Smiffys World War II Evacuee Girl Costume, Blue with Dress, Hat & Bag, Girls Fancy Dress, 1940s Dress Up Costumes

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Alan Jeffreys: “One of the quite important legacies of evacuation and definitely goes on to affect government legislation even during the war but certainly in the Labour government after 1945 was that evacuation drew attention to the economic and social deprivation that really existed in inner cities in the 1930s, and this really came to the fore through evacuation.”

Across the country throughout the war and particularly in three separate waves of 1939, 1940 and 1944, children, mothers and vulnerable citizens left their homes, not knowing where they would end up, who with, or for how long. Luggage had to be limited. Parents were issued with a list detailing what their children should take with them when evacuated. Though the list was short for such a journey, in fact many families struggled even to provide their children with all the items listed. On a Sunday we used to get a lift to Church in the milk float pulled by horses who used to pass wind all the time and as I sat behind his bum I was nearly like a Chinese lady by time I reached the church. Within the next three days, 1.5 million evacuees were sent from cities and towns into rural areas considered safe, and over the course of the war around 4 million people left their homes. It was a huge logistical exercise that required tens of thousands of volunteer helpers.Evacuation Children Are Safer in The Country, 1939-1945, Central Office of Information, catalogue reference INF 13/171 (1) While we were at Sandsend a ship’s mine washed up on the beach and blew the windows out of the hotel and blew two boys out of bed in their house, all had a good laugh. We had to go to bed as soon as the 7.30 train went passed, if the train didn’t go passed we would stop up till 8pm. There were no big bombing raids on Britain in the first months of the war (know as The Phoney War) as a result by early 1940 many children had returned home.

In some instances, a child's upbringing in urban poverty was misinterpreted as parental neglect. On the other hand, some city dwellers were bored in the countryside or even used for tiring agricultural work. The evacuation period officially came to an end in March 1946. On balance, although ‘Operation Pied Piper’ had caused unexpected long-term trauma, without the mass evacuation the death toll in the Second World War would, undoubtedly, have been much higher. For most, it was a happy reunion and brought an end to a prolonged period of fear, confusion and separation.Ronald McGill: “Now only that morning were we told it was Reading. So, we marched in there we waved goodbye and the parents stayed on one side of the road and they all cried our eyes out, it was terrible. Although we were all happy and joking by then, we'd had our apple, we said our goodbyes, banged our gas masks on and we were off.” Evacuation tried to ensure the safety of young children from the cities that were considered to be in danger of German bombing - London, Coventry, Birmingham, Portsmouth etc.

When we lived at the castle it was very cold and we didn’t like it, after about six weeks we came home. Being an evacuee must have been scary and exciting at the same time. The children had to leave their families and homes behind and try to fit in with host families in the country. The mass exodus of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to protect people – especially children – from aerial bombing, by moving them to areas thought to be less at risk. In the summer of 1939, more than 3 million children were evacuated from London and other cities in ‘Operation Pied Piper’, while most parents stayed behind to work and help out with the war effort.

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My pal John Parker had what we thought was a very cushy billet.He was put on a farm with a childless couple who looked after him very well. Maybe it was a bit too well, because they never let him out to play….every Friday night they gave him a big spoonful of Brimstone and Treacle to keep him regular….When I pulled John’s leg about not seeing him to pay with at the weekends, he said he was too busy going to the loo all day.”

Interviewer: “I was going to ask if you had ever thought whether had you children they would be evacuated? You've seen it as a child, what would it be like as a parent?”

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Evacuation Don’t Do It, Mother, 1939-1945, Central Office of Information, catalogue reference INF 13/171 (3) Altogether we enjoyed our time being an evacuee and it was a lot of fun. It was all new living in a café and then a real castle, but loved our home best.