Happy Island

I was evacuated to Bridport. I lived in East street and went to the southern general school until just before the eleven plus exams. The people who took me in were fantastic people.All past on now

I had a wonderful childhood with fantastic caring family,Sadly all past on. The shops i remember are Guppys, Rax Dairys,Rawles the butchers, Also Crabbs the butchers in the Tower top of the high street at the cross roads of East st West St South st. Husseys the bakers in east st a couple of doors down from our house The bottle washing plant on the way to school. The people who cared for my sister had a son who worked there. Iki Tonkins Was his name. His dad had been a policeman. I went to Southern General school.When the bombs dropped along the east st, It blew all the windows out of the school We then used the Wesleyan Chapel as a temporary school.I remember my teachers fellow, Bringing his tracked vehicle onto the forecourt,And letting us children get into it. Walditch on a sunday two or three times that day,A long walk for my little legs,Also boring as I had no idea what I was expected to do or think. The Wyatts Gave me a good standard to live up to,They were huguenots as I found out many many years later, When I bought a house in France The older sister told me about the family history.At the bottom of east st after the invasion of France,Some soldiers buried some bullets along side the river, Later I and I belive Robert Stibye dug them up, we had to hand them over to the police. The bridge over the river at that point had a plate that said, Anyone defacing or damaging it would be transported, I always had it in mind that I could easy start a new life just by kicking the bridge.