Because of the expected bombing of cities, the government planned to
move most of the children, together with expectant and nursing mothers,
invalids and the blind, to safe “reception” areas in the country side, where
they would be billeted with local families.
The main evacuation went ahead on 1st September 1939. Whole schools
were evacuated together. The children had to assemble at school with
their gas masks and a spare set of clothes in a small suitcase or parcel.
They all had a label with their personal details tied to their clothes and
they were given a packet of food. Then they marched to the railway
station with their teachers and set off on a journey to an unknown
destination in the countryside. Many of the poorer city children had
never seen fields or farm animals before, so at first, evacuation seemed
like an exciting holiday.
When the children arrived in the reception areas, they were tired and
dirty. The host families could choose which evacuees they wanted: some
chose well-behaved little girls: some farmers wanted strong looking boys,
but some children were left until last.
Most of the evacuees felt strange and homesick at first. They were not
used to country food and some of those from the poorest homes had worn
out shoes and no warm clothes or changes of underwear. Some had never
slept in a proper bed of their own before. Their hosts were sometimes
shocked by the bad language and bad behaviour of children from the city
slums.
Name: ______________________
The village schools were very crowded with so many extra children, and
sometimes there were fights with local children who resented the
newcomers.
When no bombs fell during the first few months of the war; many of the
evacuees were fetched home by their parents, but when the Blitz began,
there was a new evacuation. Some children stayed with their new families
for several years and grew to love the countryside so much they did not
want to go back to the cities after the war.
ACTIVITIES
1.
Why did the government want to evacuate some people from the cities?
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2.
Which groups of people were evacuated? _____________________________
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3.
Where were the “safe” areas?
_______________________________________
4.
What luggage were evacuee children to take with them?
__________________
________________________________________________________
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5.
Why did evacuation seem like a holiday at first?
________________________
Name: ______________________
________________________________________________________
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6.
Imagine it is 1939, and you have just been evacuated. Write a letter to
your family telling them about the journey and your new home.
7.
Now imagine your family lives on a farm where two evacuees have been
billeted. Describe them and say how you feel about two strangers coming
to live with you.
8.
Solve the clues and write the answers in the boxes, to find the name of the
place where a group of evacuees has been sent. Write the name
underneath.
Some evacuees had no ………… clothes
Evacuation seemed like an exciting ……..
Many evacuees came from the capital city
City children were not used to these animals
The village ........ were very crowded
One was tied to each child
Some evacuees felt this at first
This caused a new evacuation in 1940
Some evacuees would be ……..from bombs
Strong boys were wanted to work on them
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