麻豆社

Tim was back home in Birmingham on VE Day as a very unhappy nine-year-old who had spent four-and-a-half wonderful years as an evacuee in Rolleston.

Tim was aged four when war broke out and he remembers being sent on a train from Birmingham New Street to Rolleston-on-Dove with his brother in February 1940. He doesn鈥檛 remember any tearful goodbyes when leaving and just accepted what was happening.

All the children were stood in the village whilst the locals would choose who they wanted to take home with them. Tim describes this process as a cattle market. He was chosen by a woman who he later knew as Aunt Edith, but she didn鈥檛 want Tim鈥檚 brother, so the two were separated.

Aunt Edith took Tim to a big Victorian house where she lived with her Aunt Kate. The contrast was incredible as he lived in a council house on Chinn Brook Road.

He had a very happy time in Rolleston and Aunt Kate and Aunt Edith treated him very well. It took him a while to settle in amongst the local children because the evacuees were seen as coming from the slums of Birmingham.

After six months, the local children took to him after he got involved in local activities like joining the church choir. There was one young lad who Tim kept in touch with up until he died four years ago.

Tim鈥檚 father had a period of leave from the war and came to visit along with his mother and younger sister. Aunt Edith told Tim to go out into the village to go and meet them. Tim went into the village but went back to the house claiming he had not been able to see them. In fact he had passed them on the way through and had not recognised them and they had not recognised him either.

During that visit, he felt like his parents were strangers, and he saw Aunt Edith as his mother and the person he cared for the most.

In November 1944, the war was coming to an end and Birmingham was deemed safe for children like Tim to return. He recalls having tearful goodbyes with Aunt Kate and Aunt Edith and got in a taxi back to Birmingham. He later learned that Aunt Edith asked Tim鈥檚 mother if she could adopt him but he refused.

He was not happy when he returned to Birmingham and he couldn鈥檛 connect with his family who were like strangers to him. They used to mock him after he returned to the city having lost his Brummie accent.

He went back to Rolleston for holidays but he wanted to return permanently and couldn鈥檛 cope with the contrast of the two places.

Aunt Kate died in 1949, but he kept in touch with Aunt Edith up until she died in 1989. She even attended his wedding and 25th wedding anniversary party.
He believes life would鈥檝e been completely different had he stayed in Rolleston.

Image: VE Day celebrations on Norman Road in Northfield, Birmingham

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