The Bridge c1955, Ivybridge

Wartime in Ivybridge 1939

I was one of ten little girls, plus our teacher, who arrived in Ivybridge as evacuees from Acton, London, at the outbreak of the Second World War. We were taken to a hall (probably at the school) where we were collected in pairs by our 'families'. The first family we stayed with lived in Exeter Road. They had a little boy, a large house and garden. They also had a car. I had never even been in a car before! We used to visit elderly relatives of the family, who lived in an old farmhouse in Cornwood. They kept a cow and made their own cream. The farmhouse had no electricity, and it was lit by oil lamps. Owing to the ill health of the wife, we had to move to Woodland Terrace, where we were looked after by a lady whose husband was away in the army. I have memories of going out primrose-picking in the spring and of playing in the fields at the back... Read more