D-Day 80th anniversary - patient shares her experience of being evacuated during the war
A patient who was evacuated as a child during the Second World War has shared her experience at an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Barbara Watts is a patient at the Cumberlege Intermediate Care Centre (CICC) in Rochford, which is run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.
Barbara, who was born in 1934, was evacuated to the countryside when she was seven years old.
Recalling a scary time, she said: “One day we were playing in a field when someone shouted lay down, and a German plane flew over us as it had been shot down and crashed.
“The pilot was arrested and within an hour the plane had been stripped of 
everything by locals and soldiers as they wanted souvenirs.
“When I returned home my mother had all the insurance policies and ration books on the table. In the evening we continued to hear sirens where we covered our ears to block some of the noise.”
She told her story during CICC’s D-Day commemoration event, which saw staff and patients singing old wartime songs and showcasing the artwork they had created with a local Men’s Shed group.
Clinical Lead Occupational Therapist, Beverley Kemp, said: “We all had a fantastic time and I would like to thank all the staff that helped put the events together, and also to Barbara, who made crochet poppies for patients and staff to wear.
“I would like to also thank the Beacon’s Men’s Shed in Benfleet for making us a model of a soldier for our art display, and to Sue Mowatt who made cupcakes that everyone thoroughly enjoyed.”