Recollections of a little girl in WWII England - Pacifica Tribune Online Recollections of a little girl in WWII England By Jean Bartlett ARTS CORRESPONDENT Posted: 04/02/2009 05:04:25 AM PDT The historical events began some 70 years past, but for Pacifican Surrey Blackburn, these are personal memories from a childhood spent in WWII England. On Sept. 3, 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. On Aug. 31, the government issued the order to "Evacuate Forthwith" and "Operation Pied Piper" began the very next day. Nearly 3,000,000 people were transported from major cities and towns deemed likely targets of enemy bombers. Little Joan, who was from an orphanage in London, was told by the nuns who ran it that she was an evil child which was why she was being sent out of London to live with strangers. On those first days, 1.9 million children were sent to rail stations not knowing where they were going or whether they would remain with their brothers and sisters. Some people in rural areas, who had agreed to take in some "random" child, expected the city kids to arrive infested with parasites. Children were told to keep a "stiff upper lip." A Pacifica resident since 1993, Blackburn was born 100 miles west of London in the city of Bristol in 1938. As she explained it, she was just a "wee tad of a muckle" when that first evacuation took place and didn't have a thought in her head about it . "Back then when people thought Bristol, they thought chocolate or tobacco factories," said Blackburn. However, Bristol was also the home of Bristol Aeroplane Company which in turn produced the Bristol Blenheim light bomber and the Bristol Beaufighter. On Nov. 24, 1940, Bristol experienced its first Blitz. "My parents panicked and looked around to see where they could send me," said Blackburn. In early 1941, the 3-year-old was sent off to live with a couple in a village not too far away. Her parents didn't know the couple very well and as it turns out, the couple didn't like each other very much. While Blackburn was not abused, unlike her friend Joan whom she would meet later in life, the couple never talked to each other and the husband never talked to little Surrey. It was a heart-wrenching time for the young girl. Once the Americans entered the war, hope returned, and Surrey's parents brought their daughter home. Blackburn said her father, a Quaker and conscientious objector, seemingly worked 24 hours a day. By night he was a watchman for the Home Guard. By day he was an electrician in a factory. He also repaired neighbor's appliances and helped them tend the vegetables in their gardens. And somehow he always kept things bright for his only child. Although her childhood did also have its share of charming experiences, the former little girl from Bristol easily recalled a harrowing experience. "It was a Sunday afternoon and we were visiting grandma," said Blackburn. "Though there was no siren at first, we recognized the sound of a German bomber overhead." The family ran to Grandma's shelter and climbed in as the sirens blared. "We were in the path of the plane and we heard two bombs dropped. The first exploded the second did not," said Blackburn. "There was a live bomb out there and the sirens were announcing the all clear." While the men in the family, several with small children, hurriedly discussed who should go out and disarm the bomb, Surrey watched her Aunt Rose, who had lost her fiancé in the War and who did not have children, quietly leave the shelter. When the family realized this, they stayed inside and they prayed and they sang songs to help stay calm. "Thirty minutes later the Air Raid Warden came and told us that our Rose was a heroine," said Surrey. The incendiary bomb was right in front of Surrey's grandmother's house. Knowing that the bomb disposal squad was not easily found on a Sunday afternoon, Aunt Rose located the Air Raid Warden. At first she stood behind a wall and read the Air Warden his printed instructions on how to disarm the bomb. But his hands were shaking so much she suggested they change jobs and Aunt Rose disarmed the bomb. "I asked her if she wanted a cup of tea when she returned but she said, "No dear, something stronger!" laughed Blackburn. In Blackburn's just published "Tales From My Grandmother" (Tales From My Grandmother | Charming Stories of Life on the Homefront - Through the Eyes of a Little Girl | Surrey Blackburn) there are 20 tales which represent her childhood in WWII England. Offering a real sense of what life was like for children back then, the stories travel through Surrey's experiences: evacuation, air raids, gas masks and ration books. The tales are beautifully illustrated in water colors by children's book illustrator Gabhor Utomo. Blackburn's granddaughters, India and Annika, were photographed by Blackburn in corresponding poses which Utomo then used to create his illustrations. In addition, granddaughter India offers a modern-day link with questions for the reader after each tale. Blackburn started the book in March of 2008. "I broke my leg in January and was confined to a wheelchair for four months. I'm an avid reader but when I came to the end of the 39th book, I threw it across the room. I'd decided I had graduated from Reading 101 and now it was time to start writing!" The first story she wrote "Too Many Blackbirds" is actually the last story in her book and the only story which has nothing to do with the War. "It was warm and friendly and there was nothing awful about the memory and so it came easily," said Blackburn. Some of the other stories were much harder to write and even now Blackburn tears up when she speaks about "Operation Pied Piper." The mother of two and grandmother to five, Blackburn might be known to some for her yearly appearance as Miss Havisham in the Dickens Fair. Some might know her as an educator or her current days as a photographer. Then again some may know her from when she was executive director on Angel Island, where she was often given to dressing up in costume, which she made, for various historical events. Soon she will also be known as the author featured in April's London Book Fair. Additionally her book has just been accepted into the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. "I wrote this book because as I get older, so many of my friends who shared the war experience with me have died and I realized this is part of history, I better get to it." Blackburn and her granddaughter India will be signing her book this Saturday at Florey's , 2120 Palmetto, from 2 to 5 p.m. On display will be a gas mask and a ration book. She will also have period candies from the English pantry.
