A SECOND World War evacuee made an emotional return journey to Blaenavon after 70 years and was overwhelmed with memories.

Upon arriving at the house, pensioner Ann Seale was tearful. She said: “It’s strange as everything has changed but little bits of decor remain the same like the fireplaces and an original stained glass window.”

Mrs Seale, 75, was just four years old when she was sent by train from her home in Dover to Blaenavon as an evacuee. She was placed in the care of American Anson Powell, a widower who lived in a large house called Edlogan.

Then at the age of 12, she returned to her mother, never to contact Mr Powell again.

As the house, on Cwmavon Road, is now a bed and breakfast, Mrs Seale took the opportunity to return to Blaenavon and stay at the property, that following Mr Powell’s death was sold.

Mrs Seale describes herself as a proper cockney child who was turned into a lady by Mr Powell, who was a wealthy shop owner. She recalls that she was teased in school as she was always dressed in the best clothes.

She said: “It’s hard to imagine what it was like moving here at the age of four from rages to riches.

“I am grateful for what I was given as things could have easily been different. It was by chance that I was placed in his care and ended up in the biggest house in Blaenavon.”

Upon returning to her mother, she went on to work in a large house taking care of three children, cleaning floors and fireplaces – the types of jobs that had been done for her by Mr Powell’s housekeeper, Sarah.

Things could have been different as Mr Powell had asked to adopt Mrs Seale but her mother refused. She said: “I doted on him and he was my father in my eyes and we both cried when I left. I was the daughter that he never had.”

Mrs Seale now lives in Kent with her husband Ian, and has four children Robert, Dawn, Peter and Andrew. Dawn and Peter returned from their homes in Australia to join their mother on her journey.

Mrs Seale took the opportunity to visit the town, the museum and Big Pit, but for her it was the little changes that surprised her. She added: “The trip has been wonderful. The house choked me up as its different but there are little things that remain the same.

“That’s life.”