To my conclusion I think source G isn’t reliable because yes she did elaborate and exaggerate in more description on the extract because it was intended to sell to the younger generation even though she has entered personal thoughts and feelings into the book as well.
3. “Evacuation was a great success.”
Do you agree or disagree with this interpretation?
Explain your answer using the sources and knowledge from your studies.
I have been asked if I agree if disagree with the interpretation “evacuation was a great success”. This was an interpretation made by the government and I will use all of the sources and my own knowledge to back up my decision and answer towards this interpretation.
By looking at sources A and E I have realised many comparisons between both sources as they are both reliable proven by dates abd information written below each source.
Also source A and E have a comparisons in feelings and emotions as many quotes in source A and E show this, for instance, in source A it quotes “unfortunately many evacuees could not settle” this shows that the children could have been nervous and scared leading to discomfort. It also quotes “the country people were shocked at the obvious poverty and deprivation of the town children , not to mention their bad manners” this shows myself that the evacuation of children at war was not a great success for the host and the attitudes and thoughts from the hosts towards the evacuated children. This quote also shows me that the children may have manners and might feel upset leading towards rude manners and maybe blame towards the host.
“there were reports of children ‘fouling’ gardens, hair crawling with lice, and bed wetting.” This quote explains the emotions and feelings of the children, explaining how unhappy and upset and angry they are, it also shows me that the evacuation for some children wasn’t such a great success and that appearance and hygene wasn’t desired and cared of by most evacuees evacuated during the war.
After lookin at sources B, D and H I have noticed many similarities and comparisons between each source. All 3 pictures give me many reasons and helpful information that may back up my answer towards the interpretation.
Source B shows me and the viewer that evacuation was a success because children are smiling as they walk to the station, but this had its limitations because the children could have been told to smile by the photographer as this picture was an important event shown by the news reporter in the corner and could have been used to the public mainly parents to send their children away to the country side. This source also shows me some kind of emotions and feelings which helps me decide to the interpretation as emotional mothers in the corner of the picture follow their children down the streets of London as they head to the train station to be evacuated.
Source D is a very similar with source B as boys are told to smile whilst in the bath together trying to persuade the public that they are enjoying it and making new friends persuading parents to evacuate their children and maybe to also persuade the children to go as well, this photograph was issued by the government and was clearly used for a propaganda use.
Source D is similar again but the government has used the most cutest and adorable children to persuade the public yet again in a propaganda use to send their children away but this time the picture is describing how well treated they are being looked after by there host e.g. foster parents. It also has a split image behind the children showing one half of London in a dark and gory image an then the countryside with a light and happy image, this settles the parents conscious as it gives them an image of what they would be sending their children away to. Source D in my own opinion shows a success towards the evacuation of children as it gives you a comparing image towards what the city was like to the country side, but also by studying all sources it shows me a that the evacuation wasn’t much of a success as they wouldn’t have to print of these propaganderous pictures to the public.
After looking over the sources I have found another similar comparison between sources F, G and I as they all relate to assumptions and thoughts of what the country people made about the city people as quotes and interviews by city people looking back prove this.
Source f introduces an interview of a city person explaining and looking back on how the country folk saw and thought of the evacuated children as he quotes “We were not all raised on a diet of fish and chips eaten from a news paper” this quote indicates the fact that remarks and suggestions were made to them that they were poor as this quote explains that. Also he says “It is just upsetting for a clean and well-educated child to find itself a grubby semi-slum as the other way round” this emphasis and implies on how some evacuated children were treated by maybe adults and children of the country folk. This interview clearly states that the remarks and attitudes towards the city folk wasn’t a great standard and that some evacuated schildren didn’t find the evacuation such a success after all.
Similar remark are made in source G an extract from carries war even though it has limitations for the intended use to sell. The extract creates a poor image to the city folk as mrs evans a character from the play says “better change into your slippers before I take you to your bedroom” and then carrie another character from the play who represents an evacuated child from the city says “we haven’t any”trying to explain that there wasn’t enough room in there suitcase which is mentioned later on by her brother nick but before she had time to mention mrs evans buts in and says “oh, I’m sorry, how silly of me why should you have slippers” this suggest mrs evans thoughts and assumptions of the city folk and nina Bowden who by using my own knowledge was evacuated in the war emphasis this fact and shows it in the extract.
Source I is a sort of interview on a father in the city and what his thoughts are on evacuating his son and what his assumptions are on the country folk. The observer asks “what are you going to do?” the father replaies “I’m not letting him go. They can’t be looked after wgere they’re sending them.” This implies that the father has a daminding image and assumption on how the country folk are raised and how they treat their children and raise them.
By looking at sources F, G and I it has givin me a slight even advantage of what assumptions and thought were created from both sides about each other during the evacuation and helps towards me dicision that evacuation wasn’t such a great success as som evacuees had disadvantages from it.
By looking at source C it gives me an image of what emotions were created during this time and that not everyone was happy during the evacuation. The source is an interview given by a teacher who was on the platform of the train station but this source has its limitations as it is a big gap during the time of the evacuation and when the teacher was interviewed. In the interview the teacher describes the emotionsfelt by the parents as well as the children “The mothers pressed against the gates calling ‘good bye my darling’.” This states tha not just the children suffered during the evacuation but mothers and fathers did as well. “all you could hear was the feet of children and a kind of murmur, because the children were to afraid to talk.” This shows that the children were scared and worried about what was about to happen it also leaves me with an assumption that mayb the evacuation wasn’t such a great success.
This is an arcticle that was in the loacal paper during the time of evacuation. By using my own knowledge it was use as a propaganda act to persuade parents to evacuate the children to safety and by looking at this poster it shows a success of doing this. It also alicates a birds a eye view on the country side and the city maybe allocating on what the bopmbers are going to hit most and what they actually see from where they are.
This is a poster of evacuated children in the country side as you can see they seem happy and having fun this could show a sign of success to the evacuation of children as they are happy and away from any harm by using my own knowledge there could be limitations to this picture as they may have been told to smile.
By looking at all of the sources and links mentioned above I come to the conclusion that the interpretation “Evacuation was a great success” is wrong in many ways as down sides of assumption and attitudes given by the country folk and the evacuees wasn’t set to a great success as proven above but by using my own knowledge and by looking in to great depth of each source and etc. I agree to the interpretation as the evacuated children were away from danger and survived through the war leading to a success to the government without implicating the down sides but by emphasising the good.