Sam Johnson History
Section 3: (The Experience of Host Families in World War II)
The experience of the host families in World War 2 is similar to that of the evacuees. There are many different experiences. Some of them good, and again some of them bad. In World War II, millions of children were evacuated into the surrounding countryside of Great Britain. Whether they liked it or not, millions of families would have to look after a child, maybe more throughout the war. Some children had to be foistered onto people. Others were accepted without question. Some host families were even paid to look after these children. As quoted in source 13; “For unaccompanied children getting full board and lodging: 10 shillings and sixpence [52p] per week for one child, 8 shillings and sixpence [42p] per week for each additional child”. The government introduced payments in so the host families were satisfied and could provide the food and other necessities for the evacuees. The introduction of payments was also a last resort for the government, because many people in the country were not used to looking after children and many had never met a city child before. So they were reluctant to be burdened with a possibly troublesome child for nothing. This is what made the government choose to pay the people that did not want to look after children. Basically, it was a bribe but it worked, and persuaded thousands to reconsider and look after the evacuees. Source 13 is neutral source, because it has no good or bad points, it is in between good and bad. It is also an informative source, providing information about the government allowance for host families and how much money that accepted for each evacuee. I am also assuming that it is a primary source.
