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WWII Evacuee's Haunting Return to Cruel Orphanage
26 Apr
Summary
- A 90-year-old man revisited the orphanage where he was sent as an evacuee.
- He endured harsh punishments and denied family contact during four years of abuse.
- He carries lifelong pain from his father's death and his mother's silence.
Alan Kelly, now 90, revisited Hawes End, an orphanage in the Lake District where he spent four years as a child evacuee during World War Two. Sent from Liverpool at age six in 1941, Kelly endured a difficult childhood under headmaster Mr. Tingle, describing the institution as a place of severe physical punishment and emotional neglect.
Kelly recounted instances of cruel discipline, including being denied basic necessities and suffering physical punishment. Family communications were reportedly never delivered, deepening his isolation. A particularly traumatic memory involves learning of his father's death at sea from Mr. Tingle, information his mother had withheld for some time.
Decades later, Kelly struggles with the lasting impact of these experiences, particularly the rift with his mother over his father's fate and his being sent to the orphanage. While Hawes End is now an outdoor center, for Kelly, the return is a painful confrontation with his past and an attempt to process unresolved grief and resentment.
