Evacuation: Evacuee 3 Scott Bannister

A photograph of Cairngarroch farm. Scott took this when he returned there in 1993.
See an enlargement

At our very first meeting with George, when he had agreed to take the three of us, the only proviso was that we were willing to sleep three in a bed. Well, our little bedroom up the stairs, with an old fashioned bed, which easily took the three of us, was very adequate. I don’t think you could get anything else into that small room but it suited us fine. We always had friendly and jocular arguments over who was to sleep at the bottom “beside the smelly feet”. There was no problem in sleeping as fresh country air and our lively existence certainly tired us out at the end of each day’.

Comic Strip
You have seen pictures of Scott and Cairngarroch Farm, and read some of his memories of his time as an evacuee. Can you design a comic strip about Scott, Jim and Frank? Here are some ideas you could choose:

The Journey!   The Arrival!   First Impressions!   Adventures on the Farm!

A photograph of Cairngarroch farm. Scott took this when he returned there in 1993.
See an enlargement

‘The narrow track ended at the farmyard. It was definitely just a track, the bare earth with stones and grass growing in the middle. The farm was an old fashioned type of farm, the buildings forming a rough square with the dung heap in the centre.

This was a dairy farm with about fifty head of cattle. The byre was a great place for youngsters. It was smelly, gloomy and exciting. The cows all seemed to know their own stall and the grunts, moos, clanking of chains, chewing the cud sounds, movement of straw, huffing and puffing made it a lively and entertaining place for us.

We were fed by the mistress, George’s mother - no fancy food - just good wholesome farm produce. We used to eat in the kitchen, which had a stone floor and a long table with bench seats. One lasting memory of this kitchen was the breakfast time. A big bowl of porridge every morning with milk which usually had plenty of cream.

Life on the farm was one endless string of adventures with animals, people, sunshine and happiness. One thing which gave us a great deal of enjoyment on the farm, which I suppose really shouldn’t have been there at all, was the amount of junk lying about the farm. There were bits of old cars, and bits of old machinery. As well as this there was a disused cottage at one side of the farm square with all sorts of cobwebbed junk inside. The place was a sheer haven for kids to explore and find interesting things.

Creative Writing

First carefully read Scott’s memories of his journey on the previous pages

At the start of the war Scott’s mother had taken her sons and daughter to live in Cruden Bay, Aberdeenshire. They returned after a few months, as Glasgow had not been bombed as they had expected.

Two years later, when Scott was five, his parents felt they had to send their sons away on the school evacuation scheme as air raids were starting to increase. Scott, Jim and Frank travelled by steam engine, and later by car, to Cairngarroch, a remote farm in the country.

What do you think happened next?

Think about:

• How were the boys feeling when they arrived?
• What was the farm like when they arrived?
• Who lived there?
• How were the boys treated?
• What did they eat?
• Did they enjoy life on the farm?
• Did they feel homesick?
• How long did they stay?

Enlarge the photograph

Scott was about three years old when he first left his home in Glasgow. His mother took Scott, his older brothers and his sister to Cruden Bay, a small village on the east coast of Scotland, just north of Aberdeen and the family spent a few months there in 1939. The family returned as Glasgow seemed safe from air raid attacks.

As the war progressed, Scott was evacuated with his two brothers. They had no idea where they were going to, and after a long journey, the boys were introduced to George, a farmer who was to be their guardian. George drove them to the farm.

George’s farm was very remote. Hens, guinea fowl, ducks and geese wandered everywhere, there were about fifty cattle with a dairy and cheese press, plenty of dogs, cats and kittens and lots of barns and other out-buildings. George lived with his parents who were very kind to the boys and fed them good, wholesome food.

Scott and his brothers enjoyed their new life. They happily shared a bed and helped out with farm work. The village school had many evacuees and Scott quickly settled in.

Mr and Mrs Bannister were able to visit and seemed very pleased to see how well the boys were, and Scott remembers showing his mother round the farm. Years later his
parents often spoke about George’s hospitality and generosity.

Scott and his brothers returned to Glasgow after a year.