“When VE Day was declared, I was absolutely chuffed – it meant a day off school! My mates Les Foster, Tony Bailey and Pete Moore and I rode into town on our bicycles, full of joy. We came across a shop selling fireworks and bought a few. Pete’s mum even treated us to some cake and Tizer – originally known as Pickup Appetizer.”

John Foreman was just seven years old when war was declared on Sunday 3rd September 1939. His family had been visiting Whitstable at the time, but they rushed back to their home at 50 Iverson Road in Hampstead as soon as the news broke. Shortly afterwards, John's school, Kingsgate Road School, was evacuated to Northampton.

Upon arrival in Northampton, the children were walked through the streets, each being taken in by local families who had space to accommodate them. Luckily, John and his younger sister – just five at the time – were kept together. Mrs Marshall, the local billeting officer, first checked the children for fleas – a common concern, as it was widely believed that all London children carried them.

John and his sister were taken in by Mr and Mrs Page – fondly known as Uncle Horace and Aunty Win. They remained with the Pages for the duration of the war.

“Every night when I said my prayers,” John recalls, “I asked, ‘Please God, may we win the war.’”

John’s father served in the Royal Artillery and, when asked what time he landed on the beaches on D-Day, he simply replied, “About tea time.” John’s uncle was captured at Dunkirk and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war.

John’s mother returned to London with his sister as soon as it was safe, while John remained in Northampton to finish the school year. “We tied up all the books and packed them away before returning to our old school buildings in Hampstead.” He was 13 when he returned, and left school at 14 to begin his apprenticeship.

“I imagined bands playing, flags flying and a massive party when I came back home. Instead, Mum was ill in bed, workmen were repairing V2 rocket damage, and I ended up scrubbing the floor. But that was nothing compared to the 90 children from Kilburn who had no homes to return to.”

Life after the war remained full of firsts and adaptations. “I ate my first banana in 1947, and before we had toothpaste, we used salt.”

John began his career as a barber, eventually being posted to the Royal Herbert Hospital and later to the Scots Greys regiment in Hanover. Not only did he enjoy a successful career as a barber, but he also developed a lifelong admiration for the Scots Greys. His collection of regimental history books is, to this day, legendary among those who know him.

Watch the complete video here:  https://fb.watch/ztUZru9jjP/