Evacuation of children in WW2
Posted: 13 Dec 2013, 16:28
At the beginning of World War 2 many children were evacuated from London to other parts of Britain to protect them from bombing raids and from the immediate danger of invasion. The evacuation had been planned some years before as it became apparent that there would be a need to move large numbers of children if war did take place. Below is the transcription of a letter sent by my father-in-law, then 11 years old, to his parents describing the evacuation and some of the experiences of he (Donald) and his younger sister (Joan) afterwards. His father was in charge of the Sewage Works at Gravesend, Kent, and the two children were evacuated by ship from Gravesend to Lowestoft arriving on 3rd September 1939.
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My Dearest Mum & Dad,
Thank you very much for your nice letter it was very good of you to write. I have decided to tell you what happened to us, until now, and so here you are.
When we got to school we waited for about half-an-hour before starting a tromp down to the L.M.S. pier. When there, we boarded the `Royal Daffodil' a lovely boat and we started off. We were on the sun deck in the front part of the ship and had a lovely journey in spite of the fact that about 5/6 of the load were sea-sick. Joan and I were not sea-sick but the voyage was very rocky. On board we were given free milk, buns, postcards and we could have as much or many as we wanted. When at Lowestoft we landed, we went on a short trip by bus, to the Odeon Cinema where we saw films at night, got free food & slept, some on the stage, some in the straw they had there and some, as with Joan, on mattresses in the circle. I slept on the stage with about 200 others. Robin & John slept on the floor wrapped up in coats as did most of the thousand children there. We were allowed to go paddling at Lowestoft and so we did and had a good time. From there we came straight here. [Mr & Mrs Godfrey, St Mary's Road, Beccles]
It is a lovely day here, the sun is shining and Joan has gone for a walk with a little girl who lives next door. After Joan's rucksack cord broke I managed to mend it and as for her carrier bag I put her things into mine as well as into her haversack and my rucksack. I laughed at one part of your letter because although Mr & Mrs Godfrey have a huge garden they have not got one inch of lawn. They have nut trees, plum trees, apple trees & pear trees & we can take what we want off all of them. The house is very old-fashioned, not having gas or electricity, cooking is done by oil, the same for lighting. The wireless whispers to you when properly tuned in and is worked off one high and one low tension batteries, which must not be used for long. There is a cuckoo clock here which fascinates us very much and we stand watching it. Mrs Godfrey says thank you for the letter and that we will be fine with her as long as we are here. I am glad to know you are OK same as us and that you are well. We will let you know if anything is required so, `Keep Smilin'.
Lots of love & kisses from your loving son, Donald
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The letter ends with three lines of kisses (xxxxx...), the first for Mum, the next for Dad, and the last labelled as `the ones to share'.
It became clear that the elderly couple were not well-suited to coping with children, especially with such an active pair accustomed to getting up to `high jinks'. Also the children were not getting proper meals and lived on the orchard fruit, chocolate etc. They were moved to another couple and spent the rest of the time there. At one stage Donald showed his compassion and his knowledge of physics by setting up a light bulb in a tin can to heat the bed of the couple they were staying with. Fortunately he didn't burn down the house or electrocute them!
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My Dearest Mum & Dad,
Thank you very much for your nice letter it was very good of you to write. I have decided to tell you what happened to us, until now, and so here you are.
When we got to school we waited for about half-an-hour before starting a tromp down to the L.M.S. pier. When there, we boarded the `Royal Daffodil' a lovely boat and we started off. We were on the sun deck in the front part of the ship and had a lovely journey in spite of the fact that about 5/6 of the load were sea-sick. Joan and I were not sea-sick but the voyage was very rocky. On board we were given free milk, buns, postcards and we could have as much or many as we wanted. When at Lowestoft we landed, we went on a short trip by bus, to the Odeon Cinema where we saw films at night, got free food & slept, some on the stage, some in the straw they had there and some, as with Joan, on mattresses in the circle. I slept on the stage with about 200 others. Robin & John slept on the floor wrapped up in coats as did most of the thousand children there. We were allowed to go paddling at Lowestoft and so we did and had a good time. From there we came straight here. [Mr & Mrs Godfrey, St Mary's Road, Beccles]
It is a lovely day here, the sun is shining and Joan has gone for a walk with a little girl who lives next door. After Joan's rucksack cord broke I managed to mend it and as for her carrier bag I put her things into mine as well as into her haversack and my rucksack. I laughed at one part of your letter because although Mr & Mrs Godfrey have a huge garden they have not got one inch of lawn. They have nut trees, plum trees, apple trees & pear trees & we can take what we want off all of them. The house is very old-fashioned, not having gas or electricity, cooking is done by oil, the same for lighting. The wireless whispers to you when properly tuned in and is worked off one high and one low tension batteries, which must not be used for long. There is a cuckoo clock here which fascinates us very much and we stand watching it. Mrs Godfrey says thank you for the letter and that we will be fine with her as long as we are here. I am glad to know you are OK same as us and that you are well. We will let you know if anything is required so, `Keep Smilin'.
Lots of love & kisses from your loving son, Donald
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The letter ends with three lines of kisses (xxxxx...), the first for Mum, the next for Dad, and the last labelled as `the ones to share'.
It became clear that the elderly couple were not well-suited to coping with children, especially with such an active pair accustomed to getting up to `high jinks'. Also the children were not getting proper meals and lived on the orchard fruit, chocolate etc. They were moved to another couple and spent the rest of the time there. At one stage Donald showed his compassion and his knowledge of physics by setting up a light bulb in a tin can to heat the bed of the couple they were staying with. Fortunately he didn't burn down the house or electrocute them!