Keep Calm and Carry On, Children

by Sharon K Mayhew

  “Of course, you can,” Mum answered.

  We all went in the kitchen. Blackouts covered the gaping holes that used to be our back door and window. The coat rack lay on the floor in bits. Some of Mum’s best plates were broken. But at least we had most of a house and each other.

  Gina and I set the table. Daddy peeled the potatoes. Mum made fish cakes and cut up carrots. She cooked them after Daddy lit the stove top.

  “We’ll use the water from the potatoes and the carrots to make soup tomorrow, as long as the electricity and gas are still on. There’s always something nice and comforting about a hot bowl of soup and a nice piece of bread and butter,” Mum said.

  Alex and Bill came traipsing in as we were sitting down for dinner.

  “Where’s Mum?” Bill asked.

  “Boys, I need ya to have a seat,” Daddy said. “I ‘ave some real bad news about yer Mum.”

  Alex and Bill sat at the table. The colour drained out of their normally cheerful faces, and they stared at Daddy.

  “She ent here anymore, is she?” Alex put his elbows on the table and rested his forehead on his hands.

  Bill opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His eyes turned downwards. He whimpered.

  “No, she isn’t. She was on ‘er way to Covent Garden Market, and she got caught in a raid. The warden came around and told us just a bit ago. You can stay with us as long as ya want to. We’re family, ya hear.”

  Mum hugged each boy. Tears trickled down their cheeks, but neither made a sound.

  No one seemed very hungry. Everyone scooted their food around on their plates.

  “Come on,” Mum said. “Everyone has to eat their supper. We don’t know what’s in store for us tonight.”

  So, we did what we were supposed to do and ate. Being wasteful during a war is kind of like committing a sin. We had to be careful with our food since most of it came from other countries and now the Germans were bombing the food supply before it got to England.

  “We’ll need to contact the Council Engineer about the house, Wilfred,” said Mum. “I hope it’s repairable.”

  “I’ll do that first thing in the mornin’,” Daddy said. “Let’s clear up these dishes and get ready for wot Mister Hitler’s goin’ ta send us tonight.”

  Chapter Ten

  September 10, 1940

  9:00 PM

  I grabbed my torch and went up to Gina’s room to get ready for bed. Mum said the boys would share my room. A lady warden came round to see what the boys needed. She said she’d make sure they got all the rations, clothes, and shoes she could find them. I moved all my things into Gina’s room. I even took down my poster of Winston Churchill. It said, “Let us go forward together.” Seeing it might upset Bill and Alex. I banged my foot into the fire bucket outside my bedroom door and spilled the water all over the floor.

  “Mum,” I shouted, “I spilled the fire bucket. What should I clean it up with?”

  “I’ll come up and do it, Dear.” Mum sighed as she came up the stairs with a dishcloth and wiped up the mess I had made. Then she came in Gina’s room and sat on the bed.

  “What’s wrong Mum?”

  She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “Daddy and I decided that tomorrow morning you and Gina will be joining Operation Pied Piper. We can’t keep you here anymore. It’s not safe. I never expected so many people to be injured and killed in London. You must go for your own safety. I found the list of things you’re supposed to take with you. We’ll get it together in the morning and then go to Euston Station.” She looked at me, then at the floor. Her face changed to the colour of a rain cloud right before a downpour.

  “We’ll be fine, Mum.” I patted her back. “I promise to take good care of Gina, and we’ll write to you every week.” I took a deep breath and tried to sound brave. “I’m sure they’ll let us stay together. We are sisters after all.” I crossed my fingers behind my back.

  Mum put her arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze.

  “I’m so proud of you, Love. You’re so brave.”

  Then Mister Hitler ruined our last night together as a family.

  WHRRRRR, whrrr, WHRRR, whrrr

  I grabbed my torch as Mum and I zoomed down the stairs. I wasn’t getting back in the shelter without it.

