Mrs Bider remembers

On the 10th March 2026, the class G1C visited Mrs Bider in the senior citizens home in Riesbach with our English teacher, Mrs Schmidt. Mrs Bider is almost 90 years old. We listened to her story, because we had read a book in English class about an evacuee in the Second World War, Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian. It is very important to also hear firsthand experiences, as it can be quite hard to imagine how this would be. Listening to someone who had really experienced it, was very interesting and intruiging.

Mrs Bider lived in central London with her parents and her brother, who is 3 years older than she is, in a small apartment. She and her brother were evacuated to the countryside when she was 3 years old. In the year 1939, when the Germans started the Blitzkrieg, while her parents stayed in London, working as air raid wardens, they were brought to Devon.

During the war she and her brother were first brought to an older couple in the countryside, where they weren’t treated well. The couple didn’t have children of their own, so the children often would have to sit on a chair for many hours, as “children should be seen, not heard”. They had to ration their food and other sources. Here was also the first time she went to a real school. She stayed with this couple for a quite long time and only saw her parents once. Later, she and her brother moved to a younger couple. She described them as kind and loving people. At the time she was obviously very young, so she didn’t remember what her thoughts were and whether she had any worries or whether she missed her parents. One memory she told us was that when she was in London, during a walk in Hyde Park, a bomber flew over London. Her father threw her and her brother into the deep trenches to protect them from any incoming bombs. She told us of the terrifying feeling, that a bomb could land anywhere and might strike anyone near them or even kill them.

After the war, she and her brother moved back to London to their parents. She explained that she sadly never had a very close bond to her parents after spending most of her childhood years without them. Although she has a very deep bond to her brother, she unfortunately missed closeness to her parents. Because she had gone to school in the countryside, she could quickly join school in London. Later in life she also went to school in New York, which she is very grateful for. Even now, she still talks to her brother about their shared experiences and what memories they still share.

I thought it was very surprising to hear how much she remembered from her experiences. Her personal thoughts and experiences on this was very different from reading about history, because it had a very emotional worth for her and made me think about what it must have felt like to have lost so much in such a short period of time. I have learned what this could feel like emotionally. I think that this would make me feel scared, lonely and helpless as I wouldn’t kow what would happen and how this would affect me and my family. I also think it is important to remember stories like hers, because they tell us an important story and reflect what could happen to us and why we need to make sure that this doesn’t happen to us.

People who tell these stories are important. Sharing experiences teaches us that we need to care and look out for each other. Many lives are lost and futures affected by wars, and it is, therefore, important to remember.

Charlotte, G1c