Memories - sept. 2nd 1939; My wedding day

It had been arranged 6 months before and the date set.
Neville Chamberlain had assured us in 1938 that Hitler didn't want war; he had signed a treaty. No one was quite sure but life went on as usual.
The last week of August, my brother, who was a territorial, was called up. He had to get special pewrmission to give me away at the ceremony, smart in his uniform.
My young man at the time was working for the government on the building of an arsenal in Bridgend, South Wales. With his father, he had traveled to Brentwood to marry me and to take me back to South Wales.
The next morning, Sunday 3rd, Neville Chamberlain broadcast saying we were now at war with Germany!The sirens went off; no one knew what to expect.
I had planned to take my dog - a 5 year old Labrador- with me. A neighbour, who worked in the booking office of Liverpool St Station said the emergency plans to take children out of London was in force so a dog would not be allowed. My husband, the best man and I took him to the vet to be put to sleep.
When we got to Liverpool St station late that afternoon, the platforms were full of children standing in lines, names pinned on jackets, teachers in charge.Parents were behind the barriers, some in tears.
We crossed London by taxi to Paddington Station and finally boarded a train to Wales, so packed, we sat on suitcases in the corridor. The journey took twice as long as usual as we were shunted into side stations and blacked out to let the troop trucks through to the East Coast.
We arrived at Bridgend well after midnight. Quite by chance a fellow passenger knew someone who would give us a lift 5 miles up the valley.
It was a glorious moon that night: the start of a long war.

© Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.