Oh, isn't it? OK, excellent. So Valerie, um, just to double check, are you OK for me to record this and for it to be used by Herefordshire Law and Hereford Libraries? Excellent. Thank you very much. OK, so when, when we, we saw you at the library and you said you were evacuated here, yeah, what happened was, um, I, I, I, I was living in, um, Gosport which is next to Portsmouth, which was heavily bombed during the war right from the start. And so, um, My mother had 3, my 4 children, one a babe in arms, and then I was about 5, and a brother 7 and a brother 9. And so, um, because of the bombing, we were evacuated, not the baby, but the other 3 of us were evacuated Hereford to my father's mother. And, um, as far as I can remember.

Um, she, she was, it seemed to be the caretaker or cleaner or something of the mayor's parlour.

OK, because. She lived in the flat above, and I can remember my two brothers and I used to go down into this place, you know, with seats, wooden seats, and the, and the, you know, the, and so we think actually, I mean, it's so long ago, if you can imagine I'm, I'm 90 years old, you know, so, so, um, but anyway, so, um, and all I can really remember is, um, About that is that, um, We weren't very good children and, um, grandmother had to go out to work some other work, you know, she was a widow, I presume and sometimes we used to lean out the window and drip water on the people walking underneath, you know, until one day she caught us. So, um, I went to school. Um, so I must have been about 6 or 7.

I went to school somewhere in Hereford, I don't know where. I had a lovely teacher who encouraged me, knowing because when I, I, I went to her one day with my spelling book, I must be about 6 years old, and I said, you know, can I, can you give me comfortable? And she said, well, you try and spell it. So, um, I, I tried and, and I got it right. Oh, she said, You're so clever. You must go to the headmistress. And so I went to the headmistress and told her how clever I was and thought, and it was a lovely school, um, so the mayor's parlour, that's on by the cathedral, no idea, I think, I think. I think it is. So there's the cathedral in Hereford and then there's sort of um opposite there's a street that goes down to High Town. Yes, there is, yeah. So at the moment it's, it's sort of, and there's shops now and, and above it there's an exhibition space um in, in the I mean, I, I don't know, you see what what it is, um. I'm in New I emigrated to New Zealand with my family when I, when I was about 36, um, from.

Oh, well, from Gosport.

No, was it? Yes, it was, yes, it was, yes, from Gosport, you see, and then, um. I I was, uh, moving down that my children grew up and I had an amicical for divorce with my husband and, and I went and teach taught in Hong Kong for 5 years, Italy for a year, and Germany for 5 years.

So, um, teaching all sorts of things including, you know, English as foreigners and things like that and then. Um, I met Derek, who was a, a swaddie in the army in Windsor and I was in Dusseldorf teaching at the American International School of Dusseldorf, a lovely school. And, um, and then we got together and went to England. And then, um, I lived with him in England, took him to New Zealand, and he said, oh, you know, I'd love to go to New Zealand.

So we then. Went to New Zealand, um. And he got a New Zealand passport, so we had dual passport.

And then, um, we would come back to England, I think it was to Hung Hungerford first, then go back to New Zealand. Spent all our money doing this about 3 times. But then I had a friend who I'd known in Hong Kong who was very well off, and she won, they'd retired, and she wanted to, um, this has nothing to do with Hereford really, but, but, but she they retired and they were doing a 6-month round the world tour. Would I like to go to Adelaide and look after her flat for 6 months. So Derek and I, so we thought it was rather nice. So we went and lived in Australia for 3 years and then we came. And then we had to decide about 10 years ago where we would die and would it be England or would it be New Zealand. Sadly, now we've chose England because we love England and the countryside and I hate history and all that, but, um, I think we might have been better off in New Zealand, but that's too late now. So that's, that's about it. Yeah, that's amazing. So what made you choose to come back to Hereford, or did, did you not even that's because you said you didn't remember you, you got back and you thought, oh, I've been here before. What was it? Well, no, no, no. What happened was, I mean, after all that, you know, my evacuation when I was 6 years old was, you know, forgotten. And we, we, Derek is a trainspotter. And so we thought, we, we'd lived in Warminston, it got too expensive, that area in Wiltshire. So we thought we'll go somewhere else. And we've been to Shrewsbury about 20 years before, so we thought we'd try Shrewsbury, but of course, Shrewsbury now is a built up terrible place. So we thought, well, we go down the train station. So we looked at Church Stretton that was too dear. We looked at, um, Craven Arms and didn't like it didn't like Ludlow partly because of the hills and things it's, um. And then we hit Leinster. We were running out of money and we met a very nice real estate agent who sold us this house, which, um, yeah, it's a lovely spot up here, like up on the hill. I said, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's not, it's not the, um, the smartest of roads, but, um, it's, it's a nice place and so. So we settled in there. Oh wow, so kind of a coincidence, yeah. And then, and then you see, um, we went to Hereford and I thought, oh my God, I've, I've been here. Hereford, Hereford. Yeah, it is amazing. It just didn't, I mean, I think we, we were in such a state, sort of this house had been a house clearance and it was empty and, and our furniture never comes till about 44 months later. So, you know, it was such a thing. I don't think we even noticed the view for the first couple of months, you know, but, um, and. And it didn't dawn on me, you know, Hereford. And then, and I said, did I, you know, I've just realised I'm, I was evacuated.

