At the start of WW II the government was very worried about the safety of people living in urban areas (an urban area is a place where lots of people live and work, like London). They knew that these areas would be heavily bombed by the Germans and that many people could lose their lives….
So what did they do?
The government decided to evacuate children from the dangerous urban areas and send them to places where they were much less likely to be bombed, like the countryside. The government called this plan Operation Pied Piper.
Why was the countryside a safer place?
The Germans wanted to cause as much damage and disruption as possible, in the hope of breaking the spirits of the British people. So they targeted areas that were heavily populated and had important buildings, such as ammunition factories. Fewer people lived in the countryside and most of the buildings there were of no importance to the Germans. This made it a much safer place to live.
Were children the only ones to be evacuated?
No, children were not the only ones to be evacuated. Thousands of pregnant women and disabled people were also sent to safer places, as were mothers who had children under the age of five and school teachers.
How were they sent away?
Evacuation day was a very busy affair with most children being sent to their new homes by train. Often a teacher or “helper” would lead the children onto the train and there would be someone to meet them at the end of their journey, usually a Billeting Officer. It was the Billeting Officers job to find homes for the children.
Did they know where they were going?
More often than not the evacuees had no idea where they were going, or when they would be returning to their real homes.
Did children enjoy moving away?
Every child had their own personal experience. Some loved living in the country and were treated very kindly by their hosts (the people who they were living with). Most of the evacuees were from cities and had never been to the countryside before, so the whole experience was like an exciting adventure. But for some being evacuated was a miserable experience. They were living in unfamiliar surroundings and found it difficult making friends. Hosts sometimes felt pressured into looking after evacuees, and didn’t treat the children as kindly as they could have. Being apart from your family at such a young age must have been a very scary experience.
