Hi everyone! The book 'Good Night Mr Tom', which I presume is what the movie of the same name is based on, was used as a piece of literature which my daughter, Jenny, studied at school some ten years ago as part of her English course. Some time later she used my story as an evacuee as the basis for one of her essays, ie fiction based on fact. When the essay was presented for marking, Jenny's teacher informed her that she was unable to grade it because the story was not original. She claimed it was taken from 'Good Night Mr Tom'. Needless to say, Jenny was furious, and was quick to point out that her story was based on her mother's experiences as an evacuee, and was entirely original in its content.

My view is that the experiences of many evacuees seem to have one common thread; that is, children were removed from their families, sent to areas they knew very little about, and placed with people who were total strangers to them. Some were lucky, others were not so lucky. Isn't that what 'Good Night Mr Tom' was all about?

I get the impression that I am one of the youngest evacuees in our group. I was only 19 months old when I was sent to Fern House in Dorset, and I stayed there until I was five years old, at which time I had to leave and was sent to Tisbury. My memories of the first five years of my life remain very dim, maybe the mind blocks out traumatic experiences, which we are unable to confront. All I know is that I suffered from a condition that is commonly termed 'St Vitus' Dance', which is a nervous condition brought on by an emotional upset of some magnitude. This condition occurred twice in my young life; once when I arrived at Fern House, and again on my arrival in Tisbury.

It was only on the arrival of my first grandchild that I began to realise just what little things children of the war missed out on. For instance, how many war children had stories read to them before they went to sleep? How many war children were able to creep into bed with their parents if they woke frightened? These were some of the things I missed out on, because I was treated like an orphan, and became institutionalised. These all seem to be little things, but to a child so young, they are so important.

Goodness me. I seem to have become very maudlin, which I didn't intend. Anyway, it doesn't do any harm to talk about these things, does it?

Eileen