Yeah, that's amazing. So what year were you born, if you don't mind me asking? Um, 34, 1934. OK. And so what happened was um Well, when we, when we were evacuated, I can remember my mother's brother coming up about, I don't know how much later to say that my hus my father had been killed your father died and then, and he was killed in a motorbike accident because he was, he was a bus driver, and he, he, um, he was a reserved occupation then that he had to take all the people to the factories and things, so he didn't, he didn't, he wasn't called up, um.

So he was killed and my mother was left. With the babe in arms in Gosport and us evacuated and then my grandmother died. Oh goodness me, so we all went back there and I mean we loved it because we were about, especially my brothers, they had a spotter book of different planes you will see in the sky and we had to go, it was night. It was nighttime bombing then, before it'd been daytime, it was nighttime bombing, and we'd have to go to the air raid shelter at the bottom of the garden each night and going there, there were these searchlights and boom, you know, things exploding in planes and they, you know, they could identify the planes and things like that. So it. We spoke to another gentleman recently and he said even in Hereford, he, he, he would know all of the planes by sight. Yeah, well you, you had a spot on board, you know, it's that's amazing. So that was in Gosport when you, that's in Gosport, yeah, we did, it was just over the ferry to Portsmouth. I mean, in Portsmouth then was a, you know, one of the most important naval dockyards. Now it's a tourist attraction.

How long were you in Hereford then, do you think? I don't know. It must have, I mean, it must have been. It must have been over a year.

I, you see, I just don't know. And because when you see what happened with my father dying. And my grandmother dying, we lost contact.

Yes, that's part of the family.

I'll just give you this to you can take this is. Now, this is me.

Going to school with my gas mask and with my big brother and my grandmother's dog and that's the River Wye at the back wow.

And whereabouts would that have been? I don't know, but if I was in the mayor's parlour, you could work out which school I went to. Yeah, I'm sure there's some schools that have.

It, yeah, it has closed and things now, but I don't know whether you want to sort of can I take a photo of that.

Oh yes, yes, just give it. I thought that's the only reason it's worth coming. Oh no, no. That's lovely.

Well, you can take it out if you like. I mean, that might be, it slips out of the bottom. Oh, there's another, no, no, that, that was backing.

There's another coffee.

000, that's that's now that's the must be the original. That's the original. You might take a picture of both that's OK.

Yeah, I, I know it, it's just I can't get it out because I can't.

Here we go.

Yeah, there we are.

Leave it there. We'll we'll sort it out after.

That's a lovely photo of the dog. Do you remember the dog's name? Judy Judy. It's one of the things we remember, isn't it? Isn't it? Yeah, Judy, yeah. So I might stop it over here in the light and take a photo of it.

You see, this one's got the with a clearer, I think, has it or not? No, no, that is pretty clear, isn't it? So that's me about 6 or 7. I wonder if we could Figure out which school you went to.

Yeah. No, but what, what is most interesting, I started reading your book and I looked at this. I'll let you finish.

Oh yeah, I'll take a quick picture. Yeah, I'll let you finish, yeah. That's such a lovely photo.

That was a lovely little girl, then I was a good girl.

I'm sure you're still a good girl now.

You'd be surprised.

