Genealogy Chat

Bless me my old nanny stayed in London with 3 of hers then!!! brave lady if they could go!! lol :-D

I born 1944 was born in Brocket Hall, Hatfield famous for Lord Brocket's insurance scam. My parents lived in Edmonton, my mother said the wall paper was hand painted and the beds had to be well away from the wall.

Ann, after the huge evacuation of civilians out of London in the first few days of September, the expected German invasion didn't happen, causing many to doubt the experts' predicted danger (you may have heard of the expression Phoney War). Consequently, many people returned to their homes in the city. It wasn't until the Blitz of 1940, I believe, that people realised there was, after all, a need for being evacuated, and that they would be safer out of London.

Those links I put up in my earlier post make some very interesting reading about this era :-)

My sister was born in St Albans in 1940 and my mother lived in South Bermondsey. I have been wondering why this was, perhaps that explains it. Sadly she only lived for three days. I was born at St Alpheges Greenwich though so perhaps the practise of evacuation had been discontinued by then. Does anyone know?
Ann

Its quite easy to start a new thread. Click on Genealogy Chat to the left of the board.

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Thankyou for your suggestion patches it was my mother who was living in Edmonton London while pregnant with me when evacuated to willersley castle. I am now living in southgate area wishing to see if there might be others like me. I really don't know how to start up another site so a bit confused about it all as it is we to me.

Interesting thread :-)

I don't know if your London district depended on where in Britain you were evacuated, but my father lived in Marylebone and he was evacuated with his school (on 1 September '39) to a small village in Buckinghamshire.

I know the WWII evacuation movement was called Operation Pied Piper. These links contain some very useful information...

http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/sites/default/files/Evacuation_Transcript.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuations_of_civilians_in_Britain_during_World_War_II

http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/operation-pied-piper-the-evacuation-of-english-children-during-world-war-ii/

http://www.experiencewoodhorn.com/operation-pied-piper/

http://www.experiencewoodhorn.com/the-drift-home/
On the Woodhorn site you can listen to some of the evacuees themselves talking of their experience.

Josephine,

It is very unlikely that anyone who was born there will notice this thread.

It might be better starting a new one, called Willersley Castle, Matlock- if you are looking for babies (and their families) who were born there.

Do you mean people who lived in Enfield/Southgate just before or after 1944?

Did your mother ever mention any names?

More than 4000 babies were born between 1940 and 1946.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willersley_Castle

Hi I have just found this site and joined genes united, I would like to ask if ther is anybody out there who was born 1944 at willersley castle Matlock and lives in the enfield/ southgate area?. My mother lived before being evacuated in Edmonton the name of Lyon.

Oh have just seen Auntie Jean had replied on this thread too. Such a lovely lady and very much missed.

We lived in SE london. and in Sept just us kids went to Tunbridge Wells in Kent. Mum didn't go with us as she was just two weeks from giving birth and she wanted to stay to look after dad who was a shift worker at the Woolwich Arsenal.

When Kent got too hairy to live in cos they were bombing the airfields i went back to London for abur 3 months and then was sent to Birmingham , Mum went too then with another baby that was born in 1941. The sister born in 1949 went to Colne in Lancashire. I didnt return home til Jan 1946.

Have been reading all your articles, I live in Australia, but came from the Upper Clapton area, my mother was evacuated to Matlock in Derbyshire, I was born in Willersley Castle also, you can get a lot of information if you google it. On a visit to the Uk about 21 years ago went and visited my birthplace, it is more a stately home. Trish

Hi Margaret, Thanks for that. Shelley

We lived in Islington in London and my Mum was sent to Cheltenham to have my sister born in 1941. My Aunt, who also lived in Islington was sent in 1943 to Cornwall to have her son. Jean x.

This is interesting as my grandmother was also evacuated early WWII years - but as she lived in S London she was rumoured to have gone to Devon. Did it depend on which part of London they lived in as to where they were evacuated? I would love to find out more about this and will contact the Salvation Army.

I am so glad I read this. I couldn't find my Mum's sister. The only Jean Fowler I found was born in Leeds......So that must be her born in 1940. Thanks a bunch peeps!!! By the way my other half is from Tottenham. Warpole Road.

Hi Judith I have lived in several places in Tottenham Earlesmead Rd near Seven Sisters Arnold Rd near the bus garage Mount Pleasant rd knew tittenham like the back of my hand at one time.Always used to go to the Ally Pally and the dive. my brother and sister still live there I do not Margaret

Sorry Dizzy we've hi jacked your thread rather. Margaret I went with my brother a few years ago to visit the area, and agree its very nice. We walked up through the hills to the village where mum stayed as well. Since then Peter has actually stayed at Willersley Castle as its run as a conference centre. I did suggest he should ask for his old room ! By the way mum lived in St Paul's Road, Tottenham, a turning of Park Lane right near the Spurs ground. When I was little we used to go there to stay with my nan and I remember Lordship Lane which led through to Wood Green - we went that way to Ally Pally :-)

Hi Shirley if you put in Willersley Castle it is the second and third one down Derbyshire Margaret

Hi Margaret, The most I could read was Willoghby Castle, but nothing ever came up when I googled it. That branch of the family were from the Clapton area.