An evacuee's suitcase
This photograph shows a suitcase and possible contents that a young lad might have had when he was evacuated in the Second World War. It was part of an exhibition of local memorabilia from the Archives of Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria on display during August 2005. This coincided with a touring Imperial War Museum Exhibition at Tullie House marking the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War. It was a good way of showing how the war affected even young children. People of all ages visited the exhibition including a lot of children with their parents or grandparents.
[For further information click on 'Comments' below]
posted by ritsonvaljos at 11:08 pm
3 Comments:
During the time the IWM exhibition was on display at Carlisle, there were a couple of days when some of the volunteer story-gatherers from the local BBC Radio Station, Radio Cumbria went to Tullie House to publicise the "People's War" project. I was one of the volunteers who went to the Museum on 19 August 2005, and there were a number of people who contributed their wartime memories to the website. It was really interesting listening to so many different wartime experiences.
I think it was potentially a little more difficult taking down stories at this type of event. At events such as Remembrance Sunday or a Veterans' Social event I found there was a narrower range of events discussed. At a reunion of veterans who served in the same campaign at least some of the discussion has been about that. At the IWM touring exhibition we might hear one story about the Home Guard and the next one would be about children playing among the bombed-out ruins. It was a hard day but an interesting one.
My late father always said he was better at history than I was. the reason being there wasn't as much of it to learn in his day, and then a lot of what I regarded as history was what he had lived through. Exhibits like the young lad's suitcase perhaps brought it home how wartime events affected even the very young, and something many living in 2005 could still remember.
My Dad has written a memoir of his experience of being evacuated to Folkestone and then Tredegar, Wales. He and his sister were called back to London and shortly afterwards his school was bombed in a day-light raid, that became one of the most notorious attacks of the war. 30 children were killed, including my Aunt and my Dad was seriously injured. He recalls evacuation, the attack and his experience of rehabilitation. See:
http://www.ericbradybooks.co.uk/
Mike
Wellcome to our blog. Your father has led a very interesting life; just been reading about it here.
I was also interested to see that he is a survivor of the bombing of Sandhurst Road School at Catford, although unfortunately his sister Kitty wasn't so lucky.
You may be interested in this photograph of the school.
Post a Comment
<< Home