ww2 evacuees homework help

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29th July 2018

On the 1st September 1939, over 3 million children were evacuated from the cities into the countryside. For many, it was their first time going outside the city. Many evacuees were very sad to say goodbye to their parents, but some were excited for the time ahead.

Those under 5 years old had their mothers evacuated with them.

Why were children evacuated from their homes?

They were evacuated because the Government feared that many children would die in the event of bomb attacks, so they wanted to get them out safely.

A group of children arrive at a station at Brent, Devon after being evacuated from Bristol in 1940.

What was it like for the evacuees?

The majority of the evacuees had never been outside London. Most had never seen a farm animal before. The majority swore a lot, much to the shock of those living in the countryside. Not many of them had seen lush green fields or trees before they went out to the country.

Getting chosen

The children evacuated would then be taken to somewhere such as a town hall once they had arrived at the village/town they had been evacuated to. They would then be chosen by the locals to stay with them.

The struggle to keep the children out

For 9 months after the war begun, not much happened for ordinary Brits. There were no bomb or gas attacks. Parents in the city wanted their children back with them (quite understandably.) Propaganda programmes and posters were put up encouraging those evacuated to stay in the countryside.

There were also some for parents as well:

The end of the war

After the war ended, many children returned to their families in the city. For some it ended the confusion the countryside brought, but for others it was confusing as they could barely remember their families that they last saw six years ago.

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The evacuation of Britain’s children out of British cities during World War Two remains the biggest mass movement of people the nation has ever seen. Within only four days, nearly 3,000,000 people were moved from the cities to the countryside to keep them safe from German air raids. Most of these evacuees were schoolchildren, but some mothers accompanied them, as well as a 100,000 teachers.

The order to evacuate came at 11.07am on 31 August 1939, and within a week a quarter of Britain’s population had a new address. Evacuees left their homes and parents to live with host families in new homes, called ‘billets’. Some children returned home within a few weeks after there had been little sign of bombing, but many were again evacuated in the summer of 1940 at the start of the Blitz. For the majority, these ‘billets’ would become their home for the duration of the war.

Moving millions of people out of towns and cities was a logistical nightmare, and at the outbreak of war it became obvious that the Government’s plan for this mass evacuation were deeply flawed. For one, it had grossly overestimated the intensity of aerial bombing and number of casualties. This resulted in propaganda that scared the population, leading to panic when it came time to evacuate. What’s more, the man in charge of evacuation, Sir John Anderson, was a cold character with little empathy for the parents or children separated by the evacuations.

Despite this, Londoners adopted a spirit of patriotism and optimism on the first day of evacuations. Many evacuees remember singing as they marched to the train stations with their classmates. Every evacuee also had to carry a gas mask, food for the journey and a small case with toiletries and clothes. Pinned to their coats were labels with their names, home address, school and destination.

For many of the city children, living in the countryside felt like an adventure. Many of the evacuees were hosted by kind families who treated them like one of their own, but for others it was a difficult time. While they represent a minority, abuse and mistreatment was still a reality for some evacuees.

The greatest culture clashes often came when the evacuees mixed with local children at school. ALthough many became firm friends, there were clear differences between the ‘townies’ and the locals.

Doreen Foreman was evacuated from Margate to Rugeley. Here she explains some of the differences between home and life in a mining community.

‘I went from a very ordinary church-going family to live with a mining family in Rugeley and where we used to spend... all day on Sunday at church here, I spent it in the pub or the club or whatever, you know. At Christmas, our Christmases were quite different because there again, we’d go to the pub and whereas here it was always in church and so... there was a vast difference.’

See also: Evacuation and Education

MLA Citation/Reference

"Evacuation in WW2". HistoryLearning.com. 2024. Web.

Related Pages

• The Blitz of Belfast 1941
• The Bombing of Coventry in 1940
• Evacuation and Education
• The Blitz and World War Two
• The Impact of the Blitz on London
• Memories of the Blitz
• The 1942 Bombing of York
• The Baedeker Raids of 1942
• The Battle of Graveney Marsh

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How do we know what it was like to be evacuated?

Learning objectives

• To understand how the experience for evacuees differed.
• To challenge the view given at the time by the government that evacuation was a positive experience.

Possible teaching objectives

Starter (initial stimulus material) - using a government leaflet "Evacuation; how and why" from 1939

• Display the government leaflet "Evacuation", how and why" listed in the resources column. This is read to the class. Key passages can then be underlined either by the pupils or by the teacher for the purpose of class discussion. Key passages such as ‘much safer and happier' should be drawn out. Do they agree with this statement?

