Writing for Fun
August 2019
The Loser(s) - Jeanette Rothwell
It was 1939 and ‘Operation Pied Piper’ was under way. War had been declared and the Government had decreed that children of all ages should be evacuated from the big cities anticipating that Hitler would be targeting those areas once the bombing began.
In London, Grandpa, Grandma and Mum stood on the station platform watching as their little darling, Amy, was ushered away with other children. She clutched her little suitcase, wore her gas mask box over her shoulder. There was a label on her coat with her name, address and destination written on it.
She was four years old and had been told she was going on holiday with all these other children. You could see from her face that she wasn’t at all sure what was going on. Mum had tears rolling down her face. Grandma was looking equally distressed. Grandpa hid his sadness with a gruff voice and ushered the family away from the waiting train.
Mum was wailing that she had lost her lovely daughter and Grandpa reassured her that they were doing the right thing to send their child to safety. Amy was going to a Children’s Home in Essex. They had been assured that she would be well cared for.
The anticipated bombing of London did not happen, and six weeks went by. The period became known as ‘The Phoney War’. It was now November and the temperature was dropping. Both Mum and Grandma had 9 til 5 jobs, not particularly well paid and needed to put in the hours to pay the bills. Grandpa, on the other hand, worked for an advertising company and his hours were fairly flexible. He worried about his Granddaughter and made the decision to take the train and visit her.
He arrived at the home in the middle of the day and spoke to the Matron in charge. She, in turn, sent a nurse to bring Amy down to see him. Amy came running down the stairs shouting ‘Grandpa’ in her sweet little voice and he gathered her up in his arms, chuckling and sighing with relief to see her. Then he noticed that, although the weather was cold, she was only wearing a thin dress, her hair had not been combed, her face was grubby, she was wearing sandals but no socks and he could feel that she was rather cold.
The staff of the home had disappeared. He made up his mind there and then and shouted for somebody to hear him. He then instructed the nurse who came running, to pack up Amy’s possessions and bring down her coat.
‘I’m taking her home,’ he declared.
The Matron came hurriedly out of her office and an argument ensued but he was adamant.
When he arrived home with his precious granddaughter in his arms, mum came running, hugging and laughing with her. Grandpa said, ‘The losers in this case are that awful home. You haven’t lost your daughter and if that Hitler does attack us, then we will all be together and we will do our best to keep Amy safe. ‘Operation Pied Piper’ isn’t going to tear our family apart.’