Evacuation: an Introduction

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• Introduction for Teachers: The Second World War Experience Centre
• Scheme of work for History Key Stage 2
• Evacuation: an Introduction
• Timeline with Interactive Quizzes
• Evacuees' Experiences
• Recommended Reading

In the First World War, aeroplanes were used to drop bombs on enemy cities and factories. When the war was over, better aeroplanes were produced and aviators like Charles Lindbergh and Amy Johnson flew further and faster than ever before. The British Government grew concerned about the destruction that future wars might bring and set up the Air Raid Precaution Committee.

In 1933, Adolf Hitler became the leader of Germany. He intended to make Germany powerful again and began to increase his armies. Britain became uneasy with the situation and made plans to evacuate people from the cities in the event of another war.

The whole country was divided into three areas; evacuation areas, which were thought to be at risk from heavy bombing, reception areas which, were unlikely to be bombed and neutral areas. The public was informed of the scheme and billets were found to accommodate the school children, expectant mothers and the blind that were to be evacuated. No one had to be evacuated, but parents were made very aware of the risks that might lie ahead.

Once war had been declared, ‘Operation Pied Piper’ went ahead. Local councils had organised trains and timetables, schools had made lists of those who were to go and teachers were ready to escort them. All evacuees had labels attached to their coats and each carried a gas mask and a case or bag.

Thousands of children travelled all day on steam trains and most did not know where they were going. Many felt frightened, tired and hungry.

When the children arrived in the reception areas, a ‘billeting officer’ met them who would find billets or foster homes for each child. Foster parents were paid weekly, 10s 6d (52 1/2p) for one child and another 8s 6d (42 1/2p) for any more children they could take.

After a few weeks, lots of evacuees returned home, as there had been very few bombs dropped on British cities. By December 1939, almost half the schoolchildren who had been evacuated were back home with their families.

In June 1940, Germany invaded France and the British worried they would soon be attacked. The Battle of Britain was fought in the skies over Southern England later that summer and then the Blitz began. London was bombed almost every night and many children were evacuated again, especially when Germany started to use the V1 (a flying bomb) and then the V2 (a rocket).

In April 1945, the Government made travel arrangements to return the evacuees to their homes when the war was over. Some children returned as orphans with no one to go home to. Others found their homes had been destroyed in the blitz.

By 12th July 1945, more than 100 trains had brought 54,317 evacuees home to London.

Evacuation was formally over in March 1946. There were still 5,200 evacuees remaining in the reception areas.