 years old) and the (empty!) shell of an incendiary bomb he had discovered as a child. The most memorable however were the stories of near-misses such as, along with his sister and mother, surviving a bombing of his house (thanks to taking shelter in a cupboard under the stairs) and, having missed the bus on his way home from the cinema, travelling on the following bus and witnessing the bus he missed being blown up – with no survivors.