Evacuees reunite to remember war

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A tea-party is being held to bring together and record the memories of World War II evacuees.

The event, at a medieval house in Ruthin, Denbighshire, is being laid on for former evacuees from Merseyside who stayed in the Vale of Clwyd.

An author will be on hand to record their memories and produce a book.

Sam Williams, who helped plan the event, said: "We're getting to the point where if we don't record these stories now they might never be heard."

She appealed for anyone who was an evacuee staying in the Vale of Clwyd area during the 1940s to come forward and take a trip down memory lane.

"Families can come along with their children and find out more about what their grandparents' generation did," she added.

"The evacuated children from Merseyside were taken and moved to somewhere completely different, to a very different culture. It turned out to be a holiday away from home and I have very fond memories of that time in my life Former evacuee Alan Roach

"This is a much more human way of learning about it."

Former evacuees are being invited to bring along any material, letters, photographs or special items from that period.

An author will be present at the tea party, giving anyone who would like their story to be written about the chance to do so.

A book of memories will be written and printed following the event which is taking place on Sunday at Nantclwyd y Dre in Ruthin.

One of those who moved temporarily to the north Wales town during the war years and will have his memories documented will be Alan Roach from Little Sutton in the Wirral.

He was evacuated from Merseyside alongside his family as a four-year-old to a house called Plas Draw following the 1941 blitz of his hometown.

Owned and run by a Major Bromhead, Mr Roach lived there for almost three years with his two sisters and mother while his father managed to come and visit his family once a month.

"It was a huge house and when we first got to Major Bromhead's house he had a staff of three gardeners, where the head gardener was also his chauffeur, four to five maids and a cook," remembered the 72-year-old.

'Ground rules'

"The maids and cook left so my mother ran the house for him during the war.

"When we first went there he wasn't used to children, because he didn't have any of his own, and he set a lot of ground rules which we had to abide by.

"But he mellowed eventually and when we had to leave when everyone was repatriated back to Merseyside he said we could come back for our holidays which we did until he died in 1953.

"We were very fortunate to move there as a family as many people were evacuated on their own and didn't have such a good time.

"We had a totally different experience from other people because of that.

"In effect, it turned out to be a holiday away from home and I have very fond memories of that time in my life."

The party is tied to Liverpool's status as European Capital of Culture 2008.