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At the outbreak of World War Two over three million children were evacuated from London and other major cities to the safety of the countryside. Peter was one of them.

With a label round his neck and carrying his gasmask in its cardboard box he was packed onto a train to an unknown destination. This turned out to be faraway Wadebridge in Cornwall. There were to be more moves as the war progressed, first to Farnham in Surrey and finally to Hertford.

Although a succession of strangers looked after him with care, this brutal separation from home and family proved more traumatic than he knew at the time. For he had left home as a child and when the war ended five years later, he was on the brink of adolescence.

He tells his story here. Intimate and detailed it gives a vivid picture of that lonely and at times terrifying experience. It begins with evacuation day and ends with his return to a London utterly transformed by the war.

Each reading lasts from ten to fifteen minutes. Please share with anyone you think might be interested and feel free to use the comments section to let us know your war time stories.