By Dr Myrtle Parker from Talybont:

"In November 1940 my family's home and business in Fulham West London was destroyed due to bombing. Twenty eight of our neighbours died so we were lucky to have survived. My father was serving in the Royal Navy in Gibraltar.

We then evacuated to my Grandfather's relations who were living in Aberystwyth and I went to Ardwyn school. My Mother had been searching for any available housing to rent or buy but was unable to find somewhere accessible for me to attend school.

She did find a cottage three and a half miles from Aberangell in Merionethshire using the track of the Hendreddu Quarry's narrow gauge railway. The cottage was previously occupied by the workers from the Hendre ddu slate quarry, which was no longer being mined.

It was a haven of peace and we went there for holidays and to give the relatives a break, so many people kindly shared their homes in those difficult times. We walked the track or bicycled and lorries used the track, carrying ammunition for storage, in the quarry. Unfortunately the track was damaged by the transport and the bicycling was hazardous due to loose sleepers and an adjacent river.

The cottage was the end one of a row of six. A middle one was sometimes occupied by a widower and two young sons. The two at the other end were derelict and the one next to ours was used for coal and wood storage. In the bad weather some sheep would go into the cottage and being mountain sheep could climb the stairs.

We had an oil lamp for light in the living room and candles in the bedrooms. We carried drinking water in a bucket from a spring in the farmer's field which he had kindly struck for us. The farmer lived about half a mile from the cottage he was a bachelor and had a housekeeper. He also had an accumulator operated radio.

He asked us to visit every evening when we were at the cottage to hear the 9 o'clock news with him. We would then discuss events, mainly the progress of the war, and if we had a London visitor he was very keen to know what Londoners were thinking.

He was also very concerned that we should not use river water for anything other than washing. We had to carry all water to the brow of the hill so we did not waste it. Coal was also delivered to the foot of the hill and then carried up the hill by a bucket and stored. We had a chemical Elsan toilet which was emptied by burying in the ground.

We carried all our food and oil for the lamp on the bicycle which we pushed as we walked from the village, also any luggage that we brought with us from Aberystwyth. We travelled from Aberystwyth by Crossville bus which also carried unaccompanied parcels and was a very good service.

Our friends that came from London were so pleased to be able to sleep in the tranquil, and beautiful surroundings after leaving the war torn city.