The south coast had to be evacuated because of the fear of invasion. East Anglia, Kent and Sussex were evacuated and children were sent mainly to Wales.
In the Second World War the technology was considerably more advanced than that used in the First World War. New planes were designed and made, these were more reliable and safer, and they were also faster and lighter so it was easier to avoid fire and collision with other planes. These planes also carried more fuel and could go further as well as more room for backup supplies, which was safer. Another change was the difference in technology used, German U-boats were the most powerful attack during the First World war, and were being used a lot less in the Second World war. This made defence easier in the sea and planes were the only problem. This was why England was more affected as a country and more civilians were killed than that in the First World War.
When the Luftwaffe began bombing another major evacuation was carried out and an overseas project was started for a short time before one of the ships carrying children was bombed. This led to a reappraisal of the risks.
The first people to be evacuated were people from big towns or cities and were moved to the coast. When Germany started bombing the south coasts it was decided they should be moved to the countryside and the most popular place to send people was Wales. This was because it has a lot of rural areas and not many major towns, children were evacuated from all areas of Britain a Wales was the safest and the most accessible place for everyone. Also it was to far for the German bombers to reach.
Evacuation was the only solution the government could think of to ensure the safety of the children during the war. The government had to ensure the safety to avoid further criticisms from their own country. Leading up to the war the British government and other members of the League of Nations made a few mistakes that could have saved the war from ever happening. The League of Nations was set up after World War One; it was used to keep the peace in Europe. It was part of Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points but America never joined the League because of a new leadership that did not want to be involved in Europe’s problems. Also Russia was not allowed in the League because they were communists and couldn’t be trusted, it was a failure from the start as it didn’t involve the two major international powers at that time.
This became apparent when Japan invaded Manchuria in China. Japan took this opportunity as China was weak and split by Civil war, and Manchuria was rich in iron and coal. It was just the boost Japan needed after they lost so much in the crash of international stock markets. China appealed to the League. Whilst the Japanese representative offers to help the situation the Japanese army refused to withdraw. After an investigation the League told Japan that it was unacceptable. Japan left the League of Nations; there were now 3 major countries outside the League.
Abyssinia (now known as Ethiopia) was also a problem for the League and Britain and France had a lot of decisions to make. Just after Manchuria Germany applied for rearmament in the world Disarmament Conference in Geneva. The members again did not agree and the Conference was ended when Hitler walked out. In 1933 Germany withdrew from the League of Nations further weakening the league. In 1935 Britain used a policy of appeasement to maintain peace and they made a naval agreement with Germany without consulting the League.
The final blow for the League was when Italy invaded Abyssinia. Mussolini had always wanted this country and he felt that his people need a boost to restore their confidence in him. He thought that if he could gain Abyssinia like Italy had failed to do all those years ago then he would make his position safe.
Italy was obviously in the wrong and the League condemned Mussolini’s actions and imposed economic sanctions on Italy. Britain and France, however, were in a difficult position. They were the ones who would have to make the sanctions work. They did not want to upset Mussolini. France was particularly worried about Mussolini and Hitler making a pact and becoming allies after Hitler’s rearmament policy therefore they didn’t want to push Mussolini to hard. They decided not to heavily apply the sanctions using a form of appeasement. However, later Italy became allies with Germany.
To conclude I think the British government decided to evacuate because they predicted that this war might involve more fighting on the home front. With more planes in use it would be easier to bring the war over to Britain and more civilians would be injured. As this was a risk, by evacuating to towns less likely to be bombed they would reduce the death rate. They chose children for evacuation because the parents involved in the war effort would be able to concentrate and wouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their child. Also children are the next generation and if they were killed there would be no one to pick up the pieces after the war and in years to come. The fact that the League had failed and it was foreseeable that a war was imminent meant that evacuation could happen early on because they had time to prepare when they saw the League crumble. Also a final reason was that, in my opinion, the government was trying to sweeten the British people because they were partly responsible for the war. Hitler was able to get what ever he wanted because they used a policy of appeasement. The failure of the policy placed the population of Britain in danger. Evacuation was a way of trying to make up for previous policy failure.
