“What did you have in mind, Reverend because it’s fair to warn you, Mrs. Shackleton-Driver is the volunteer commander in this town.” And the surrounding county, if truth be told, but Sally didn’t want the Vicar to hear her speaking ill of her neighbors.
He didn’t mask his expression of distaste, in time. “Mrs. Shackleton-Driver is a formidable lady and her ladies do great work, I’m sure. What I am looking for is someone closer to the ground.”
“The ground? You make me sound like a root vegetable,” Sally replied, jokingly.
He turned red and began trying to apologize. She waved it away. “What you are trying to say, politely, is that I am working-class. That’s what I am and no reason to beat about the bush. I don’t move in the same circles as Mrs. Shackleton-Driver and her friends.”
He flushed again at her frankness, shuffled some papers and then spoke.
“I am looking for ordinary families who would consider an extraordinary gift. The gift of a home to a child, who has left everything behind. A German or Austrian child. One from a different religion.”
Sally put her cup down to stare at him.
“Jewish children. Coming here to Abbeydale?”
He looked surprised.
“You’ve heard of the Kindertransport?”
Sally nodded but remained silent.
“That’s a relief. Then I don’t need to tell you how urgently we need to find families. As you rightly said, war is coming and time is running out. I’ve spent time in Germany, and I can’t quite believe how bad things have become. The whole Jewish people are in jeopardy and we must save the children. We just have to.”
“But how can I help?”
“We need people just like you. People who have a home of their own and could offer shelter to these poor, little mites. Do you know, many who are traveling on their own are only five or six-years-old? Some are even younger.” He took a gulp of tea, his cup rattling against the saucer. “Some have seen things no person should see, let alone a child. The events of Kristallnacht have left lasting scars. “
“But surely they would be better staying with their families. Children that age need their parents, their mothers.”
“They do and in an ideal world, we would take the whole families. But immigration is proving difficult. There are many, including those representing our church, who believe mass immigration of the Jewish people will lead to problems. They are also worried about Nazis coming over here.”
“Why would any Jewish person support the Nazis?”
“Why indeed. But to be frank, I don’t think the objections are always rational. The Nazis don’t hide their dislike for the Jewish race but there are some people here who share their appalling views.” He leaned in closer and whispered, “even some in our own Royal Family.”
Sally’s eyes filled up. The thought of any children being hurt always made her angry. She knew a few families in town where the fathers and sometimes the mothers too, used to beat the children just because they could. She hated to see a child scared or hungry.
“So, you want me to volunteer to look after a child until you can find a Jewish home?”
“Not necessarily. I could lie and say yes that’s exactly it. I guess that might be what the Jewish organizations here would wish. But there are simply too many children and not enough places. I would like you to offer your home to a child for as long as that child needs one.”
Stunned, Sally studied his face.
“You mean until the war is over.”
“At least until then. I need your help to convince other women to do it too. Do you think there are many in this village who would help?”
“I haven’t said yes, yet.”
“But you will, won’t you? I have been listening to what people say about you, Sally. I don’t think I have misjudged you. You will take in a child, won’t you?”
Sally couldn’t answer that. If she was alone, of course she would but she was married now. What would Derek think? He wanted children of their own. She’d been secretly hoping she had already fallen pregnant, but that hope had been dashed a few days previous.
“Why don’t you come and meet the train with me. It’s my turn to meet the next one at Liverpool Street Station. You can see how everything works.”
“I don’t know, Reverend Collins. I will have to ask my husband and Derek is with the army now. I don’t know when he will be back.”
“Ah yes. You’re recently married. How do you think your husband would react? Would he want the children to be housed in dormitories at the seaside? That’s what’s happening. They are taking these poor unfortunates to live in what were supposed to be holiday prefabs. It is freezing cold and not ideal but where else can we put them?”
“But I thought they had to come to relations. I mean that was part of the agreement to take these children in.”
“Yes Sally, some do come over to those who sponsored them. In some cases, the children are reunited with parents who arrived here first.”
“You mean parents came to England and left their children alone at home?”
“Nothing is ever as simple as it seems Sally. In many cases, fathers and/or mothers have come to England as a means of saving their children. Only when they have found a home and work here could their children qualify for immigration. A few have aunts, uncles, or older siblings living here but few immigrants can afford to provide shelter for someone else’s children. They are finding it difficult to survive themselves.”
Chastened for judging someone she didn’t know, she remained silent. How often had her mum told her not to judge someone until she had walked a mile in their shoes?
“I’ll come with you to Liverpool Street and I will
