Brian Baxter Evacuee

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My remembered years as an Evacuee

I have very little memory of leaving Lowestoft as an Evacuee, in what must have been on Sunday June 2^nd 1940. I was, as far as I can recollect, an infant at Lovewell Road School. I can vaguely remember being picked out upon arrival at Glossop to go into the home of a couple.

I can remember an Air Raid whilst I was there, and what sticks in my mind is of spilling a tin of paint, but then I became very ill and my father came up to see me and whatever happened I was transferred to be with my sisters Edna and Ruby in Whitwell. Thus the first chapter of my early days as an evacuee ended.

To go back to the beginning our family lived in Notley Road, South Lowestoft, I was the youngest of five and the only boy. Throughout my schooling I was at Lovewell Road and Notley Road Schools.

When being evacuated, as mentioned, my youngest sister Ruby went with the Notley Road Senior Girls, my second oldest sister Edna joined her and I believe worked in Worksop, where she biked every day. They were taken in by a family called the Websters who lived up Hanger Hill, what I now believe is Foxes Road. I duly joined them there from Glossop, and enrolled in the local school in the centre of the village. Now a vibrant Community Centre. There might be evacuees who still remember my sisters Ruby and Edna Baxter.

I am fairly sure the Websters had at least two daughters, Mr Webster seemed a keen woodsman and kept in his shed a number of ferrets. I seem to recall the lady next door lived on her own and had evacuees also.

I saw the mention by Fred Knights recently that he lived in Foxes Road and was with a lady who was on her own, perhaps I will investigate that further.

I can remember my sister Ruby serving out milk from a Milk Churn and with a ladle, the back of what looked like a Pony and Trap, to all who wanted milk direct into a jug or the like.

I was very much happier at Whitwell. I had a very good friend there who lived directly opposite the school Kenny Allen. On our reunion visit in 2007 I got off the coach at Whitwell and visited my old school now the Community Centre and met up with the management team, who suggested I came back in the afternoon and meet pensioners who might know me. This I duly did and in the course of conversation one of them said they knew Kenny , I gave them my card and the following evening Kenny phoned me. His brother who was born after the war has a Tea Stall at the Jetty in Gt. Yarmouth. I definitely hope to see Kenny on our next visit in 2008.

Upon the arrival of my mother and father in Whitwell we moved as a family to live with the Wild’s at 86, Portland Street, they had 3 sons Eric, Dennis and John (Juddy) I believe

A stream ran very close to the house and I spent many great hours playing in the water with friends, we used to build small boats and race them distances. Whilst there I did potato picking and planting and did other jobs on the farm.

I can remember we had some great sledging days when the snow came. My father worked at Steetley Quarry and drove a huge digger, mining great slabs of stone for runways I understand.

My second youngest sister was in service at a Major Warwick’s house in Nottingham. I believe I went there one day to see her with my mother. My oldest sister Margaret stayed in Lowestoft.

BRIAN BAXTER 2008