b'Memories of a Sunderland EvacueeHilda Duffy (nee Dent)based on a conversation recorded on July 24 th , 2000Irdof September and we came on the 10 thofhaving electricity and a wireless. I remember Butcher came to Bishop Wilton in 1939. War was declared on the 3 Smith, Bessys dad. We used to go out with him September. We were all prepared back home. We allsticking, collecting sticks. He would find out where a had gas masks and whatever you had to have. I wastree had come down or branches that were dying off living beside the shipyards in Sunderland so it was aand our Eddie and me used to go and help him get danger area because it was a target for the bombers. them in. He had a van. When the war first began, he I had three brothers back home. One older, Louis,slaughtered his own beasts. He used to bring them in he had just started work in the yards where they werethe night before and you could hear them bawling out. exempt from being called up. Also, there was one 6They must have smelt what they were going to. Where and one 3. So they stayed at home with my mother. he slaughtered them he had a big ring. He used to We were put on trains in the local stations wherefasten the ropes through that and tether the beast I lived and brought into York and then shunted intobefore he shot them - he had a humane killer. And he Pocklington. Then we were put on buses and sent tohad a pulley to pull them up. He had stacks of boiling various different villages. We came to Bishop Wiltonwater ready. He used to make his own sausages. He Mens Institute and we went to school there as wellused to clean all the skins out and we used to wind it until they got us into the big school. off. We didnt know who we were going to be with, that was arranged when we arrived. Apparently, theyIn July 2000 Hilda Duffy revisited Bishop Wilton didnt want us, to be honest about it. Nobody in theand made contact with Bessy Fridlington, who villages. They werent so keen on taking us. had been her neighbour, as a five year old, People came and chose who they wanted andin the war years. Bessy put Mike and Kate there was three of us left. That was our Eddie- myPratt in touch with Hilda. They met her at the brother - me and this little lad who was five. TheyFleece where she was staying and asked her called him John Dent which was the same name asif she would mind recording her memories us and I hadnt a clue who he was. Somebody cameof the village over tea. She agreed and from and said that they thought that Mrs Cook would takethat one thing led to another. An article had us. So we came down to No. 10. Well, it was a bitappeared in Around The Wolds by another frightening because they were old people, you know,evacuee to Bishop Wilton, Barry Trotter. Mike they were in their seventies then and we were onlyand Kate made contact with him and then kids. I was eleven and our Eddie was nine and thisdecided to advertise in the Hull Daily Mail for boy was five. And Mrs Cook said, Yes, Ill take youany other people who had been evacuated to in. She took all three of us.Bishop Wilton. Thus began a very exciting few My mother had given us a stamped addressedmonths, which culminated in a reunion of 17 envelope and a bit writing paper so I could writeformer evacuees in the village, in July 2001. straight away and let her know where we were. The memories of 11 of those evacuees were There was only two bedrooms so the three of usrecorded and transcribed.slept in the same room. The boy, John Dent, cried incessantly for his Mam. So I wrote back and told her that the boy was crying and they came and got him. While I was here I got taught how to milk cowsOf course, when meat was rationed he couldnt and it was hand-milking then, and churning butter.slaughter anymore. He had to buy it off whatever they The Cooks had a smallholding. They had one byrecalled it, the Meat Marketing Board, or whatever it with four cows and one with two. So, I was milkingwould be. But he used to kill a pig for other people. cows and she taught me how to bake bread. I usedBut if you had a pig killed you had to forfeit your to get up on a morning and milk cows before I went tobacon ration. He used to kill one for Mrs Cook. And school. I made butter. I didnt think I was cut out for it.they would have the hams hanging from the ceiling. But I took it in my stride.Because then they had dairies or larders. I used to go to No 11, to Mrs Smith and play withI can remember scraping the hairs off the pigs, our Bessy and do odd messages and that. She usedEddie and me. Butcher Smith had a great big bath to say, I like to hear you talk Hilda. She must haveand when he killed the pig it used to go in the water. liked our accent. Bessy was close to five because IAnd hed made the scraper. Then he would pull it took her up and down to school until I had to go backup on the pulley and slice it down the middle and he home. Mrs Smith was the only one that I can recallfetched the lard out. Pure lard in those days, not like 194 BULLETIN 12'