  “Alex, take Bill, Gina, and Joyce to the shelter. Janet and I are goin’ ta get a satchel of things in case we’re there all night,” Daddy said.

  We zoomed to the shelter. The sky lit up in the distance. It was going to be a bad night in more ways than one.

  Bill jumped in first. Alex passed Gina to him. Then I climbed down. Alex stood at the top looking around.

  “I’m waitin’ fer ya Mum and Da,” he said.

  A loud whizz and an explosion shook the ground. Alex lost his footing and tumbled into the shelter head first.

  “That was bloomin’ close!” Alex said as he rubbed his head and stood up. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Just smashin’.” Bill rolled his eyes.

  “We’re all right,” I said. “Do you think Mum and Daddy will get here soon?” I didn’t want to be in the shelter without them. What if something happened to them? Then what would Gina and I do?

  “I’ll climb back up and ‘ave a look,” Alex said. “You lot stay down and protect your ‘eads if you ‘ear anything else.”

  I turned on my torch and looked around the shelter. It was much bigger than before. Alex and Bill dug all day to make the shelter big enough for us to move around in. They even brought us a big mat they found in the ruins of their house. It covered most of the ground. There was a little table and two chairs, a couple books, and an oil lamp.

  “I say,” I said, “are you two planning to move in here?”

  “Nah, we just thought it’d be a lot better if we made it a bit more roomy and ‘omey,” Bill said.

  “Well done!” I nodded my head and gave Bill my best smile.

  Gina stuck out her bottom lip. “Did you bring Dolly, Alex?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t,” Alex said. “Perhaps yer Mum’ll bring ‘er when she comes.”

  We heard Mum and Daddy coming across the garden.

  “Come on boys, lend us a ‘and,” Daddy said. He passed them two brown bags. Alex took one, and Bill took the other. They set them beside the little table.

  “By golly, you boy’s ‘ave done a bang-up job on the shelter. It’s a right ‘oliday ‘ouse now!” Daddy patted Alex on the back.

  “Lovely job, boys. We will be living in luxury for the last night before the girls go to the countryside,” Mum said.

  “Why don’t they have to go to the countryside with us?” Gina frowned.

  “They’re too old ta go. They’re goin’ ta stay ‘ere and ‘elp England and put that Mister Hitler in ‘is place,” Daddy said.

  Bill and Alex nodded.

  “We’re goin’ to get jobs at the ‘munitions factory,” Alex said.

  “Right, what’s for dinner, Love?” Daddy turned to Mum.

  “We’re going to have a real feast tonight.”

  She opened one bag and pulled out a blanket.

  Gina tugged on Mum’s dress. “Did you bring Dolly?”

  “No, Sweetie, I thought you brought her.”

  Gina went to the corner of the mat, turned her back to us and cried.

  “She’ll be fine, Gina. We’ll get her back first thing in the morning,” she said. “Tonight, we’re going to stay nice and warm.” Mum spread the blanket on top of the mat.

  Daddy opened the other bag.

  “Who wa
nts Spangles?”

  Everyone wanted Spangles, even Gina. It was a real treat to have sweets. We rarely had them before the war and now even less. I loved Spangles. The square shape with the little circle in the middle felt wonderful rolling around on my tongue. I loved the fruity flavors. I never crunched them. I always sucked them until they were clear as a piece of coloured glass.

  Gina perked up as Mum and Daddy continued to get things out of the bag. They had a big loaf of bread, a lump of cheese, butter and six tiny apples.

  “Where’d you get all of the food, Mummy?” Gina scratched her head and then behind her ears.

  “Let’s just say I joined the right queue with our ration books and a bit of extra money today,” Mum said. “We’ll have a celebration before my two brave girls leave for their adventure in the countryside.”

  And feast we did. Everything tasted scrummy. Mum made sure we had enough left to take sandwiches with us on the train.

  The sirens still blared. Bombs still exploded, but we tried to ignore the war and be a family for one last night.