Now, I was looking at this and it said, we do know Mavis Matthews at the wheel of the pickup. Do you know what my surname is? Matthews. Oh, wow. So she could be a relation possibly. That's so interesting. See, so my father, I'm Matthews. My father was Matthews. My grandmother, who's my father's mother, must have been Matthews. Have you ever done any of your ancestry family trees? I only, I have, but only not to do with this, and I think my father's family were pretty poor, and they, they went to help dig the reservoirs from Birmingham or somewhere, so they went and lived in huts near the reservoir digging, but I, I have got.

My, my sister, my youngest sister, my younger sister who's 85, um, she's in Portsmouth still, and she gave me.

Um, I don't really you'd rather she gave me that he, my, I mean, do you want this? Yeah, absolutely.

Well, my father was Harry Matthews. Thank you.

And he was born.

In Chapel Enre Frith in Derbyshire Chapel. Truffle.

E N E.

It's, it's French.

F F R T H.

Um And He But on his birth certificate, which my dau my sister had, his father was Henry William Matthews, OK, because I suppose Harry, he, he'd be a Henry as well, but what possibly, or they just did Harry, I don't know, Henry William Matthews. And My father's mother.

With Eileen.

Knee Reeves there, Eileen knee Reeves.

Oh yeah, OK. And my father was born on the 30th.

No, she didn't tell me what, 19, 1905, he was born in 1905 on the 30th of something.

And, and the birth certificate gave an address, but this is, this is.

Hope Hopewood Lane, the canteen Birchmarll Hopewood Lane, but that could be in Chapel in the Frith, yeah, it could be, yeah.

So is it the canteen, yeah, whatever that is, but you see now that's interesting because if they were working on the reservoirs that could, you know, I mean, I don't know, it's because it's. You see, and, um, and so when I read that I thought, my God, you know, you see it's possible, yeah, we, we just lost contact completely because Mother died, you know, and Dad had died, and it was a war, and I mean, um, so it's all, yes, it was, um, yeah, absolutely, I'm just curious about this photo.

I love to figure out where it is and that's the Yi in flood behind the Yi in flood, and it's on the way to school because I think what happened in those days, um, photographers used to, um, sort of be waiting on ways to school and, and say, would you like a photo, you see, and of course my that she would have sent one to my, my mother. Oh, it's a lovely, you see, yeah, yeah. Oh yeah, we'll have to have a look at that and see if we can figure it out.

But you see, if you knew which school I went to, that would be on the way to school, I'm sure. Well, it is. I know it's on because we got our gas mask, you see, we'd have to have your gas mask. Oh wow. Yeah, amazing.

So there we are. So that's, and that's, um. Possibly. Yeah, possibly a, a relative.

That's amazing.

I don't know where, I mean, um, I did, as I say, I did do a bit of this, but, um. Uh, it, um, I, I, I only got as far as that bit and then.

When my mother died, Um, my, my sister, she was, well, I was in New Zealand or somewhere, you know, around the world, and so she had all these papers, and when I talked to her, you know, yesterday or the day before, she gave, she said, well, this is what I've, this is what I've got, you know, but, um, and, and you, you don't remember much else from Hereford living there, no, you see, because, um, No, I just loved school.

Um, and what I mean. Um, I, I, I remember, remember my, I think my grandmother, she had the flats, and in it were lots of the, um, old tea chests full, and I think she did dressing up.

She rented out dressing up, and, um, and then she had another.

Nighttime job, obviously you'll be cleaning or something and then She was caretaker at the parlour, I think, yeah, so that's, that's Eileen was it no, which, what was your grandmother's name that you stayed with is it Eileen? 00, good, it would be, yeah, of course it would be, wouldn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's that's so interesting because if she, yeah, if she, so she worked at the mayor's parlour.

Did you say I don't, I'm pretty certain that, I mean, but she was in the flat above there and we were allowed down there and I just got the feeling that she was responsible for it and perhaps, you know, cleaning it and that sort of thing. So you lived with her in the flat. Yes, we lived with, yes, gosh, so, so I mean, I, from, from being in there myself, I know it's not a huge space, no, and it was full of, it was 11 room was full of these, um. Oh, it'd be interesting to go and look at the flat, yeah, I, I, if it is where I, so because there's a mayor's parlour now in the town hall, but there's the old mayor's parlour which is on Church Street. Yes, and this would have been in 1940, you see. Yes, yeah. I mean, we might be if she was an employee of the, of the mayor's office, then we might be able to find, you could you even look at, look at those things. Yes, yeah, I should think so. So I mean when you asked me I thought oh you know I can't be bothered with this sort of thing.

