When a Reigate woman was asked by her granddaughter about her experiences during the Second World War for a school project, she decided to write her account down.

Brenda Howlett-Nye soon found herself inspired to write her first book, after realising she had so many memories to share.

With Remembrance Day approaching, she has spoken about the war from her perspective.

She said: “When war broke out in September 1939 I was six years old and on holiday with my parents and sister in St Andrew’s, Scotland. As the news unfolded we travelled back home a few days early to Reigate. Food rationing quickly came into place and my father had to dig an air raid shelter beneath the garage.

“During 1940-41, as the Blitz started and bombs were dropping all around, my father decided that I, along with my mother and sister should be evacuated and stay with family members in Scotland, which we did, travelling up there on the Flying Scotsman.

“My mother told me that Hitler liked Scottish people. I believed my mother when she said Hitler liked Scottish people. It gave us the security of thinking that if the Germans invaded we’d be safe in Scotland. By the end of 1941 the bombing had eased off a little and the threat of invasion had receded, so my father thought it was safe for us to move home.”

Two years later, when doodlebugs were falling on the south of England, her parents decided it was safer for her and her sister to be evacuated, and they were sent to Wales.

She said: “After arriving at Bridgend, I was herded into a hall and ordered to strip so I could be examined for fleas and lice because the children from the London Blitz before us, had been living in shelters and shocking conditions. They were alive with them.

“Living through a war was terrifying as a child, and being sent away to complete strangers at such a young age was unnerving, as we only saw my parents once when they came to visit during our evacuation to Wales.

“There’s no doubt that the war affected a whole generation of children. We are getting on in life now, which makes it all the more important to remember the experiences we went through, and the sacrifices made by our armed forces as they fought the Nazis. No-one should have to experience the destruction and upheaval that war creates. I urge people to think of the fallen from all wars this Sunday at 11am.”

Brenda Howlett-Nye’s book, Finding Me, is available on Amazon.