How Did The Parents Feel About The Evacuation Of Their Children?
The parents of the children were extremely worried about the sudden loss of their children, as they had no idea where their children were being evacuated to, all they knew was that the children were going to the countryside. Some parents may have been glad to get rid of their children, but most had a great sense of fear.
Many parents found out where their child was going and went to get them, this was dangerous because the city was no place for a child during the war.
Parents were also very sad as they missed their children, but common sense told them that the children would be better off away from the risk of being bombed. Some parents were upset as they thought the child would become too attached to the substitute parents, and that they would prefer living in the countryside rather than the smoky cities.
How did children feel about being evacuated?
The children faced up to the reality of being evacuated with a mixture of fear and excitement. It was quite exciting for some of the older children, as most had never been away from home before, let alone visited the countryside. This was their chance to see trees and farm animals for the first time, also to experience the smells of the country. The children very often came from a poor background, so this was their chance to eat well and have fun. This excitement would be tinged with fear and the worry of rejection, as they had no idea where they were going or the type of family they would be placed with, they also did not know when they would see their parents again.
Some of the smaller children were very afraid, they were very young to be leaving their parents, and many did not want to go.
The children had practised the evacuation at school to prepare them for what lay ahead, so this took away a little of the fear, as they knew basically what would happen.
The mothers with very young babies were evacuated with their child, as they had not been weaned.
What happened in the cities that the children left?
Whilst the children were away many women worked in the factories doing manual work usually done by men who were away fighting. There were many jobs in ammunition factories and also other jobs such as delivering the milk, this kept women busy and also provided an income.
At first there was little bombing and some evacuees came home, they felt it was a waste of time. Then the blitz began, which was a German bombing operation, where they bombed all the major cities.
This was a terrible time for Britain, as bombs were dropped every night. Many people were killed and buildings distroyed, fires broke out and there was chaos.
Was evacuation a good idea?
The evacuation of children during the war was a good idea I believe as it protected human life, and ensured that there would be a new generation of British people.
It did cause upset to some families as the children found it difficult to settle when they returned home, they had grown used to living in the country, and had grown attached to their substitute parents. It had been a pleasant experience for them as they had enough food to eat for the first time in their lives and had experienced the thrill of seeing the countryside, and breathing fresh air instead of smoky fumes.
Other children were very traumatised by their experience, as they had been abused and badly treated whilst they were away, they would have no pleasant memories of their evacuation.
The evacuation was necessary and it did save many lives, as during the blitz the loss of life was very heavy.