And then, and then I thought, well, you know, I've got some more copies of this if you yes I'd like to send one to my sister, although she, she was never evacuated to Hereford and, um, so I've got a few copies I'd love them, please, so um. And I mean, there's also an option as well if you'd like some, some further issues on the back to, um, subscribe.

um, but if not, you can often get them, you can pick them up in different places as well.

And there's also, um, there's another, so there are other pub publications that they do, um, just sort of more specific things. So I don't know if you'd be interested in this. It's about health in Herefordshire if you'd like to have a look at that one. That from talking to other people, there was, there have been a couple of people who've mentioned there was a, a circus that in Hereford during the war.

No, we didn't go to that. I would remember that for sure. Um, It, it, it's um.

Uh, so, I mean.

The only thing I remember the teacher, you know, because I mean, I think she encouraged me to be a good girl at school some of the time, um.

I mean, it's a very hard time because then when we went back. Like, um My grandfather, who was a Um, he had, he was into property a little, and, um, when my father was killed, he bought my mother, um, an old house but a big one so that she could rent rooms out, so I can remember that.

And then while we were evacuated because because my mother had to go to work even though she was a widow, um, another a widow's pension, I presume, and then, um, She had a babysitter to look after the baby at the house, um, and one day there was a bomb dropped near and, um, all the windows had been shattered, um, and the windows had been boarded up, but the looters had already been in, so that's the other side to that, and then she had to. The babysitter and the baby weren't there, so she had to go looking around to the different shelters and find find them that they were OK, you know, a stressful situation, um, and then sort of taking off us to the, um. Air air raid shafts reached out, you know, it's, um, and I always remember, um.

That at Christmas time, we had an orange, that you know, we got the, um, Where, where was it from? Not Java, something like that.

Anyway, you, you've got an orange in your, your, um, stocking each year, and you didn't know what to do. If you ate it, it's gone, so you, you'd sort of have it there and you'd sort of, you know, that's the anticipation was always really savour it as well and and then you sort of you had your sweet coupons so and um every month we would save up our sweet coupons and then we go and queue up at the sweet shop and that was that in Gospel.

It's all in gospel, yes, yes, it's all in gospel, you see, I would have only been about, I, I was about 6, say. 7 at the most.

Phil was, and then there were 2 years and 2 years, so 68, and 10.

Now Phil, my brother, um, when we went back to Passport, um, we were regarded as orphans because we didn't have a father and so he, he was sent off to a boarding school to, to ease that's the thing for my mother. Um, well, are either of your older siblings, are they still alive? Phil, Phil, he went in the navy.

OK. My other brother Brian went in the Air Force and um. And I went to teacher's college.

So and my, and my Barbara, she. She was a secretary and, um.

Oh, I know.

I've got, I mean, this is, in Hereford, but I, I've got a picture somewhere of my sister. Now my sister, you see, was. born What's 5.

1939.

No, I'll find it. I think this is wrong. And she was a Um, I will be, if I can find it.

That is me in Hong Kong, um.

I mean all sorts of places.

Oh, those are my grandchildren.

That's my, that's my great-grandchildren. That's my grand I've got 3. Picture of me and my sister and I, I should say.

Go there. Oh.

Oh, something more than that.

I'm sure I've got that one somewhere.

Let me start again. Oh yeah, just a minute.

Here we are.

Now that's it.

Um, we all, we all passed the 11 plus, so, and that's me and that's my sister and she's so she's always been that short. Goodness me, yeah, like that much shorter than me.

Oh, it's, um, lovely photo, yeah. Oh, I suppose that's where the picture in the back came from perhaps. Oh, that's where that came from, yes, yes, yes, yeah, yeah. Oh, lovely. So, oh. Can I take down the names of, what's your, what was your mother's name? My mother's name, Violet, Violet.

Oh, what a lovely name. Yeah, Violet, Sarah. Matthews.