  After we finished eating, Mum read to us out of one of the books on the table. She’d read the book to us hundreds of times. It was a marvelous tale about a bear named Winnie-the-Pooh. He lived in the Hundred Acre Wood with lots of friends, and they went on adventures together. There couldn’t have been a more perfect book to read to Gina before we left to go to the countryside.

  “Are we going to have adventures like Pooh and Piglet?” Gina interrupted.

  “I certainly hope you are,” said Mum.

  After Mum finished reading, we all took the gas masks off our shoulders and placed them beside us on the mat, just in case we needed to get them quickly during the night. It seemed as if the all clear would never sound, so we curled up close to each other under the big blanket.

  Too tired to think about leaving Mum and Daddy and too tired to worry about the bombs, I fell asleep…

  Chapter Eleven

  September 11, 1940

  6:00 AM

  I hated pins and needles. I tried to wiggle my toes, but it made the pain even worse. I rubbed my legs, but it didn’t help. Daylight peeked through the edges of the corrugated iron roof. Dust seeped in through the cracks. I coughed and inhaled a mouthful of dirt. I coughed again.

  “Are you all right, Love?” Mum asked.

  “Yes, but my mouth feels like I’ve been eating mud pies and my legs are burning up with pins and needles.” I stretched my legs out and did circles with my feet, but it didn’t help.

  Mum pulled back the blanket and rubbed my legs. It made them hurt even more.

  “I need to stand up,” I said. I leaned on the cold dirt wall as I got up. I curled my toes and stretched my calves until the tingling stopped.

  “We must ‘ave slept through the all clear,” Daddy said. “I’m sure we can go up now.”

  Alex and Bill followed Daddy. Mum passed Gina up and gave me a boost. Daddy and Alex helped Mum out.

  We were dusty and smelled like musty damp rags left wadded up in a pile for days.

  “Let’s ‘ave a look at the ‘ouse,” Daddy said.

  We followed him past the debris in the garden. The house was still there. We went through the make-do back door.

  The dust inside seemed to be worse than outside. Dolly lay on the kitchen table in a pool of fine dust. Dust covered everything. It even managed to squirm its way into Mum’s china hutch.

  Gina ran over to Dolly, picked her up, and cuddled her.

  “Thank goodness Dolly is all right!”

  “It’s lucky she was in the kitchen, not in the garden,” Mum said. “Now we shall see if we’re able to put the kettle on and make a cup of tea. Then we’ll find the list of what you are supposed to carry with you on your adventure.”

  Gina grabbed her tummy and began to cry. “How can I go on an adventure? Just look at Dolly. She’s all dirty.”

  “Joyce, please take Dolly outside and dust her off. I’m afraid we can’t spare any extra time giving her a bath. We have to get to the train station by 9 o’clock.”

  Gina’s shoulders sagged. I grabbed her hand and took her and Dolly outside.

  “She’ll clean up fine for the train ride, Gina,” I said. “Everything is going to be fine. We’re going to go to the countryside to have our own adventure…away from the war.”

  Gina inhaled, squared her shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “You’ll stay with me in the countryside, won’t you?”

  “You’re jolly well right, I will.” I banged the dust out of Dolly. She looked a bit better, but still very dusty. “Let’s go in with brave faces and get ready for our adventure.” Perhaps it wouldn’t be as terrible as I expected it to be. If I could convince Gina we would be fine, perhaps we would.

  Gina followed me into the house. Mum boiled enough water to make a pot of tea. She got out six of her best china teacups and saucers. They were white with a ring of pretty green leaves above a tiny silver line. They’d been a wedding present for Mum and Daddy fifteen years ago. Everyone sat at the table. Mum poured the tea, Daddy passed us each a cup. We sat in silence sipping our tea. I wondered what everyone else was thinking.

