Jimmy Ramster

I spent several years as an evacuee in Hutton with vivid memories of my time in a community that was so different from the slums of Hull. There were about six of us scattered about the village and we were soon integrated into the alien experiences of regular church(i even won a prize for maximum attendance!,harvesting(the old fashioned way) and regular chores. Does anyone in the village remember our teacher Miss Bryce? Was Mr Roberts the vicar? later to receive the MBE? I lived with Mrs Towse and daughter Sylvia in howl lane Hutton. I was very very naughty, wild and ran away a couple of times but was recaptured and spent a lot of wonderful times in the village. I stayed until after the war ended then returned to war ravaged Hull. I have visited the village over the past 60 years and i am so pleased that the heart of both Hutton and Cranswick still appears the same but i have not been able to talk to anyone who was a child during the war who still lives there.My memories are strong they were the formative years of my life I would love to hear from anyone who has any connection to my wartime life in Hutton Cranswick.
Jimmy Ramster aged 69

We printed Jimmy’s  original query in the Bulletin and we have had a couple of replies which have been forwarded to him and for which he has asked me to pass on his sincere thanks.   Jimmy wrote this article for publication in the newsletter and on this website, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did .  Sue W
With 2005 already here and National celebrations planned to celebrate the end of the war, 50 years -  it doesnt seem that long ago, I came to wonder if there are there any celebrations planned in Hutton or Cranswick?   In 1945 I remember the bonfire in Hutton to mark the end of the war in Europe, as an evacuee this was a time of hope that we would all be going home away from the village that had been part of our lives, away from the people that had taken us in and into another adventure with parents we had forgotten, fathers we could not remember, homes we had never lived in. The bonfire was fantastic,  it lasted all night.  We didn’t know why we were so happy and  it didn’t feel right to be showing so much light, but underneath our feelings as evacuees was a mixture of elation, excitement and fear. Many of us had been evacuated since the beginning of the war, we had shadowy memories of our parents, I was only 5 years old when first I was put with hundreds of Hull children on the train to live with sometimes reluctant families.  It was not until 1943 that I arrived in Hutton, having been with two other families since the early part of the war. I sometimes cry at the thought of children younger than my grandchildren being put on trains leaving their parents, many younger than 5 years old being away from all they knew, all they loved for 5 or more years, it is an incredible story of what happened to the children from HULL who were sent to villages all over Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.  Could anyone send their children or grandchildren away nowadays? I think not. But we arrived in your village and we were taken in, we had the Townie habits suppressed or removed and gradually the slower temperate environment and the collective caring of village life set us new standards and gave us new horizons and a close affinity to the reality of country living.  And what a problem we must have been, rather like illegal immigrants today. We spoke in a very unusual accent, we were for the most part dirty, badly clothed, petty thieves ....... We ran away, we were disruptive in school, our morals and behaviour were a test to any civil society but we needed to be cared for and we were. I dont think we made a lot of friends in the village but the village through the church, through the school, and with the goodwill and affection of the majority of the families we were nurtured and protected and tought the lessons of life. You will gather that I value what for me became the formative years of my life, my grandchildren now signal the signs of disbelief that my children showed when I tell the stories of The Pig Kill, Bush beating, Potato picking and Stooking.  They smile in disbelief at my stories of Steam Threshing and Rat killing; They cant believe the Pig Club meetings and no electricity or television and Hutton church being full for evensong or Italian prisoners working on the farms and the darkness....... walking home in the Winter the snow graunching underfoot,  only the moon to take you down Howl Lane, how far to go? what was that sound? what lies in that shadow?   Have we lost this environment, this caring this, village heritage? Does anyone still remember these years?  Are there any of the old villagers left?  Is there anyone there who was a child of the war?  Are there any evacuees still living in Hutton or Cranswick who want to exchange a memory on email?   
JIMMY RAMSTER PREVIOUSLY CARE OF MRS TOWSE, ROSENEATH HOWL LANE ,HUTTON

IF ANYONE ELSE WOULD LIKE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH JIMMY I’D BE HAPPY TO FORWARD YOUR LETTERS TO HIM.    JIMMY’S EMAIL ADDRESS IS  JMRAMSTER@AOL.COM