Figure 1.-- These evacuee children play in the hay in the countryside of rural Devon. Devon is a rural county west of London and away from the coast not heavily targeted by the Luftwaffe. This photograph could have been taken soon after evacuation (Sepember 1939) or during the summer of 1940 or 41, The country sidec was not as idelic as the image here suggests. Some working-class city children were delighted to be out in the countryside. Many middle-class children found the way of life they found in the countryside seemed quaint if not primitive.

The vast majority of the British children evacuated were sent to the safe towns not believed on the Luftwaffe target list or to the English countryside, usually to live with individual families who volunteered to care for them. The children involved experienced probably the shock of their lives. The greatest shock of course, espedcially for the younger children, was being separated from their parents. But the change in the environment was probably akin to life on a new planent. Countless working-class children went from a grimy city slum to a lovely country village surrounded by idelic fields and fresh air and sunshine. But this was only one set of experiences. For many the experiences was less idealic. Britain had slums where people did not have ruuning water. Britain was, however, not a poor country. There was a large, affluent middle-class whose children lived in comfortable homes. These children were among the evacuees. For these children, the way of life they found in the countryside seemed quaint if not primitive. They were unprepared for outdoor latrines or the lack of running water.

Created: 7:15 PM 7/7/2010
Last updated: 7:15 PM 7/7/2010