Evacuees recall war in a chalet

Children from major towns and cities were evacuated into more rural parts of the country

Two sisters who spent the World War II years in a wooden chalet in Flintshire have turned their memories into a book.

Anita Marsden and Cynthia Craig grew up in Talacre near Rhyl after their father told his wife to leave Liverpool.

"His idea was that Liverpool was a city of docks, they were definitely going to bomb Liverpool," said Ms Marsden.

"He said to my mum 'well if they're going to bomb it you and Anita are going to Talacre while the war's on'."

It took a couple of years to write...we did a couple of paragraphs and then it dried up Cynthia Craig

"He couldn't come with us because he still had to earn a crust so he stayed there and he came home weekends or when he could get away and in 1941 our Cynthia came on the scene."

Their parents George and Nellie Marsden had built the two wooden chalets in the seaside resort prior to the outbreak of war in 1939.

Cynthia Craig and Anita Marsden still live in north Wales

They lived safely in an area behind the dunes.

Cynthia, 63, decided to write about their war experiences in a book.

"It took a couple of years to write...we did a couple of paragraphs and then it dried up," she said.

Memories

Mrs Craig who still lives in the area said that following the death of a friend they decided to get on with the task.

Her sister, 66-year-old Anita said Talacre holds special memories for them.

"I know there's nothing here to do but we grew up here and we had a whale of a time," she said.

"There were sand dunes to play on, haystacks in the field, cowboys and indians - all sorts."

After the war the Marsden family returned to Liverpool for six months but they came back when the girls' mother found the city noisy.

They ran a cafe, amusement arcade and a youth club in Talacre.

Growing Up In Talacre is published by Gwasg Helygain in Rhyl