Name: _____________________
Class: _____________________
Work Sheet
Evacuation – When did evacuation start in
Britain?
Tasks
Before doing any of these activities, you should talk to a parent/guardian
or teacher.
1. Look at the last paragraph of Source 1 where there is a full list of
what a child should pack and take when evacuated. Copy out the list.
At home, put together the items on the list, and place them in a small
rucksack or bag. You will not have a gas mask, so put in a substitute
that weighs about ½ kilo (1 lb). Remember to leave space for a packet
of food. Wear the coat and put on your thickest, warmest footwear.
That is all you are allowed to take. Imagine how that would feel. Could
you carry the rucksack very far?
You probably have a little space in a pocket or two to take some small
personal objects that are not on the list. What would you take?
What could you fit in that wouldn’t weight too much? Extra food? A
toy? A book? A photograph or picture?
2. Find out if there is anyone in your family who was alive at the time of
the Second World War, such as a great grandparent or grandparent.
Was that person evacuated? Or do they know anyone who was? If they
do, see if a parent can help you to talk to that person about what it
was like. How does this fit in with what you have read here?
3. Using a map of Britain, try to find the east coast towns from which
children were evacuated on 2 June 1940 – listed in Source 4. Can you
also find the places to which the children were sent? Do those same
railway lines exist today?
4. With help from a parent, choose the meals for one day from the list
shown in the leaflet in Source 5. See what it feels like to eat food like
this! How does it compare to the food that you normally eat. Is it
better? Worse? Or is it simply different? (If you are a vegetarian,
don’t try to eat the meat dishes! There were not many vegetarians in
Britain during the 1930s and 1940s.)