Interview with an ‘evacuee'

• Explain that a lot of people recorded their experiences both officially and in diary form. Explain that the next task will involve using original documents to devise interviews that the pupils will then act out. The task is demonstrated by the teacher and another adult. If another adult is not available then a G&T pupil well primed will do just as well. Ideally they should be dressed in the appropriate 1940s clothes and speak with accents.

Can't see the video? Download it here

• After the demonstration is finished, take the pupils through the process by showing them the original source material and how questions and responses were taken from it. This can be difficult particularly for the less able so it is a good idea to spend some time on this. Draw up a list of common questions that could be asked. The pupils should also be able to underline key passages on the sources to help them in this.
• In pairs pupils write their own interviews. Again it is important to differentiate here. Some of the sources are more easily accessible than others so should be given out with this in mind. Spend time drawing out key passages that you will refer to later in discussion.
• Pupils can perform their interviews.

Lead a class discussion on what it was like to be evacuated. Was it the same for all? If not then why not? From this and the interviews lead the pupils to come up with a list of questions they would like to ask a real evacuee. Clearly this task necessitates having an evacuee available. This will not always be possible but where it is it proves an excellent learning experience for the pupils. If possible the next session would consist of an interview with an evacuee. This can then be used to feedback on and inform the extended writing task.

Learning outcomes

• Using original source material pupils produce interviews.
• Record views on the relative positive or negative experiences and discuss why this may be the case.
• Participate in class discussion of what it was like to be evacuated.

Attached files:

• evacuees_resource_2.pdf 885.8 KB PDF document
• evacuees_resource_3.pdf 27.8 KB PDF document
• evacuees_resource_4.pdf 43.9 KB PDF document

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What is an 'Evacuee'?

World War Two affected the lives of people at home (sometimes called the Home Front), as well as those away fighting. British cities were the target of enemy bombing and in the early stages of the war, the threat of invasion was very real. For those who remained in their family home, their daily routines at school and home were also set to change. 

Children living in cities were at risk from enemy bombing raids, and for this reason, many children were evacuated from cities to rural areas where it was safer. Evacuating thousands of city children was a massive task. Transport and places to stay all had to be arranged. Look at the picture below of evacuees waiting to be evacuated in central Nottingham. You can imagine how difficult it was to find new homes for all these children!

Evacuees came to small towns and villages throughout the East Midlands from large cities, such as Sheffield, Nottingham and London. It was a new experience for parents and teachers as well as for the children. Read the extract from the Thurgarton School log book below.  Can you find the part where the writer records the arrival of evacuees from Southend?

Evacuation could be both exciting and frightening. Each child had a different experience. For some children, being evacuated provided a new and exciting opportunity to enjoy country life.  Read the letter below, written by a Nottinghamshire evacuee. She had a good experience of being evacuated, but not all children did.

For some evacuees living with a new family meant getting used to new rules and restrictions and sometimes they did not get on well with their host families. Have a look at this letter from a lady who was upset by an evacuee below to get an idea of the sorts of problems evacuees and their hosts faced.

Invasion - (in war) when an enemy tries to take over another country

Opportunity - chance to do something

Restrictions - rules stopping people from doing something

School log - like a diary; a record of events at the school

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WW2 Evacuation Investigation upper KS2

Subject: History

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

5 January 2023

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What was life like for children who were evacuated during WW2? This investigative task is suitable for pupils in upper key stage two and is aimed to cover 1/2 lessons.

It includes: -A powerpoint presentation which guides teachers through the interactive lessons -A starter activity based upon differentiating between primary and secondary sources -A video link to watch with the children -Sources for children to read to find out about different perspectives of evacuation life -A transcript of source 5 for teachers to unpick the difficult vocab with pupils in a mini plenary -Worksheets for pupils to complete -Worksheets for LA children to complete -A plan of the lesson used.

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• World War 2 Evacuees And The Home Front Ks1 2 Drama And History Resource

World War 2: Evacuees and the Home Front – KS1/2 Drama and History Resource

13-page PDF

Fitting National Curriculum drama requirements into English time can be a problem, but Alison Chaplin has an exciting solution: why not develop children’s drama skills at the same time as you deepen their understanding of another curriculum area?

This resource offers examples of drama activities that have been used to explore the historical area of Britain since 1930 – specifically the home front.

Alison Chaplin is a drama teacher and writer living in the North West. She has over 30 years’ experience in youth theatre and drama teaching.

Check out more of her resources on her TES page  Arts on the Move  and on her website  artsonthemove.co.uk .

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