As Russia is invading Ukraine, I was lucky enough to talk to a Londoner, who in 1940 fled England to America to avoid the bombing during the Second World War . For the people of Ukraine, many families are also being split up due to the invasion. I interviewed the Londoner about his experience of fleeing the bombing of London during the Second World War, which was very thought provoking as it will reflect the feelings of many Ukrainians who are being separating by their war.
I asked the octogenarian about his feelings of being separated and his experiences of living in America and how he got there. He was three years old when he was put on a boat in 1940. Due to his age, the octogenarian just accepted this new life as he was looked after on the boat by an elderly neighbour. The boat he left on was called RMS Sythia, which had been requisitioned by the government to transport evacuees to America. He lived in Farnborough next to the airfield and was evacuated due to a house on his road being bombed, because the RAF base was a bombing target. He then spent four and a half years in America living with some second cousins.
On the return journey, he sailed across the Atlantic on HMS Nelson, which was a very large battleship. During the journey of the coast of Ireland, the ship dropped depth charges to deter any u-boats (German submarines) that were nearby. The boat returned to Portsmouth, where he was reunited with his mother after four and a half years. His mother had to reintroduce herself, because he didn’t know who she was as he left when he was three. There were many difference in life in England than America during and after the war. Firstly he was two years behind in school, as American schools started at different ages. In England, even after the war there was lots of rationing whilst in America during and after the the war, there wasn’t any rationing. He said that the main thing he missed was fresh fruit and bananas as they were in a shortage. Everyone also owned chickens as meat was in short supply. These are just some consequences faced even after winning the war. He relied on the radio and the grammar-phone for entertainment, which is very different from the entertainment that we can experience at this day and age.
Many young people in Ukraine will be experiencing war and their families being separated by war, such as this octogenarian that I had the opportunity to interview. Given that the war in Ukraine is happening, I felt it was important to find out the feelings and experiences that people fleeing the war would feel. This is made even more relevant as while the women and children flee from Kyiv and the men stay behind to fight, many more people will be affected like this. Hopefully England will open its doors to refugees and be as hospitable as the people who welcomed the octogenarian that I was lucky enough to interview.
