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Evacuation Poster |
Evacuations
began on 1 September 1939, just before the war was declared. When the expected
bombs didn't arrive many children returned home, but once France fell, and
German planes could easily reach the British coast, the evacuations began
again.
Many Merseyside
evacuees went to homes and camps in North Wales (some also went to parts of
Cheshire and Lancashire). Wales was a good option because as a mountainous region
it was difficult to attack by plane, there were no large cities to target,
there were no large docks or oil refineries to attack.
However, Wales
also had problems, there was high unemployment and little spare cash to look
after children, there was a lack of housing and school places for the new
arrivals and many people spoke only Welsh so there was a language barrier. Some
Welsh people thought the English children threatened their language and culture.
The Government had to encourage Welsh people to accept the English children for
an unknown length of time. Merseyside people had to be persuaded to let their
children go to strangers many miles away. Newsreel reports showing bombs and
gas attacks in Spanish cities helped persuade many parents, as did information
from schools, loud hailers, churches and newspapers. Understandably some
parents did not want to let their children go so they stayed in the city.
Children were
told to bring their belongings to their departure point in a pillowcase - many
came from poor families so had very little. Each child was sent with a brown
paper bag containing things like corned beef, evaporated milk, biscuits, fruit
and chocolate, their gas masks and a label showing their code, party number,
name, home address and school. Many children were terrified, others saw it as
an adventure or a holiday, and some were just excited to be going on a steam
train. Some children did not realise what was happening to them - they thought
they were going on a day trip to the country. Even some parents were unaware,
only realising what was happening when their children didn't come home from
school.
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Evacuees from
Birkenhead arrive
at Oswestry, 1939
|
Not everyone
went to homes. Colomendy near Mold in North Wales was one of 36 camps built
from 1939 onwards to house evacuated children. They were close to the cities
yet far enough away to be safe. The first evacuees to visit were from the
Dingle area of Liverpool, who were threatened by the possible bombing of the
local oil storage depot. The children slept in dormitories, with 29 bunk beds
in each. It was thought that the fresh air, exercise and fresh food at such
camps would benefit malnourished city children. Often referred
to as Liverpool’s ‘Jewel in the Crown’ Colomendy was later opened up to
Liverpool school’s as an outdoor education centre and since then over 350,000
children have stayed at the camp.
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Evacuees eating carrots on sticks, a poor substitute for ice cream |
Mothers at home,
missed their children terribly. They also had to deal with bombings, rationing
and the absence or death of their men, as well as pay what they could for their
children's upkeep. Parents could visit their children but were encouraged not
too go too often as this could upset and unsettle the children. Many children
lived away from Merseyside for several years. In that time they had grown a lot
and some reunited families were practically strangers. Many children returned
to Merseyside able to speak Welsh fluently - some had forgotten almost all the
English they knew. Some children did not want to go back home at all, and in
some cases returned to Wales permanently, either adopted by their billeters or
because they were legally adults. Later in the war (1944) around 3000 evacuees
arrived on Merseyside, fleeing the V-bomb threat to London.
Sources
National Museums
Liverpool
Liverpool
Central Library
Liverpool
Records Office
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