The 70th. Anniversary.

Are there any of my Sim V Chums who were Evacuees from the big Cities at the start of World War II...>>>

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8229175.stm

I was evacuated from London by Train, together with hundreds of other Children, in 1939 at the age of 5, following the outbreak of the War, and the start of the German aerial Blitz on London, (and other big cities).

...which brought me to the Market Town of Hereford, in the county of Herefordshire, followed shortly after by my Mum and Dad, where we have remained ever since.. ...!

...anyone more WW II evacuees here?... ...

Paul... ...!

My direct family are from the Midlands and South London, so not on my side, and didn't have any children of that age anyway (Dad was a war baby, Mum postwar).

Mrs C's grandparents were both evacuated as children though, one having a great time is Darling Buds of May style, and the other not so great elsewhere.

H wrote on Sep 7^th, 2009 at 10:20am:

I've never really thought about that before. I'll see what I can find out. I think it depended on the stage of the war. England was under attack by the Luftwaffe long before the buzz bombs were invented. Not sure those long range guns were much of a threat.

I know that even before war was officially declared (70 years ago this month) children were sent from London to Worthing & other South Coast towns as it was considered safer. This was a mass evacuation & they were billeted with local people, some of whom didn't want them. Then when the South Coast was threatened during the Battle of Britain in 1940 a lot of these children returned home just in time to be caught by the Blitz.

A good friend of mine lived at Hove on the South Coast & was evacuated to somewhere in Yorkshire. This would have been in 1941 when the Luftwaffe turned to hit & run raids on coastal towns by lone fighter-bombers. He told me that he was once chased down the street on his way home from school by a Bf 109 which was the reason for him being sent away. He was treated very badly in his new home & mentally scarred for life as a result. As things turned out he would probably have been better off staying in Hove but nobody knew that at the time.

If you can get hold of it there's an excellent TV drama dealing with the subject. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/180185/Goodnight-Mister-Tom/overview

PS. Just found this. http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/war/evacuation.htm

I remember, where we lived, in Petts Wood in Kent, just outside London, hearing the V1 and V2 Flying Bombs passing over our House on their way to the City of London.

If they ran out of propellant en route, (which they regularly did), they would land on us, with deadly effect.

We used to listen out for the exhaust sound suddenly ceasing, if it did, we knew we were in trouble!

Paul... ...!

http://www.flyingbombsandrockets.com/

Hagar wrote on Sep 7^th, 2009 at 2:20pm:


The V2 must have entered service after we had been chased from London my the V1... ...!

I do remember the V1 very clearly...Phut...phut...phut...followed by total silence...for a while!... ...!

Paul... ...!

We left London for Herefordshire in 1939 or 1940 following the Blitz of London, (and us!).

My Dad was fortunate to get offered a transfer from Woolwich Arsenal, where he worked, to Rotherwas Arsenal in Hereford.
So I left first by Train, followed by my Mum, and shortly after by my Dad, where we lived in our own Country Cottage for the duration of the War.

In 1945 when the War finally ended, we  moved into the City of Hereford, where we stayed ever since... ...!

I can remember all my Childhood since the age of 3 years old!...(Born 1934).

Mum and Dad both died of old age in 1989.

Paul....In glorious Herefordshire... ...!

olderndirt wrote on Sep 7^th, 2009 at 6:08pm:

The air raid siren was a familiar sound where I lived. There was one on the fire station roof, might still be there for all I know. After the war it was used to call out the fire service well into the late 1960s. It was eventually replaced by pagers.

It's a long time ago now but if I remember correctly they used the constant "All Clear" siren to call out the fire brigade in my home town. Most of the firemen (they were all men in those days) were retained part-timers & it was the most effective way of calling them out before the pager was in general use. I expect they use mobile phones now.

H wrote on Sep 7^th, 2009 at 11:52am:

Read a book many moons ago about evacuations and large-scale displacement of peoples in several different eras and conflicts.  Always the children got the short end of the nasty stick.

Often seperated from parents or older siblings and sent where they weren't wanted or simply didnt fit in.  And we wont go into what often happened and still happens to girl children and a lesser extent to younger male children during disasters/evacuations.

Dont imagine England's WWII evacuations were much different from the rest.

Plugpennyshadow wrote on Oct 15^th, 2009 at 4:27am:

Unfortunately that is always the case & the rest of us suffer for it.

I've never seen it suggested that any of these evacuee children were sexually abused. That could have happened of course but most people weren't generally aware of it in those days.

Any abuse was more likely mental when they weren't wanted by their surrogate parents. One of my friends was punished for everything his hosts natural son did & his life was made a misery. He still suffers from it now. Other evacuees were extremely happy & stayed in contact for the rest of their lives.

Any books to recommend on the experiences of evacs in England during the war?

Hagar wrote on Oct 15^th, 2009 at 5:28am:


Damn it!  Its not on NetFlicks.

Plugpennyshadow wrote on Oct 16^th, 2009 at 4:48am:
Yes it is - just checked.  Excellent movie starring the guy who was Inspector Morse.

I'm not denying that it might have happened but I don't recall a single case of sexual abuse of English evacuee children being reported or even suggested, until now that is. The problem with so many people nowadays is that they see everything from a modern perspective. Historians are some of the worst offenders. Most people who weren't there at the time don't seem to appreciate that attitudes & morals were very different then.

H wrote on Oct 19^th, 2009 at 8:15pm:

My comparison is between attitudes held by the majority of ordinary English residents during WWII & the present day. You can't deny that there is a vast difference. Your views would be considered quaint & old-fashioned by most people nowadays.

Quote:

There are two lines of thought here. It's like the chicken & egg scenario.