Ewan: Hello Mr Jamieson and welcome to Loirston Primary and thanks for coming in. I'm Ewan and this is Caitlyn.

Mr Jamieson: Thank you very much.

Caitlyn: We're doing a project on World War II and we were wondering if we could ask you some questions.

Mr Jamieson: Yes, you can.

Caitlyn: How old were you at the start of World War II?

Mr Jamieson: I was six years of age.

Ewan: When did the evacuees come to live with you?

Mr Jamieson: They came to live with us at the end of September 1939.

Caitlyn: How did you first find out that the evacuees were coming to stay with you?

Mr Jamieson: I only found out when I came home from school. My Mum said that there were two visitors that she wanted me to meet.

Ewan: How did you feel when you found out that the evacuees were coming to live with you?

Mr Jamieson: I felt very strange about it as I had no other brothers and sisters, and if I remember, I was a little bit jealous that some other children were sharing my home.

Caitlyn: How were the evacuees brought to your house?

Mr Jamieson: Well, my Mum and Dad had to meet the boys at Victoria Hall in Ballater, as there was a Government representative there, to hand the children over, and they came up to the farm by car.

Ewan: What were your first impressions of the evacuees?

Mr Jamieson: My first impressions were that they were older than me and they spoke a different language that I did not understand.

Caitlyn: What can you tell us about the evacuees, e.g. their age, names and where they came from?

Mr Jamieson: The oldest boy was called Jim Wallace and he was twelve years old. His brother was called Peter Wallace and he was nine years old. Both boys came from an area in Glasgow, called Stobhill.

Ewan: How did the evacuees react to their new surroundings and how long did it take them to adapt?

Mr Jamieson: The boys came from a large city and had never ever been on a farm before. They were a little overwhelmed when they first came. I think they were also very afraid of the cows, sheep, pigs, horses and all the other normal animals on a farm. But my Dad tried very hard to help them adapt to this strange new world. He gave each of them a calf and a lamb to look after which meant feeding them with bottled milk. Mum showed them how to feed the chickens, ducks and geese etc. After about two weeks they were so happy and settled in very well. They even got over the fear of our dogs, and the cats that followed them everywhere they went.

Caitlyn: Were the evacuees fascinated by anything new they saw?

Mr Jamieson: They were very fascinated when watching my Father ploughing with the horses. They loved to go with him and they would run up and down the furrows. Much to the excitement of the boys, at the end of the day, my Father would lift all of us onto the horses' backs and off to the farmhouse we would go.

Ewan: Where did they go to school?

Mr Jamieson: The boys went to Ballater School. We had to walk four miles each day. That's two miles there and two miles back, and as far as I can remember, they settled in very well. I think it must have been difficult at first because we spoke a different language to them. As the boys were new, everybody wanted to be their friends. It was also fascinating for the country boys to hear their stories about city life.

Caitlyn: What was it like having two strangers living with you?

Mr Jamieson: Being only a child myself, at first I was not very happy at our change in circumstances. It meant I had to share my toys with the boys, also my parents. I soon got over this though. I was soon very happy with them.

Ewan: Were the boys scared or homesick?

Mr Jamieson: I think they may have been at first. My Mother was very kind as she would bake them lots of goodies. Sometimes in the evening, we would play games as a family or my Dad would play the fiddle. We had a lot of good music and everything, on the farm.

Caitlyn: Did they or you have to share a room?

Mr Jamieson: As I said, the boys were older than me and we were fortunate enough to have a big house. That meant the boys had a room of their own and I had my own little bedroom to myself.

Ewan: Did they have to do any work on your farm?

Mr Jamieson: As it was the war years all help was appreciated on the farm. When we came home from school, we all had our duties and they were as follows; feeding the chickens, collecting and washing eggs, as they were all sold. We also had to feed our lambs and calves and it was all hard work, very, very hard work and the weekends especially. We had a lot of work to do, a lot of work and everybody had to work because a lot of the people that worked on the farm were called up for the war so everybody had to fit in and work - clean shoes everything. And there was no electricity then. There was only paraffin lamps - no electricity, just by lanterns, for going out in the evening to the various (the byre, the stables, the horses) to see that everything was okay. And we used to take the lantern and walk with it and you would see your long, black shadow. And it was all paraffin lamps with kerosene.