What was it like to be evacuated in WWII?

Children on the Move Schools Resources

What was it like to be evacuated in WWII?

What was it like for their family?What was it like to be an evacuee?What was life like for children that were evacuated?

The photographs and oral history clips contained in these slides will help the class answer these questions.2

Look closely at this photographWhat do they show?What are they carrying?How old are they?Who is in the photograph, how old do you think they are and what are they carrying?The photograph shows two little boys on their way to be evacuated. They are brothers called Ray and Reg. They lived in Westgate-on-Sea in Kent and were evacuated to Colton, Staffordshire in June 1940. Reg (the smallest boy) was 4 years old. They are carrying a bag with some clothes in and their gas masks (in the rectangular box).3

Look closely at this photographWhat do they have around their necks?How are they feeling?The boy in the foreground of the photograph can be seen wearing a label around his neck. The names and addresses of the evacuees were written on these labels and worn around the neck on a piece of string. How to you think the children are feeling excitied, happy, scared, sad, nervous, anxious?4

Look closely at these photographWho is with them?This photographs shows a group of boys arriving at Shooting Butts. Shooting Butts was a Staffordshire-based camp school for boys. It took evacuees from Birmingham and the surrounding areas and opened in May 1940. The boys were aged between 10 and 15 years old. This photographs can be used to show the lack of mothers and adults being evacuated with children. Only a few men can be seen in this photograph, stressing the point that children were evacuated by themselves. How would you feel about being separated from your parents?5Was evacuation one big adventure?

A bit like a long holiday without your parents?Do you think all evacuees felt like this?How do you think parents felt about evacuating their children? Now listen to the memories of Dorothy Jarvis

Listen to the audio clip by clicking on the audio speaker and then answer the questions.Dorothy Jarvis was evacuated from Manchester to Alton in Staffordshire at the age of 9.6How did Mothers feel about evacuating their children?

Bettine Saffery was evacuated from Kent to Drayton Bassett near Tamworth

Now listen to the memories of Bettine. This gives some insight into how difficult it was for mothers to evacuate their children. It must have been very upsetting to send children by themselves to live with strangers in another part of the country. Bettine also talks about the responsibility she felt in looking after her brother. She felt she had to be brave for his sake and not cry when they left their mother.7Joyce Smith remembers this about leaving her mother

Why do you think Joyces mother told her she was going to pick flowers rather than be evacuated?

Now listen to Joyce Smiths memories. Joyce was evacuated from Ramsgate in Kent and sent to Knightley in Staffordshire. Her mother told her she was going to pick flowers on the day she was evacuated. Joyces mother probably did this because she did not want Joyce to get upset about leaving. She may also have felt Joyce was too young to understand what evacuation was and why it had to happen. Joyce was 5 when she was evacuated.8Look at the extracts from the local newspapers, the Stafford Newsletter and the Staffordshire Advertiser.

What do they tell you about evacuation in Staffordshire?

How did the majority of evacuee travel to Staffordshire?

Where were they evacuated to?

What does this tell you about how it felt to be evacuated?

Was evacuation organised and well run?

What happened when the evacuees arrived?

What is a billet?SOURCE 1The newspaper sources are available for use in the lesson as a PDF file.Source 1 comes from the Staffordshire Newsletter, dated 9th September 1939, the time of Operation Pied Piper. It tell us that:The majority of children were evacuated by trainThey were evacuated to areas near Leek and in the future were to be evacuated to areas around StaffordMany children found evacuation difficult and upsetting and also found the journey long and tiring. They cried when they left their homes and their parents and families.The source suggests that evacuation was organised and well runWhen the evacuees arrived in Leek, they were met at the railway station, taken to a distribution centre like a town hall or a school and then found a new homeEvacuees found their new homes to be friendly and they were welcomed by the local peopleA billet is a foster home where evacuees could live with a foster family until it was safe to return homeConsider starting a vocabulary board with words such as evacuation, evacuee, billet, adding words with the further lessons.9Look at the extracts from the local newspapers, the Stafford Newsletter and the Staffordshire Advertiser.

What do they tell you about evacuation in Staffordshire?

SOURCE 2Where had these evacuees come from?

How had they travelled to Stafford?

Who came with them?

Who else had been evacuated with them?

What does it tell you about the billeting process and how well it worked?

The newspaper sources are available for use in the lesson as a PDF file.Source 2 comes from the Staffordshire Advertiser and was written at the same time as Source 1 (9th September 1939). The source tell us that:Whole schools were evacuated from places close to Staffordshire, like WalsallTeachers were often evacuated with the childrenSometimes evacuees were transported by bus as well as trainSchools were involved in the evacuation processMothers sometimes accompanied younger children, usually the under 5sThe billeting process tried to keep families together10nullBlues35970.727nullBlues62509.758nullBlues45008.625