Evacuation

Children were evacuated (sent away) from cities to the countryside in order to keep them safe from air raids began in September 1939.

Many of London's children were sent to Wales, Cornwall or Devon.

Children were also sent to other rural areas, such as East Anglia.

The children travelled on special trains from the city to their host families. Many were too young to understand exactly what was happening and many thought they were going on a holiday. Most of the evacuees were sad to say goodbye to their parents and homes.

The evacuees were all given a gas mask and they had food for the journey to the countryside. Every child had a label pinned to their clothing. This label stated the child’s name, home address, school and destination.