Marian Simlo- An Evacuee

I contacted you some years back when I was still a working mum and at that time had little time on my hands.    I am now in my 70's, and although I am still busy I have more time than previously. I was looking over the Mow Cop site and must say it is very interesting.   

I was particularly interested to read the piece by Audrey Chilton on Wartime at Woodcocks Well.    
As I told you previously,

I was one of the evacuees she mentioned - although I was never aware there were so many.    The last piece I read indicated there were just two from Stretford, my brother Morris Sarson and myself. Marian Sarson and the others came from other areas of Manchester. He was living with a Mrs.Cartright and I lived with Miss Ettie Cotterill (dressmaker and member of the chapel choir) and Mrs.Bertha Davis, a widow who lived with her. They lived in a wooden bungalow that had been built by Mr.Davis, who was killed in the first World War. My time in Mow Cop was the best time of my childhood and I never wanted to return to Manchester. My lingering memory of school days, apart from the very large Mr.Lowry, Headmaster, was of Mrs.Priestman, the school teacher referred to by Audrey Chilton.   

Mrs.Priestman sticks in my memory because she introduced me to the pleasures of reading.   She regularly read to the class and I have always remembered this.   Like Audry I too remember the "serial" stories she read and we were always very sad when the passage came to an end. One further memory was of being taken round the school by Mr.Lowry  to sing to the various classes, "Christopher Robin is saying his prayers".     On one occasion Mr.Lowry came into the class and asked for me to be extracted and taken somewhere.    I automatically thought I was going to have to sing "my song" again but, no, there outside the class was my father, in RAF uniform and my brother who had been in a higher class.    My father was going abroad and had been allowed to come to Mow Cop to see us before he went.    He brought with him an orange - we had not seen a real  orange before - and we went into a nearby field near to the school and sat and ate this wonderful treat. Ah well, it brings back memories.   Keep up the good work with the web site and good luck to you.

Sincerely, Marian Simlo (was Sarson).