Figure 1.- Here are two snapshots taken at the same private home we think during the winter of 1939-40. They look to us like evacuee children, but we see no ID tags. Perhaps they have arrived and no provision has been made for them at this town or perhaps more evacuees arrived than excepted. Or perhaps the tags were taken off when the children reached the reception point and were registered. A British reader agrees that the children are evacuees. "The photographs look like evacuees. In one photograph a girl has a suit case and in the second photograph a boy is holding some documents. I am inclined to think that this is a press photographs for a local newspaper. The reporter is visiting a centre for the children and in the process taking a group photograph of the arrivals before they are taken to their foster carers. They do not seem to be from the East End of London. They come from moderate economic group. The children are well dressed. Their shoes and clothes are of good quality and do not look worn out. A few boys are wearing caps with what their school badge. Other than that there is not a lot more to to say for certain that they are evacuees. vClick on the image to see another group at the ame house.

The children who arrived mostly by train were gathered together at designated reception areas. They were normally taken to village halls, church halls, schools, and various other public buildings. Even small villages usually had some kind of public or church hall. Adults, usually teachers, accomnpanied the children which were normally ecacuated in school groups. So the children ahd a familar face in the various comminities to look after them. They were taken in by families, but the teachers helped out at the local schools and kept tabs on the children to look after their welfare.

Created: 10:43 PM 9/29/2019
Last updated: 5:12 PM 9/30/2019