  Mum went to the counter and brought a loaf of bread and a pot of rhubarb jam to the table. I kept thinking that this might be our last breakfast together for a long time. Possibly the last one…ever. I squeezed my feet and legs together. It helped. I didn’t cry. I had to show Gina I wasn’t scared or worried. I gulped down my fears with my bread and jam.

  Alex said he and Bill had an appointment at the warden’s office. Daddy went upstairs to pack. He was leaving for South Hampton in the afternoon. He would be patrolling the south coast or at least that’s what he told us. Mum sat lost in her thoughts at the table, her eyes dull and sad. Gina crawled into her lap and rested her head on her shoulder. The house felt as still as a graveyard on a winter’s night. I finished my cup of tea without crying on the outside but, inside I cried enough to fill a pond.

  Gina sneezed. I dropped a teacup on the floor, and it shattered. I burst into tears.

  “I’m sorry, Mum,” I blurted out. “I didn’t mean to drop it.”

  “No worries, Dear,” Mum said. “We’ll blame it on Mister Hitler. He’s the cause of all our distress.”

  I nodded my head, took in a deep breath, got the dustpan and broom, and cleaned up the broken cup.

  “Let’s go upstairs and pack for your trip,” Mum said. “I have that list around here somewhere.”

  She dug through a stack of papers on the counter and found the evacuation notice.

  Parents are reminded that the children must take with them:

  An overcoat or mackintosh, and the following suggested changes of clothing:

  Girls: One vest or combinations, one pair of knickers, one bodice, one petticoat, two pairs of stockings, handkerchiefs, gym slip and blouse, hat, and cardigan.

  Boys: One vest, one shirt with collar, one pair of under trousers, one jersey or pullover, one pair of trousers, handkerchiefs, two pairs of socks or stockings, cap.

  In addition, they all must carry night-clothes, comb, and brush, slippers or sand shoes, towel, soap, facecloth, toothbrush and if possible, an extra pair of boots or shoes.

  “Right,” Mum said, “let’s see if we have everything you need.”

  Unfortunately, we did not have everything on the list. We didn’t have a bodice or a petticoat. We didn’t even own our own hairbrush or comb, Mum used hers on us. Our slippers were ruined from going to the shelter, and we’d never had a toothbrush, Dad said we didn’t need one until all our teeth were grown in. We each had one pair of shoes, and we wou
ld be wearing them. We packed what we had into two small white paper bags. Mum carried them downstairs. At least our bags wouldn’t be heavy. Gina followed her, with Dolly. I stood in the upstairs hallway and looked around. This might be the last time I saw our home. The bombings never seemed to stop, and it didn’t appear they ever would. What if we never saw Mum and Daddy again? What if Gina and I were separated? What if something terrible happens in the countryside? What if the Germans did release blister gas or invade us?

  My heart began to race. My head felt funny, my brain swirled around. My legs wobbled and I sunk to the floor. I sat there until I stopped feeling funny, then I stood up. I leaned on the wall, making a permanent picture in my mind of my room. I found my Bible and my cross and went downstairs, determined to face our evacuation with courage.

  Chapter Twelve

  September 11, 1940

  7:30 AM

  I took my photo of Nanny and Grandad out of my tuck box, slipped it in my Bible and slid it into my bag. I put my silver bangle on my wrist. My heart still hurt for Mister Elstone.

  “I’ll fill out your identification cards,” Mum got a pen and filled in our names, ages, school name, our parent’s names and our address. Then she pinned them to our coats.

  “Pass me your gas masks, girls,” she said. She wrote our names on them. “You must carry these at all times, Mister Churchill said so. Even if you feel very safe in the countryside, you must keep them with you. Promise me you will.”

  “We will, Mum,” I said.

  “I’ll make some sandwiches for your journey. You might be on the train a long time.”

  Gina got the bread, and I got the butter and cheese. Mum made us each two sandwiches and wrapped them in paper. Then she brought out two small apples and a couple barley sugars. She put everything in two small bags and wrote our names on them.