What I saw and experienced in Reading:
* Expeditions through the town.
* Excursions in the neighbourhood.
* At home with German children.
By Hildegard Stephan, 1949
Translated by Robert Dimmick, 2007
A report on a trip to England from 13 April to 15 July 1949 from records in my diary.
At last the day of departure had come. I had not believed at all that I would have the great good luck to be able to go to England. But when the 13th of April came, I really was off at four o'clock in the morning with my parents to the station, where the journey started off. All twenty-five Düsseldorf children who were invited to Reading, accompanied by Fräulein Siemons, got on the express train just after five o'clock to Hanover, where we arrived around eleven o'clock. There in a hotel a medical examination took place, and our pieces of luggage were checked by the customs officers.
The next morning we were off in an English train of holidaymakers through Holland to the sea. For the first time in my life, I got to know a foreign country. I was impressed by the numerous windmills standing on the hills, the innumerable canals that threaded through the green meadows, and the many splotched cows that roamed through the pastures. Never before had I seen such enormous poultry farms. The houses were actually mostly small, but they made a very clean, prosperous impression. With observations like these, and with chatter, laughing and joking, the time passed for us very quickly.
At 21:15 Dutch time we reached the Hook of Holland in the best of spirits. At this harbour we boarded the great ship that carried us across the Channel. We were divided up into cabins, and each child was allocated a bunk. But often in the night we got up and ran up on deck to look at the sea. For meanwhile the crossing to England had started, and thank God the sea was very calm, so that nobody was seasick. In the morning at six o'clock the ship tied up in the English port of Harwich, and we disembarked. During the morning we went by train
After arriving in Reading
as far as London, which we went through by bus, which brought us to Reading in a journey of two hours.
There at the Town Hall we were greeted by Mrs Cusden, whose husband had collected us in Düsseldorf. We thanked her by singing a German folk song, and one of the girls responded in English. Then we children were introduced to our foster parents and handed over into their care. I was received by Mr and Mrs Openshaw, a couple who are quite young and very friendly, and taken straight to their car.
But we didn't travel home, but direct to the
Hayling Island
south coast of England, where the Openshaw family has a summer cottage on the little Hayling Island. That was an unexpected surprise for me. I had always wanted to stay at the seaside, and this wish had never been fulfilled. So the Easter time of 1949 will always be unforgettable for me. The whole day I ran around in the warm sun on the beach, lay on the hot sand, or looked for the colourful shells that could be found everywhere. After the holiday period we went to my new home in Reading.
My foster-parents' house was not in the town centre,
St Lawrence's Church, Market Place, Reading
Broad Street Reading
but in a suburb. It was one storey high and contained six rooms. I got a small room on the ground floor, but spent most of my time in the common family living-room.
I soon became friendly with Mr and Mrs Openshaw. Apart from myself there were two children in the house, little Dannette, a girl aged four years, and her one-year-old brother. While in the first days it was very hard for me to understand the strange sounds, I soon got used to English speech, and could follow a conversation and
St Mary the Virgin Church
grasp its meaning. If I did not know the meaning of an expression, I picked up my dictionary quickly and looked it up.
After the Easter holidays, even I began my schooling at Alfred Sutton School, which I went to daily from 08:40 to 16:00. We stayed at school in the middle of the day, and had our lunch there. We had English, French, maths, geometry, geography, biology, drawing, music, sport, gymnastics, craft work and cooking. In most subjects it was impossible for me to follow the teaching, since I did not understand the teacher's explanations.
Caversham Church and River Thames, Reading
Maiwand Lion, Forbury Gardens, Reading
We German children were therefore occupied in other ways, we had illustrated books to look at, or had to do translations from German to English and vice versa. Our time at school went very slowly in this way, and all the time we could hardly wait for the end of school. But cookery was all the lovelier. We baked all kinds of cakes, made various sorts of desserts, put together colourful plates of vegetables, and even prepared complete meals for the lunch table. All these dishes tasted wonderful to us. The English schoolboys and girls wore uniform
-
Windsor Castle
clothes: the boys had long grey trousers and wine-red jackets and caps, and the girls wore navy blue skirts and white blouses with coloured neckties. It also impressed me that the teachers and pupils talked to one another in a very relaxed way, but nevertheless respect was maintained.
After school my free time began, because I did not have to do any household chores. In my expeditions through Reading I visited its sights, the old churches and memorials, looked at the showcases in the shops, strolled through the beautiful gardens or watched the hustle and bustle of the antiquated market place.
Just as interesting were my experiences on excursions in the neighbourhood of the town. Often on Sundays we went in the car, along the Thames or in the nearby woods. I will never forget the impression that the mighty Windsor Castle had on me. It seemed to me like a real fairy-tale castle.
The high point of my experiences, however, was the day trip to London. Mr Cusden picked me up, and a friend met me at Paddington Station. The traffic in the City
Selfridges, Oxford Street, London
Tower of London with Tower Bridge
passed all my expectations. Every kind of people from the British Empire were to be met with there, Negros, Indians, Chinese, Malays and yet more other foreigners. Among the great buildings I saw, the massive department store Selfridges in Oxford Street, the Houses of Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and the Tower remain particularly in my memory. At Buckingham Palace, the royal castle, I felt really sorry for the guards, who had to stand motionless in their red uniform jackets and the heavy bearskin caps on their heads.
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St Paul's Cathedral London Westminster Abbey London
But in Reading too there were always new things happening. Once we were guests of the English boys, who invited us to their campsite near the town. Ball and lawn games were interspersed with dancing, songs, eating and drinking. We sang German songs of home at garden parties, where both adults and children appeared, and where tea and sweet things were handed out.
We German children could also invite friends to the homes of our foster-parents, where we always had great fun. Homesickness we never had.
Parliament London
Buckingham Palace London
With our neighbours' children, little Eileen and John, I soon developed close and friendly relationships. Every day I went to school with them, often visited them, went for walks with them, and was invited for their birthdays. They played with me, involved me in all their plans and still write me long letters.
So it is not surprising that the three months, which at the start of the journey had lain before me so endlessly, came to an end much too quickly. On the 14th of July came the day to say goodbye to Reading. Many
Piccadilly Circus London Trafalgar Square London
tears flowed as we travelled away again from the Town Hall in the bus. Through London we went to Harwich, and then via the Hook of Holland back to Germany. This time the sea in the Channel moved strongly, and so many children were seasick.
As on the journey out, Mr Cusden also came with us on the journey home. At the main station we were greeted joyfully by Chief Director of Studies Dr Kogge, Study Counsellor Dr Bücker and our relatives. Many of the children had grown so tall and strong that they could hardly be recognised again. Miss Siemons had all the time shown herself always ready to help, and to stand by us in our little emergencies. At first it was hard for me to get used once again to my life and to the duties that I had been used to in Germany. But now I happily go to my work with new enthusiasm.
Hildegard Stephan.
