Early 1930s Jack Penson with son Sidney John at Tanyard Farm Great Ellingham
Courtesy Lucinda Bell-Tye
Just before the outbreak of World War II, the government initiated Operation Pied Piper. The result being an evacuation of some 800,000 children from urban areas to the countryside.
As a consequence, Great Ellingham welcomed a number of evacuees. Although a good number of the evacuees came from the London Fields School in Hackney, the village also welcomed other evacuated children.
Evacuees Eileen O’Connor (striped jumper) and Jean at Tanyard Farm
Courtesy Richard Downes
Eileen O’Connor came to Great Ellingham from a Haggerston school in London. She was initially ‘taken in’ by the Key family at Hill Common Farm. This came about because Eileen’s brother worked for a shoe manufacturer in London, which had connections to the Key family in Attleborough. However, it was not long before Eileen moved to Tanyard Farm, the home of Jack Penson.
Then a widower for some 10 years, Jack had a 12 year old son, Sidney John (known as John). 53 year old single woman Elizabeth Long was his housekeeper.
Eileen recalls another evacuee at Tanyard Farm. She believes her name was Jean, and her father may have been the caretaker at their Haggerston school. Eileen’s stay in the village lasted for around two years before she returned home.
She recalls going to another farm to collect goats milk. Bread was baked once a week. She took a potato to school for her lunch. The loft at Tanyard Farm housed catering size tins of various things, along with apples in crates.
She travelled to Norwich in a pony and trap. Eileen recalls singing ‘run rabbit run’ with other children in the village. She even recalls an incident of a shire horse called ‘Captain’ biting a man’s thumb!
With Deopham Green Airfield close by, it is no surprise that Eileen recalls seeing army vehicles passing through the village.
All in all, Eileen O’Connor’s memories of her time in the village are positive.
Sources:
The National Archives; Kew, London, England; 1939 Register; Reference: Rg 101/6590h
Source Information. Ancestry.com. 1939 England and Wales Register [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2018.
Many thanks to Eileen O’Connor & Richard Downes