And my father was Harry, of course, yeah, and your, um, the siblings who came with you to Hereford, um, Philip.

Who has been 2 years old, 4 years older than me, and Brian.

Who was 2 years older than me and your, your sister and my sister is Barbara and Barbara and, and it's interesting because she's Barbara Ellen and she's got she's oh no, I think that does say Ellen.

Mom Ellen, I, I thought there was an Ellen somewhere. What, yeah, sorry, that's Ellen, not Eileen. It's Ellen. That's my writing. So, so there's an Ellen Ellen, and, and Barbara was Barbara Ellen, you see, those lovely names. Yes, so nice, and I was born Valerie Ann. I'll pop all those back because.

So, oh, yes, so your grandmother was Ellen and your mother was white.

So lovely.

Because there was, there was a lot happening in, in Hereford kind of during the war.

There was, obviously, there was the munitions factory. Do you know about that? The, so in, in Rotherws there was a munitions factory where they were built, they were making, you know, missiles and did it get? It did. It got bombed, um. I think there was just one evening, there was one lone plane that went over and, um, I think it hit, it hit a house or near a house and, and the family in there, all of them passed away apart from the, the little boy.

Um, so, yeah, you see, because I think when they went back, If they've got a bomb left over they just drop it um and then so it could be just a stray, you know, it wasn't it wasn't aimed at the what what was interesting about um when I was in Portsmouth on D-Day before D-Day, um. Uh, lots and lots of American vehicles were queued up ready to go on the boats for D-Day in Normandy, and On the Sunday.

Before.

I don't know if it's a Sunday, but the, but the, the Sunday there, there are all these, um.

Um, lined up and they lined them up all along one side of the street.

Now this is how things have changed because they lined up that way. So any reconnaissance plane wouldn't see them. And then when you think of reconnaissance now, you know, and, um, we, we, and we all, we invited them. Everybody invited one of the, you know, one of the vehicles, the ones into for, for a Sunday lunch and that. But when you, when you think of how much. You know how far the war has advanced, which is unfortunate, and that, and that's where the technology is really channelled it seems all the time that, um, you could line up.

You know, all these American vehicles along the street on one side of the street, and it just will just look like a house as used to and now, now you can go into Google and, and, and, and look in somebody's window almost can't you? It's just amazing. So it's um yeah yeah and just thinking about other things in Hereford that you might have done. Did you ever, do you remember swimming in the river or anything like that? No, no, you see, I suppose, um. With with grandma, you know, I mean, she was so busy, I think that, um, I can't really, other than dripping water on people and going to school.

Oh, we went hop picking, I think you went hot picking.

Wow, I mean that's a very Herefordshire activity, and I think I can, I can remember that because of the smell, yeah, yeah, it is sour. I know the smell, yeah. So, so we went. That's right. Grandmother went hot picking. That's, that's amazing. So, and you went with her. Yeah, we were, but we had to, yeah, she couldn't leave us behind. So, and you, were you picking the hops? I, I don't think so. No running around. No, I was just, yeah, um, but, but I can remember that and that's about all I can remember.

I mean, because life would have been very, very. Limited, yeah, yeah, going to school. Yeah, I mean, I, I can remember.

The day My uncle came to tell her that my father was killed because, um, we were playing with some little dinky toys on the floor, you know, and, um, And I, I noticed that my brothers cried and my grandmother cried, but I didn't really, you were, I mean, I can't remember my father at all.

Uh, I had a I had a photo of him somewhere, but I don't think I've got it.

In fact, I've got a photo of him. See that one up there in the little circle? That's my father when he was a little boy. Oh, that's a lovely photo, but I mean, I, I can't remember him at all. It's, um, yeah, it's when you're young, I suppose, yeah. So there we are. Thank you very much. Yeah, you'll have to go back to Hereford for another look around and see if anything jogs your memory, um. Yeah, I.

It's just, it's just horrible going to Hereford.

We don't like going to Hereford. Yeah, I live in Hereford. I got, I got the bus today, yeah, yeah, yes, yeah, which is, it's fine. Well, I, I, I actually at my age, I, um, still go to the gym. I had a, I had a heart attack a year ago actually, and I died twice, and I, and I think the only reason they resuscitated me is because I've kept quite fit and so, and I go to.

