What happens to the children during a war???                                                                                                                                                  What happens to the children during a war???

During the Second World War, the evacuation of children began on Friday, September 1st, 1939— the day German troops invaded Poland    

Some children stayed in danger areas because their parents refused to have them evacuated.

The children who stayed had to endure frightening experiences The children who stayed had to endure frightening experiences. This image shows fire fighters during an air raid on Manchester

The Evacuation of children from the Home Counties The majority of children, however, were evacuated—especially from the “Home Counties”. The Home Counties are those counties of England which are closest to London. Children from these counties were evacuated to areas where it was thought they would be safer—parts of the British Isles farther from London, and overseas countries such as Canada, Australia, and the United States. Consider the psychological effects of being evacuated for an unspecified amount of time!

The boys in Lord of the Flies were from the Home Counties. “The fair boy stopped and jerked his stockings with an automatic gesture that made the jungle seem for a moment like the Home Counties”(Lord of the Flies 5). The description of the coral reefs, beaches and fruit trees that bear fruit all year long suggests that the island where they were stranded is one of those lying south of Sumatra or Java.

In the first four days of the war, 3 million people were evacuated from towns to the countryside – the biggest and most concentrated mass movement of people in Britain's history. 85,000 children, mothers and teachers were evacuated from Liverpool alone before and during the Blitz of London.

Evacuees in Nottingham

Most children were evacuated in school groups with their teachers Most children were evacuated in school groups with their teachers. Children and their teachers met in the school grounds. They wore name tags and carried their gas masks in cardboard boxes over their shoulders.

from A Schoolboy’s Story of the War

Children had to leave family, friends and homes for an undetermined amount of time.

No matter where they were sent, the children were expected to contribute to the war effort. (Gotham boys learning to knit for the troops.)

These boys from Friars School are learning to mend their own boots and shoes and also those of 250 other evacuated school children at Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon.

Children from Galleywall Road, Rotherhithe, out walking in Reading     Many children were sent to farms where they worked. Some were sent to big country houses. Many of these children had never been out into the country before. Some were afraid of the farm animals and others were surprised to see that apples grew on trees. Lots of them from the slums were surprised to find themselves staying in houses with inside toilets and carpets.     Also some well off country families were horrified to find that some of the children had head lice and skin disease.

Girls of St George's maintained their interest in sewing under open-air conditions during their stay in Pembrokeshire.

Pupils of Denmark Hill School, Camberwell were taught at Trinity College, Carmarthen

From the original movie (1963)

Imagine YOU are a young child being sent from all that is familiar into an unknown environment for an unspecified amount of time! What emotions are you feeling? What fears do you have? Who or what will you miss the most?