Evacuation of Children during World War 2
How do you think the children are feeling in the photo above?
What do you think they have packed in their bags?
Evacuation means leaving a place. During the Second World War, many
children living in big cities and towns were moved temporarily from their
homes to places considered safer, usually out in the countryside.
The British evacuation began on Friday 1 September 1939. It was called 'Operation Pied Piper'. Evacuation
tried to ensure the safety of young children from
the cities that were considered to be in danger of
German bombing.
Who was evacuated?
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Schoolchildren (827,000) and their
teachers
Mothers with children under five
(524,000)
Pregnant women (12,000)
Some disabled people
Between 1939 - 1945 there were three major evacuations in preparation of the German Luftwaffe
bombing Britain. The UK was divided into three areas:
1. Evacuation – areas where heavy bombing was expected.
2. Neutral – areas that would not need to send or receive evacuees.
3. Reception – rural areas where evacuees would be sent.
World War Two ended in September 1945, however evacuation did not officially end until March 1946
when it was felt that Britain was no longer under threat from invasion. Surprisingly, even 6 months after
the war had ended, there were still 5,200 evacuees living in rural areas with their host families. In April
1945, the Government began to make travel arrangements to return the evacuees to their homes when
the war was over. By 12th July 1945, more than 100 trains had brought 54,317 evacuees home to London.
A further two million or so more wealthy individuals evacuated
'privately', some settling in hotels for the duration and several
thousands travelling to Canada, the United States, South Africa,
Australia and the Caribbean.
The government recommended that in addition to their gas mask and
identity card the evacuees had basic clothes items as well as
something to eat on the journey. They were sent to smaller towns
and villages in the countryside or to stay with relatives in the
countryside.
Billeting officers were responsible for helping to find homes for the
evacuees. Householders in the country who billeted (housed) city
children were given money by the government.
No one was forced to go but parents were encouraged by posters and
told that their children would be safer from German bombs if they
moved to the country.
W h a t w a s i t l i k e f o r a c h i l d t o b e e v a c u a t e d ? Being an evacuee must have been scary
and exciting at the same time; leaving family and home behind and trying to
fit in with host families in the country. At the station, children had labels
attached to them, as though they were parcels. They stood at railway stations
not knowing where they were going nor if they would be split from brothers
and sisters who had gathered with them. They arrived tired, hungry and
uncertain whether they would ever see their families again. They were taken
to the village hall, where they would be met by the billeting officer (the
person in charge of finding them homes). A 'pick-you-own evacuee' sessions
would then take place, where host families haggled over the most
presentable children while the sicklier and grubbier children were left until
last.
Questions to consider when writing an imaginary letter from an
evacuee
1. What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of being evacuated?
2. What it was like for evacuees' to be without their family?
3. How would life in the country be different
to life in the city?
4. Write a short conversation between at
least two of the characters in this
picture. Try to imagine how they are
feeling and what they might be
thinking.
5. If you were evacuated, who do you
think you would miss the most?
6. In what ways does Willie evacuation
experience allow him to grow physically
and emotionally as a person?
7. In what ways is his growing relationship with Mister Tom and Zach crucial to his development.
 What is the relationship like?
 How does the relationship make Willie feel?
 What does Willie learn from the relationship about himself?
 How has the relationship changed Willie?
 In what ways is the relationship different to the one Willie has with his mum?
Writing a Letter and Diary Entry
The description of how Willie is abused emotionally and physically by his own mum is very upsetting: “he
curled himself tightly into a frozen ball praying that soon he would fall asleep”.
Willie desperately wants to be with Mister Tom – “he hadn’t been used to this pain for a long time. He had
softened. ‘Mister Tom’ he whispered in the darkness. ‘Mister Tom. I want you Mister Tom’.”
If Willie had time to write to Mister Tom to ask him to help, what would he say? Think about the possible
points below that you could include in a letter from Will to Tom.
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Tell Tom about what has happened since you left him.
Tell Tom about Trudy the baby.
Tell Tom about how you have been hurt.
Explain your feelings.
Describe the atmosphere of the bombed city and being back in the city.
Ask Tom to help you.
Diary Entry:
A diary is a personal type of writing and so is different to a letter. Write a diary entry Will might write on a
scrap of paper he finds in the house before he is locked up by his mother.