Evacuee Memory

A Memory of St Day.

My brother Bryan and I were evacuated to St. Day in 1940 and I spent three happy years there before reluctantly returning to London in 1943. We lived with Mr. and Mrs. Batty who ran a hardware shop on the corner of Fore Street. Mr Batty was, during my stay, Chairman of the Camborne and Redruth Urban District Council, We attended St. Day School, Headmaster Mr. Blewitt, teachers Mr. Webster and Miss Opie. The Batty family had a small farm in the village run by a family member, Maude Roper. My after school duties were numerous: delivering charged Accumulators to homes as far away as Scorrier, walking both ways; collecting potato peelings etc. from local homes to be mixed with feed for the pigs. I remember the Braddons (local butchers), the Watsons and Champions (both shop owners). I remember the playing field, the heather covered moors, the mineshafts, Painters Pond, saffron buns, the Pasties. Above all I remember the friendliness and kindness of the villagers. Does the Maypole still stand where it used to be and is there clotted cream for tea?