In 1939, Liddell Hart, an adviser to the British Government said, “Nearly a quarter of a million casualties from air raids might be anticipated in the first week of a new war.” Experts also thought that it was possible to drop 600 tons of bombs per day, after a huge opening barrage of 3500 tons in the first day. These figures led them to the conclusion that evacuation would play a vital part in their defence scheme.
Even as early as 1924 the Air Raid Precautions committee talked about evacuation and attacks on cities, especially London. It came up with two basic points, that it would be impossible to relocate most of the activities normally carried out in London, and that the nation could not continue to exist if bombing force those activities to cease. The committee also noted the bad effect on morale that heavy civilian losses would make. They then made two groups, those vital to the war effort, and those not vital. The second group would be encouraged to move away from the cities and be given help to do so. Children were a huge part of this non-essential group, and this is one reason why they were evacuated.
At the time of the Second World War, there was the saying that, “The bomber will always get through,” meaning that however many defence guns were installed, the target would never be completely defended. This is why children had to be evacuated, because of the high risk of death from bombing living in cities caused.
The death of a child would also make bad morale amongst mothers who worked for the war effort. This bad morale could mean less output, and this would be bad for the war effort. Mothers who knew that their child was safe from bombers in the countryside might work more efficiently.
Secondly, taking the children away from mothers would make more time for them to work, as they wouldn’t have to look after their children, and this would lead to more war work being done.
Also, taking the children away from the cities and to the countryside would take them away from the horrors of the war. If children saw dead bodies lying everywhere, this could emotionally scar them, and taking them away would protect them from these images.
The Government’s decision to evacuate children from the major cities was taken using many different reasons, but mainly it was to protect the children from an unnecessary death. Children are the future, and with no children, there is no future.
