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| • BEACH HEAD SECURED: Colleen and Heather
Reed back in Budleigh Salterton. |
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| • A picture of the Reed family, taken in London on
the eve of their evacuation. Colleen and Heather are in the
front, left and right |
Wartime evacuees in emotional return after 66 years
By Matt Smith
matthew.smith@archant.co.uk
TWO sisters who were evacuated to Budleigh during World War Two
have made an emotional return to the town to pay tribute to the
woman who cared for them.
Colleen and Heather Reed were sent to Budleigh from Elton, South
East London, in June 1940, to escape the German aerial bombardment
of the capital.
The youngsters, then aged six and seven, were billeted with spinster
Olive Howard, owner of the Wainholme, in Knowle village. Their three
older sisters were stationed elsewhere in Budleigh.
Colleen, now 73, said: “Budleigh was marvellous. Apart from
the barbed wire on the beach, we children wouldn’t have known
there was a war on.
“We came from a London council estate to the loveliest house
and enjoyed a wonderful life here. There was a piano and a library
– things we had never seen.”
The sisters visited their former home and explored the town, before
reading aloud three poems in tribute to Miss Howard.
“Olive was a recluse, but everything was centred on nature,”
said Colleen.
“She would take us walking and show us the wild flowers, bird
species and other animals. It was a huge culture shock from London.
“Olive showed us such love and kindness, we never yearned for
our parents. She dressed in the most lovely clothes and when we
returned to London everyone would stare,” Colleen added.
The sisters were among hundreds of city children sent to the relative
safety of Budleigh during the war.
St Peter’s School was overflowing and pupils could not all
attend simultaneously, so some youngsters had lessons in the morning,
while others were taught in the afternoon.
Miss Howard was a brilliant and passionate ornithologist, who wrote
many books about birds.
She was born in London in 1887 and is believed to have moved to
Budleigh between the wars. Her family were wealthy, enabling her
to pursue her passion for nature.
She continued to live in the town until around 1950 when she moved
to Ottery St Mary, before setting up a bird sanctuary in Sussex,
although she retained her Ottery home and died there in 1962, aged
75.
The sanctuary itself was remarkable. The birds nested in the house
and Miss Howard’s books feature photographs of birds perching
on her typewriter and hands and feet.
Colleen said: “Olive treated birds with the same love and kindness
she showed us. She was a remarkable, wonderful woman.
“What she taught me has stayed with me throughout my life and
I find myself saying the same things to my grandchildren today that
she said 65 years ago.”
The sisters kept in contact with Miss Howard until around 1956.
They have tried to find her grave without success, but thanked the
RSPB for its help with their research.
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