THE death of film and stage star Sylvia Syms at the age of 89 has brought back memories of her time in Monmouth as an evacuee.

The Ice Cold in Alex star (right) lived on a local farm and stayed ‘close friends’ with the family throughout her life. And despite finding being uprooted from London and separated from her family in WWII tough, she said it later shaped her decision to become an actress.

She previously said: “I was one of those thousands of children evacuated from London by train after war was declared. I was five and had no idea what was happening.

“There was a lot of rushing around at the station. My mother was trying not to cry. And then my older brother and sister and I were put on a train and sent to some elderly people in Deal, Kent. After Dunkirk, we were moved rather rapidly to Monmouthshire.

“Sending me away from home gave me the impression I was not loved, which is unfair. But ever since I’ve wanted to be loved and it’s why I became a performer. ”

She said her mum taught her to read, but a teacher in Monmouth couldn’t believe it when she read A Smuggler’s Song by Rudyard Kipling aloud.

“She thought I must have learnt it by heart!

Her mum, who later joined them at the farm, died when she was 12, but Sylvia said: “There were some lovely times on the farm; she had been very happy and was fearless with animals.”