In September 1939 the second world war had just begun as Germany invaded Poland, and 12 year old Agnes was evacuated from Liverpool to a family in Northwich, Cheshire, for safety from bombing. Within a few months her dormant atopic eczema had flared, and she was treated at a local clinic. By March 1940, her mother was missing her and decided, as most Liverpool mothers did, to bring her child back home to the city as she preferred to have all the family together if the worse should happen.
Around this time the government implemented a Children's Overseas Reception Board, a plan designed to keep children safe from German attack by placing them in Commonwealth countries (New Zealand, Australia, Canada) or the United States with relatives or willing host families for the duration of the war. Agnes was placed on the list as her father had a sister living in New York at the time.
The eczema flared again, starting on her neck, and a few days later it extended. Her excoriated eczematised skin was complicated by extensive herpes simplex over the face. It was so severe that she was only able to drink through a straw. Regular medical check ups were mandatory for would-be evacuee children, as they had to be fit and ready to leave at a moment's notice. Agnes attended the Sugnall Street Clinic behind the Philharmonic Hall. She was prescribed sulphur ointment, which began to heal her infected skin.
A ship then arrived in the port of Liverpool to take the children away from the very real dangers of war. However, Agnes's mother received a letter stating that her daughter would not be included because her rash had not cleared and the risk of spreading infection to others aboard was still present. This was a major disappointment, as the family was having to shelter under the Anglican Cathedral from the German bombs. Agnes's mother, however, consoled her by saying “Man proposes, but God disposes.”
She was proved right, as the ship on which Agnes had been due to sail was the ill fated City of Benares. This ship was torpedoed 600 miles and five days out from Liverpool by the German U-boat 48 on 17 September 1940 at 10 30 pm with the loss of 294 lives, including 73 children, 11 of whom were from Liverpool. This tragedy ended the Children's Overseas Reception Board.
Agnes never complains when she has a flare of her eczema as she realises it ultimately saved her life.