Figure 1.-- Many London evacuess did not return home until after the War. This was because Hitler was focused on destroying the city. It was Londoners who stood up to Hitler and the Luftwaffe when the NAZIs seemed invincible and had a all to real chance of winning the War. Hitler's penchnt for violence, murder, and destructiom meant that he was often willing to expend Germany's limited resources on mindless distruction that gined no real military advantage. The focus on London was just one such example. The press caption here read, "The Big Return to London Begins: The first official 'Homeward Specials', with 400 on board, left Leicester today for London. Many of the mothers spent yesterday saying goodbye to the friends they are had made during their stay in Leicester. Leicester received 34,000 London evacuees. All Leicester's Civil Defense services, the city's voluntary transport organization and some corporation buses were made sure that the Londoner's got to their station on time. Mothers and children walk down the platform at ST. Pancras station, on there arrival in London after being evacuated in Leicester." The photograph was datedc June 4, 1945, a full month after VE-Day.

Returning home did not come all at one time. Many children came home for Christmas after the first evacuation (Septenber 1939). When the Luftwaffe dod not mterialize, many parents wanted the kids home for Christmas and wre moved by teary letters. This of course meant that many of the evacuated kids were home when the Luftwaffe did come (July 1940). The number of official evacuees reached a peak of 1.4 million individuals during the Blitz (February 1941). But then as the Luftwaffe bombing tailed off, the children began returning. There were 1.0 million (September 1941) Then many kids again returned home after Hitler shifted the Luftwaffe East and the Americans entered the War. The Allies and the Allies not only gained control of the air not only over Britain, but France as well (1943-44). The numbr of officil evacuees plummeted, just 0.4 million (December 1943). And this meant that many of the kids were home when the V-1 and V-2 raids began (June 1944). So off they went to the couhtryside again. Not all children went back and forth. some stayed away from home for 4 years or other long periods. The V-1s and especially the V-2 were so scarry that there was a substantial exodus from London--the main target. Hitler had a fixation on London which had defied him during the Blitz. Some 1.5 million people left June-September 1944). Only about 20 percent, however, were 'official' evacuees. The Government halted the official evacuation process (September 1944). They began reversing the process for most big cities--except London and the East coast. Many children were kept in the countryside until V-E Day. And even then they could not come home right away. Many people had lost their homes, thus there was no home for the children to return to even when their parents wanted them home. Transport had to be arranged and in war time or right afrer the War, this was no small matter. Returning to London was not officially approved until after VE-Day (June 1945). The Government finally ended the billeting scheme March 1946). Nearly 38,000 people still did not have homes.

Created: 6:22 PM 2/18/2016
Last updated: 6:22 PM 2/18/2016