Evacuees in WWll
An evacuee is someone who leaves their home so they will be safer. Their motivation was they believed that the big cities, like London, would be targeted and attacked.
The evacuating scheme actually started 3 days before WW2 was officially declared. During these 3 days, 1.5 million people were evacuated. By the end of the war, the number of evacuees rose to 3.7 million. The plan to evacuate involved just about everyone that wished to be evacuated, although there were some people that were asked to evacuate. These people were:
Where evacuees went was based on where they were in society. The upper middle class could make arrangements. On the other hand, the poorer people didn’t know where their children were being sent, who they were being sent to and even if they would see them again. In country towns, children would often be placed in the town hall and be chosen. The child that nobody wanted would get chosen last and reluctantly. With this process, many siblings were separated as house-keepers could only take limited numbers. The children that were evacuated – especially if they were on their own- needed to wear a tag to be identified. Children could also take just one small suitcase. Many children wrote home during the war. The letters explained what it was like at their temporary home. Some letters described nice, friendly families that looked after them properly. Other letters expressed the idea that they weren’t treated properly and were desperate to go home. It was not just London that evacuated – Germany and other countries did it, too. During the war, London is thought to have lost 25% of its population due to evacuating. By the end of the war, most of the evacuees had gone back to their homes (if they were still there). Many people returned home before the end of ww2. Whole classes and schools were evacuated. |
Watch the beginning of this video to find out what it would have been like!
Here are some pictures of evacuees:
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