Couple reminisce on war times

Mary and Michael Mulholland, both 75, sat in Bournemouth’s pleasure gardens today admiring how different and more peaceful their lives are now.

When asked to describe their lives in three words, “Good, happy, and eventful” sprung to mind. Having been married for fifty-three years the pair have had their fair share of eventful life experiences.

The one that stands out most for Michael is one of his earliest memories, when he was evacuated from London in 1940 at only four years of age.

“It is a very vague memory. I remember we got evacuated by schools, we were lined up and a family had to pick which boy they wanted. I didn’t really know what was going on.”

Michael claimed living in Brighton was very different to being in London.

There was less worry of bombs hitting the coast, but he was concerned for his other three brothers who were evacuated separately. He had very little contact with his parents but spoke highly of his host family saying, “they were very good to me”.

He spoke about a letter his mother received from his host family requesting whether it would be possible for them to adopt him if his parents died, however his birth mother strongly disagreed. Michael stayed in close contact with his host mother upon returning home in 1943 until she later died in 1965. Having no children of her own she decided to leave her house to Michael and his wife Mary.

“She was a lovely woman, she was very kind and generous. It was like having a second family"