JOAN Hourican’s earliest recollections of the Second World War include being hurried into air raid shelters, clutching her gas mask.
A short time later, in May 1941, she was on a packed train heading south from Liverpool’s Lime Street Station.
A then seven-year-old, wide-eyed, Joan McKenna, who was the eighth of 10 children, was an evacuee, along with two of her brothers, Pat and Joe, and their niece, Maureen, who at the time was aged just five.
Their destination was north Wales.
However, in the years that followed, Joan would settle in Northern Ireland, having returned to her future husband’s native Warrenpoint.
Late last week, this remarkable 91-year-old returned to England to take part in the Cenotaph Parade in London, as a member of The British Evacuees Association.
Joan proudly took part in Sunday’s poignant event, accompanied by her daughter, Siobhan Hourican.
She, like countless others, have disclosed their incredible wartime stories for posterity, so future generations can learn what it was like to be an evacuee separated from loved ones, sometimes for months, years or, tragically, forever.
Some children grew up whilst they were away from home and returned home as different people, due to their experiences.
Many faced the burden of being responsible for their younger siblings when they themselves were children.
Many of the children suffered from homesickness and worried about their family they had left behind during their separation.
Known as the greatest social upheaval in British history, the evacuation process involved 3.5 million people, the majority of whom were children.
Joan, who settled in Warrenpoint in 1962, has shared her story, both from the past and in the present, recalling how she, just like so many others, were persuaded to leave their homes amid the panic of German air raids.
Fears that ‘the enemy’s’ bombing would cause civilian deaths had prompted the government to evacuate children, mothers with infants and the infirm from British towns and cities during the Second World War.
This evacuation process took place in waves, with millions of people sent to rural locations considered to be safe.
Whilst evacuation was voluntary, the fear of bombing, coupled with pressure put on parents, helped convince them to send their children away to live with strangers.
It was a huge logistical exercise, but that pales in comparison to the heart-wrenching experience of having to split up your family.
Parents were issued with a list detailing what their children should take with them when evacuated. These items included a gas mask, a change of underclothes, nightwear, plimsolls or slippers, spare stockings or socks, the essential toiletries, handkerchiefs and a warm coat.
Joan holds dear many of the memories she has of her time living on the coast, in Llanfairfechan, and how swapping Liverpool for Wales also helped her to cope with the loss of her father, who died before she was relocated, and as the result of an injury he sustained in his role as an air raid warden.
In more recent times, Joan became a member of The British Evacuees Association, which was created with the purpose of representing the children so affected by World War Two, to provide a voice for them, as well as to help educate others of their experiences.
She said taking part in Sunday’s ceremony was, despite being emotional, one of the “best days” of her life.
Looking back on her time living in Wales, Joan recalled how she got to see her mother once during these three years.
“We arrived in Llanfairfechan from Lime Street Station with many other children,” she recalled.
“Once off the trains we went to the village hall, where many people awaited the evacuees.
“A married couple called Mr and Mrs Osborne picked myself and Maureen. Maureen was the daughter of my eldest sister, Lizzie. We stayed with the Osbornes for three years and my memories of them were that they were very good to both of us.”
Continued Joan: “Whilst we were in Llanfairfechan my mother visited us once. My father had died on 1 January 1941, before we were evacuated.”
Her father, who was an ARP (Air Raid Precautions) volunteer, died tragically, after being involved in a rescue. He was just 49.
Joan went home to Liverpool once during the time she was an evacuee, for her sister Mary’s wedding.
She said that in more recent years she has had the good fortune of being able to return on several occasions to visit the home she, along with her niece Maureen, were welcomed into.
Once war was over, Joan returned to Liverpool and it was then that she met her future husband, Louis McKenna, who had crossed the Irish Sea for work.
“I met Louis at a dance in a hall near where I lived,” she recalled.
He had come over from Northern Ireland to stay with his aunts while he worked in the Cammell Laird shipyard as an electrician on many of the large ships that were manufactured there. The couple married in 1955.
Speaking after their return to Warrenpoint on Monday, Siobhan said her mum was “in tears” by the end of the procession.
Siobhan, who along with her siblings Peter, Michael, Louise and Karen, accompanied their mum on the trip, said Joan loved being able to meet fellow evacuees and talk about their childhood experiences and what routes their lives took.
She added that to be able to accompany her mum on the parade, was “something I will never forget”.
“It was such an experience. From the music, to the veterans, the uniforms and the poignancy, it really was filled with various emotions and we were delighted to all be there, to share in it with her.
“Mum was on cloud nine and will be talking about it for the rest of her days.”
The Warrenpoint woman added that during the march there were moments where the onlookers burst into spontaneous applause, whilst other moments gave time for reflection.
“When we had the two-minute silence, it was eerie. Everything seemed to stop, apart from the sound of birds somewhere in the background.”
She concluded: “We are very proud of our mum, and it was a great experience for us to have her take part in such a special occasion.”
The British Evacuees Association was formed in 1996, with the support of London’s Imperial War Museum, and was formerly known as The Evacuees Reunion Association.
James Roffey, himself a former evacuee, was the man behind its creation. He wanted an association to represent the children so affected by World War Two.
He was awarded an MBE for Services to Evacuees and their families in 2019.