Because I'm, because I'm 90, I have, I am an honorary member of the Halo Gyms, so I get it free.

My partner, who's 16 years younger than me, which has kept me young, I suppose, um, we go there and, um, I go up to the toning suite a lot now because there's machines there that you can that work you, but if you resist them, you, you, you know, it strengthens your body, um, so. And um and then I go down and do the treadmill and that's about all and I don't, do you know Halo Gym you would do, wouldn't you? um, not the one in, in Leinster no Hereford. Oh Hereford, this is Hereford. No, we go to Hereford gym. Um, it's, it's just, I know where it is, yeah, well, it, it, there's a racetrack around the outside, you see.

Now when there's a race on, they have, they know, but you can't use the outside, um, facilities. But this toning suite is on the 2nd floor and it overlooks the racetrack and when there's a race, um, you, you see them going right, right past it's like being a centre. So, so what happens is that I'll ring up Derek, say, ready for the next race, and he, he comes up to Tony and we, we, we watch the horses, you know, and it's, um, that's lovely. Oh, nice. There we are, yeah, well, yeah, that's. Thank you very much.

I can't, I mean, I just cannot remember anything that you were young, but, yeah, and, and you see. Yeah, grandmother, I mean, I don't know how she felt about having us.

I mean, obviously, um, and it must have been devastating when my father died, you know, um, and then she died shortly after. And then, I don't know how long after, but, and then my uncle had to come and collect us and take us home on the train. I remember that. And that's when we, um, then had to go into the. Um, air raid shower every night, but I was lucky because, um.

You know, I managed to go to school all the time.

We all passed the 11 plus, but in those days, I mean, I wouldn't even know that. You were doing that test, um.

I, I remember going back and being put in one class, and he decided that.

I They sort of promoted me a little, but Uh, but then I was good at sports, you see, so I was the netball team and all this sort of thing, um.

And then in the, and you see the grammar school, our grammar school in Gosport got sort of bombed and then part of it was taken over for, for the British restaurant which was where you could go and have a meal without using your food coupons.

uh, yeah, and there must have, and there must have been one in Hereford, I would think.

Possibly a British restaurant, it would be worth looking into because that was in the school hall, but the school had been parts would have been bombed and so we had, yeah, you look it up for, and, um, So what we, we had to do, we just sort of have, um, there was a, a stately home which eventually became the school, and we would go there for certain lessons and then we'd be down here for certain lessons, and then we, the boys would be over there in Saint Matthew's, I always remember for woodwork and things, you see. So, so you, you spent your day. And then the Ritz Cinema opposite the one part of the school was, um, had been bombed, so it was a bomb site and you could, And The way you could get into it because it was all locked up was through the, you know, there were the air holes there and people, you could climb through there and get up to all sorts of things. Oh my goodness, yeah, but I'm, I'm claustrophobic, so I couldn't do that. It really, a bit scary.

I couldn't go there, yeah, yeah, wow, yeah, there's so much that just all these things that everyday people were doing during the, that's right, yes, yeah, it kind of. I think it's really important to collect those memories because otherwise people aren't going to know. What, what, no, and of course war would be very different now, totally, absolutely, you know, it's like, you know. In the Middle Ages it will be to, to, to you lot.

It, it really would. I mean you're having your, your, your clothing coupons and your sweet coupons and, and then there was a For some reason there was a, a cake shop in Portsmouth because we lived in Gospel and you had to go over the ferry. There was a cake shop in Portsmouth that you where you could buy cakes without coupons. And so I got sent a lot. I sent over there and had to queue up, you know, to get, get the cake, get the cake without coupons. That's all. Uh Well, thank you very much. No, no, I'm having me and I've really enjoyed it. Now it's good to talk about it. Yeah, I sort of, yeah, but and thinking about it, I remember, you know, a few things, but, um, yeah, not, nothing really worth usual.

My sister would have remembered more even though she was younger because she's, she, um, she didn't go, of course, so no, absolutely, no, but I've got some bits to go off here because You know, looking into your, your grandmother and the mayor's parlour and, and seeing if she's a relation of Mavis Matthew.

Yes, Mavis Matthews, yes, I should write that down because I'd like to know that, yeah. Excellent.

Well, I'll, I'll stop the recording now. Here we go. Pardon.

Nope.