Evacuation: Evacuee 1 Ken Giles

Enlarge the photographs

Photograph Comprehension

These are the photographs that Ken asked his parents to send.

On the worksheet: answer the questions-

• How do you think Ken felt when he received these photographs?
• Do you think Ken's parents look happy?
• Why do you think Ken wanted a photograph of his father in his war reserve policeman's uniform?
• Whose photograph would you want to take if you were evacuated?

Enlarge and see transcripts of Letter 1 Letter 2 Letter 3 Letter 4

Written Comprehension

First of all read Ken's biography and his memories on the previous pages and then look at this letter sent to his parents during his evacuation.

On the worksheet: write your thoughts about the following -

• Ken was first evacuated ... (Try to discover when, where, why and how long for)
• Ken's journey to Selsey was ... (use clues in his memories to help you imagine how he might have been feeling)
• I like reading about when ... (which of Ken's memories did you enjoy? Can you explain why?)
• Do you think Ken and his friends knew anything about what was happening in the war? (There are clues in his memories)
• During his evacuation, Ken's aprents ... (Explain how his mum and dad kept in contact and what they did to stop Ken feeling homesick)
• I also learned that Ken ...

On his evacuation to Dymchurch Ken said:

On returning from Dymchurch a week later:

On his school’s evacuation to Broadreeds Ken said:

Ken Giles was born in June 1930. He spent his early childhood in Putney, South West London and, having a physical disability, attended a special school in Frogmore, Wandsworth. During the Second World War he was evacuated twice.

At the time of the Munich Crisis in 1938, Ken’s whole school was evacuated to Dymchurch. All the children, teachers and nursing staff were housed in poor quality ex- army huts - Ken recalls his bed was the easiest to find as it was beneath a hole in the roof which let in the rain! Fortunately the crisis was over within a week and everyone returned to London.

By September 1939, Ken’s school had relocated to Tooting. There were about 120 pupils, girls and boys and all had disabilities or health problems. Again the school was evacuated, this time to a holiday camp called ‘Broadreeds’ at Selsey Bill. The accommodation was comfortable - brick built chalets with tiled roofs. Ken thought he would be home quite soon, following his experience at Dymchurch, and enjoyed himself. The children played on the beach and shared midnight feasts.

The fine summer came to an end and the holiday chalets had to be adapted for the winter. At Christmas, lots of activities were arranged for the children but Ken missed some of these as he had caught chicken pox.

Ken has many happy memories of his time at Selsey, he joined the Cubs, the owner of the camp held regular parties for the children and his parents sent a parcel every week and visited him about every six weeks.

After spending ten months at the camp, Ken’s parents decided to take him home. The Portsmouth area which included Selsey was becoming dangerous and within a week of his departure, the camp was bombed killing some children and their teacher.

The Giles family spent six weeks together at home in London, then Ken and his Mother went to stay with relatives in the country until they returned home in 1945.

Enlarge the photograph

Photograph Comprehension

Look carefully at this photograph of Ken Giles. What does it tell you about him?

On the worksheet: make some notes in the label about what you can see then answer the questions.

• When I saw the photograph of Ken I felt ...
• The expression on his face tells me ...
• His body language suggests to me that ...
• His clothes make me think ...
• I think this photograph was taken because ...
• What do you think might have happened to Ken?