Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contents |
[edit] Initial preparations
In the 1930s, aerial bombing became an ever larger spectre in the minds of the government and the public (see Trenchard, Douhet, Spain). The fear that major cities would be utterly destroyed in war led the British government to plan for the emergency evacuations of civilians from probable targets. The ARP Committee of 1924 evaluated what would happen in war. In hindsight, some of its casualty predictions were high for a future conflict. These estimates were increased throughout the 1930s.
The Air Raid Precautions service was activated on September 25, 1938. Preparations began — certain buildings had their basements requisitioned for shelters, numerous slit trenches were placed in public parks, fifty barrage balloons rose over London, and almost forty million gas masks were distributed. Certain people, already panicky, took further measures and sought refuge in more rural areas. On September 29, 1938 the government announced plans to evacuate around two million people from London in the event of war. Based on the pre-war reports, this plan was seen as necessary to reduce demoralisation and control the "inevitable" panic. Many people were unable to cope with the anxiety of a supposed attack and invasion and many took their own lives. By January 4, 1939 there had been approximately 1.2 million people who had committed suicide through mediums such as hanging, slitting of wrists, fire and UXO.
[edit] The plan
The plan had been developed in the summer of 1938 by the Anderson Committee. The country was divided into zones, classified as either "evacuation", "neutral", or "reception". With priority evacuees being moved from the major urban centres and billeted on the available private housing in more rural counties. Each area covered roughly a third of the population, although a number of urban areas later bombed were not classified for evacuation. In early 1939, the reception areas compiled lists of available housing. Space for 4.8 million people was found and the government also constructed camps for a few more thousand spaces.
In the early summer of 1939, the government began publicising its plan through the local authorities. They had overestimated demand; only half of all school-aged children were moved from the urban areas while 80% evacuation was expected. There was enormous regional variation; towns in Yorkshire moved less than 15% of their children, while over 60% of children were evacuated in Manchester and Liverpool . The refusal of central government to spend large sums on preparation also dampened the effectiveness of the plan.
[edit] The First Evacuation: Operation Pied Piper
There was a steady flow of evacuees during June 1939. The official evacuations began on September 1, two days before the declaration of war. From London and the other main cities, the priority class people boarded trains and were dispatched to rural towns and villages in the designated areas. With the uncertainties over registering for evacuation, the actual movement was also disjointed — evacuees were gathered into groups and put on the first available train, regardless of its destination. School and family groups were further separated in the transfer from mainline trains to more local transport. Accordingly, some reception areas became overwhelmed. East Anglian ports received many children from Dagenham who were evacuated by Paddle Steamer. Some reception areas received more than the expected number of evacuees and others found themselves receiving 'wrong' people ie; evacuees from a priority group/social class different from their preparations.
Almost 3.75 million people were moved, with around a third of the entire population experiencing some effects of the evacuation. In the first three days of official evacuation, almost 1.5 million people were moved — 800,000 children of school-age, 500,000 mothers and young children, 12,000 pregnant women, 7,000 disabled persons, and over 100,000 teachers and other 'helpers.' The initial move was undertaken in quite high spirits and there were no serious accidents.
A further two million or so more wealthy individuals evacuated 'privately' — settling in hotels for the duration, although several thousands took themselves further, to Canada, the USA, South Africa, Australia, and the Caribbean.
The Government also undertook measures to save itself. Under Plan Yellow, some 23,000 civil servants and their paperwork were dispatched to available hotels in the better coastal resorts and spa towns. In preparation for the expected destruction of London, other hotels were requisitioned and emptied for any 'Black Move' — the government fleeing the capital.
Other prominent groups also evacuated. Art treasures were sent to distant storage, the National Gallery collection spent the war at a quarry in North Wales. The Bank of England descended on the small town of Overton. The BBC moved variety production to Bristol and moved senior staff to a manor near Evesham. A number of other firms also moved head offices or their most vital records to comparative safety away from the capital.
Some strained areas took the children into local schools by adopting the WW I expedient of 'double shift education' — taking twice as long but also doubling the number taught. The movement of teachers also meant that almost a million children staying home had no source of education. These were partially reopened, before closing again during the Blitz.
[edit] Later evacuations
A second evacuation effort was started after the fall of France. From June 13 to 18 1940, around 100,000 children were evacuated (in many cases re-evacuated). Efforts were made to remove the vulnerable from coastal towns in southern and eastern England facing German controlled areas. By July, over 200,000 children had been moved; some towns in Kent and East Anglia were 40% smaller. Also, some 30,000 people arrived from continental Europe and on June 20-24, 25,000 people arrived from the Channel Islands.
Men of German (and later Italian) origin were interned from May 12, 1940. Many interned were refugees from Hitler. By July, almost all of these men under seventy were held in military camps, mainly on the Isle of Man. At first, unnecessary mistreatment was common. For many interned persons the conditions in the camps were not especially unpleasant. These conditions were soon reversed.
In May 1940, the Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) was created to organise the evacuation of children to the Dominions. A surprising 210,000 applications were made by July when the scheme closed. However, shipping shortages quickly slowed the evacuation to a crawl. After the sinking of the City of Benares on September 17, the entire plan was scrapped. Only 2,664 children were moved. About 13,000 children had been privately evacuated overseas.
When the Blitz began in September 1940, there were clear grounds for evacuations. Free travel and billeting allowance were offered to those who made private arrangements. They were also given to children, the elderly, the disabled, pregnant women, the ill, or those who had lost their homes (some 250,000 in the first six weeks in London). By the combination of all the state and private efforts, London's population was reduced by a little less than 25%. As bombing encompassed more towns, 'assisted private evacuation' was extended.
London proved resilient to bombing despite the heavy bombardment. The destruction in the smaller towns was more likely to provoke panic and spontaneous evacuations. The number of official evacuees rose to a peak of 1.37 million by February 1941. By September, it stood at just over one million. By the end of 1943, there were just 350,000 people officially billeted. Still, the V-1 attacks from June 1944 provoked a significant exodus from London. Up to 1.5 million people left by September — only 20% were 'official' evacuees.
From September 1944, the evacuation process was officially halted and reversed for most areas except for London and the east coast. Returning to London was not officially approved until June 1945. In March 1946, the billeting scheme was ended, with 38,000 people still without homes.
[edit] Cultural impact
- In the acclaimed C. S. Lewis novel, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children were evacuated from London to the stately manor that contains the wardrobe portal to Narnia.
- The movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks also revolves around the adventures of children evacuated to the countryside during WWII. They are taken in by a good witch-in-training.
- The novel Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian tells the story of the evacuee Willie Beech and Mr Thomas Oakley with whom he stays during World War II. It was made into a TV film starring John Thaw as Mr Tom.
- Nina Bawden's novel, Carrie's War, also features evacuated children as its protagonists.
- Michael Morpurgo's novel, Friend or Foe, tells the story of two evacuees who befriend a crew of a crashed German bomber who are hiding on Dartmoor.
