Where did the evacuees go in WW2?
How many evacuees were there, and how old were they?
What did evacuees take with them?
What was life like for evacuees in WW2?
Where did the evacuees go in WW2?
At the start of WW2, on 1 September 1939, children, pregnant women, mothers with infants and teachers were evacuated from British towns and cities thought to be at risk of bombing to the country. On 1 September 1939 the British government’s plans for evacuation swung into operation. Most evacuees were taken to billets in the British countryside, or on the south and east coasts.
How many evacuees were there, and how old were they?
There were 1.5 million child evacuees aged between 4 and 14.
What did evacuees take with them?
Prior to 1 September, each evacuee was given an Evacuation Notice that explained what they should take. The first items listed were a gas mask, identity card and ration book. Each child was told to carry enough food to last one day – egg or cheese sandwiches; packets of nuts or raisins; biscuits with little packets of cheese; barley sugar rather than chocolate; and an apple or an orange. Clothing requirements included a spare set of underwear; night clothes; handkerchiefs; spare stockings or socks; house shoes or plimsolls; and a warm coat or mackintosh.
This proved problematic for many of the children, as one former evacuee Joan Watson remembered. “When my mum saw the evacuation list, she realised that I didn’t own a spare pair of shoes, a spare set of underclothes or a warm coat! I know that she was embarrassed about this, but what could she do? Most of my school friends didn’t own such things either.” Jean Barrington recalled, “The list seemed very funny to me as we were very poor. For a start, I had never even seen an orange! Also the list said that we should use a rucksack for the journey. We couldn’t afford one, so Mum put my few belongings in a spare pillowcase.”
What was life like for evacuees in WW2?
My interviews with hundreds of child evacuees show that their experiences varied greatly. Many had positive experiences and formed loving relationships with their wartime foster families. When Rita Roberts was evacuated from Birmingham to Bromsgrove, her foster parents bought her new clothes and toys. “They also took me to Aberystwyth in Wales to see the sea, which I’d never done before. All I could say was, ‘Ooh, look! All that water!’”
Their new environment, however, was often unfamiliar to the children who encountered differences in housing, dress, food, language, dialect and religion. Audrey Patterson was placed with a family in Bideford, Devon. “My sister Gwen and I were lucky to be placed with Mr and Mrs Shute who were very kind to us. However, she used to make something called ‘junket’, a white sloppy substance sprinkled with nutmeg which I hated.” June Somekh was from an Orthodox Jewish family, and was evacuated from Manchester to Derbyshire with her brother. “He was billeted with the local pork butcher! Had my parents known about this, I don’t think we would have been allowed to stay the course!” When Bob Cooper arrived at his billet in Cornwall, he was extremely shocked to discover that his new home had no gas, electricity or running water. “We collected water from a well and used a bucket for a toilet. It was normal to them but very strange to me. They looked after us very well though and we called them Aunty and Uncle.”
On the other hand, some children were ill-treated by those who took them in. John Mathews was badly underfed, and after school each day his billeters locked him in his bedroom with no toys or books. Sharing his story in the Telegraph in September 2009, John stated, “It was obvious that my letters home were going to be censored, so in the first one I wrote the sort of thing one should – ‘Having a wonderful time, wish you were here.’ The following morning I somehow managed to steal an envelope and stamp and wrote a rather more truthful letter home. The gist of it was that if something didn’t happen quickly, I was going to run away. Two Saturdays later my mother turned up at the door to collect me.” Rosemary Hall and her brother also endured harsh treatment from the woman who took them in: “We slept on camp beds in a hallway and we were constantly hungry. After four months our mum tracked us down. She saw the state of us and immediately removed us from the premises.”
On 8 May 1945, the war in Europe was finally over and the evacuees began to return home. However, for some the five years of separation had dire consequences, not least John Helyer: “When I was reunited with my mum and dad, I didn’t understand them and they didn’t understand me. We just couldn’t get on.” For others, the bonds forged with their foster families endured. Sheila Gibson explained, “I wrote to Mr and Mrs Croft in Derby regularly and I visited them every year until they passed away. I will never forget them.”