My
Time in Nebo during The War ~ Memories of an Evacuee
I
was two and a half years old when war was declared.
The first six months of the war was, as you know,
called the "The Phoney War", because nothing
happened in England during this time. Mass evacuations
of towns and cities were ordered by the government.
This was the time that my mother travelled with my
elder sister, myself and my younger brother who was
only a baby at the time, from Everton, in the centre
of Liverpool, to Wales. The place she ended up in
was called Penygroes, and I was told that we were
put off the train with many other evacuees, and taken
by bus up to Nebo, where we were to be met by anybody
that could give us a home for the duration of the
war. Because we were a family of four we had to wait
until the last, but being very young I only have
a slight memory of these events.
What
I do remember is waking up one morning in a strange
house in the middle of a field. I was told the lady
of the house was a Mrs Williams (Aunty Fay to us).
Her two sons, who were near to my age, were called
Gwyn and Myrddin. All four of us were sent out into
the field to play while the adults talked. It was
fantastic as my sister Georgina and myself had never
had so much space to play in and the air was so fresh.
Aunty Fay was married to Will Williams (Uncle Will)
and the house was a small hill farm called Cerrig
Stympia. After three months the war hadn't started
here and a lot of people were moving back home to
the cities, so of course my mother took us all back
to Liverpool during the quiet period.
We
had Christmas in Liverpool (1940), but when the bombs
started to fall in the blitz, and Mill Road Hospital
was hit by a huge bomb, called a land mine, my mother
decided it was time to pack us all up and take us
out of Liverpool again. This time, however, she had
her best friend with her, Mrs Proffitt, and her two
children. Mrs Proffitt, who was known to us as Aunty
Tess, didn't know just how far she had to travel,
but her and my mother were so close that she didn't
want to be left behind. There were now three Guyers
and two Proffitt children, together with the two
mums making a grand total of seven. The Proffitt
children were called Joan, who was four, and Pauline,
who was three. I was told that we all arrived at
Aunty Fay’s tired and hungry, and she took
us in and fed us and somehow found accommodation
for Aunty Tess and her two children at Tŷ’n
Pant, now I believe called Caeglanrafon, just down
the road from Cerrig Stympia. That was the start
of a life long friendship for the three women – my
Mother, Aunty Fay and Aunty Tess. My mother died
in Feb 2001 and was still talking about Nebo until
the end.
It
was not long after we returned to Nebo that Aunty
Fay and Uncle Will, together with Gwyn, Myrddin and
their daughter Margaret moved down the hill to No.
9 Rhos Dulyn. About the same time No. 2 Rhos Dulyn
became vacant so the Guyers and the Proffitts moved
in, and there we stayed until the war ended. During
those happy years in Nebo my two younger sisters
were born. Rita was born in Bangor and Dorothy was
born in Caernarfon. From 1940 - 1946 my elder sister
Georgie and myself grew up to have a love of Nebo
and all its people. The tranquillity and peace of
the place, plus the freedom to go walking over the
hills and to swim in the lake (although we were not
supposed to do that but you know what children are
like). We also paddled in the streams and small rivers.
We collected bilberries in the early summer, and
blackberries in the Autumn, but the best of all was
to play in the clean crisp snow in the winter, although
it was rather cold. They are memories you don't forget,
no matter old you get. There was always someone to
say hello to and they would say hello back, not like
when we went back home and the people would say hello
to you only if they knew you. l suppose it was because
they had not had the freedom that we had had.
Being
in Nebo gave us the most wonderful childhood anyone
could have had. I must however mention Mr Elias Thomas,
the school Headmaster, for the sterling work he did
in that village school. He did his very best to make
sure that every child was happy and integrated into
everything. He had children from London, Manchester
and, of course, from Liverpool, plus his own local
children to educate. Our teacher was Miss Crawford,
who had come from Liverpool. School Assemblies were
in English and Welsh, and hymns were sung in Welsh.
One time there was a commotion in the school, that
was because I had cut the red hair of Pauline Dykes
who was also from Liverpool. Her sister was blonde.
Their father was killed in the war, so the family
stayed on after the war ended, and eventually moved
to Caernarfon.
When
the war ended and we had to return to our home in
Liverpool, it was sad to say goodbye to all the friends
we had made in Nebo – Gwyn, Myrddin, Margaret,
Dorothy Dykes, Ken Thomas, Mr and Mrs Jones No. 1
and Rhiannon in the post office. We all said our
goodbyes, then out of the blue Aunty Fay sent my
mother a letter to say that Gorlan Cottage was for
rent, so for six weeks every year we went to Nebo
for our holidays, up to 1955 when I went into the
R.A.F. and the cottage was given up. My very good
friend Gwyn and his brother Myrddin also went into
the R.A.F. When I got married I took my wife and
my family up to Nebo to show them just how nice and
peaceful it was, and they have been enthusiastic
about it ever since. I kept in touch with Aunty Fay
until she died several years ago and she still always
made us so welcome even with eight of us going to
see her. I also kept in touch with Myrddin on and
off until he so tragically died, and I still keep
in touch with Gwyn and his family to this day. If
anybody sees a strange car, with two grey haired
pensioners inside, it could be me and my wife reliving
my past. Stop me. I would love to have a chat with
old friends, if they are still alive. You never know.
by
David Guyers, April 2003 |
