The Evacuation of British Children During World War Two

Reasons Leading to the Evacuation of Children from Britain's Major Cities Early in World War Two

The evacuation of Britain's cities at the start of World War Two was

the biggest and most concentrated mass movement of people in Britain's

history. Two days before the war broke out on the 1st September 1939,

children & pregnant women started to evacuate from all major cities

such as London, Liverpool and Sheffield. In the first four days of

September 1939, nearly 3,000,000 people were transported from towns

and cities in danger from enemy bombers to places of safety in the

countryside. They were transported into quieter, more peaceful towns

and villages in reception centres. Here they were safer & were less

likely to suffer from any air attacks. It was predicted by the British

Government that when war broke that the effects this war would cause

would be seriously damaging. Many predictions had also been made

throughout the 1930’s of the effects the cities would have by being

bombed to show people how technology had changed, how serious this

could turn out & how easy a large sum of people could die in one

bombing raid, in May 1937 newsreel films of the condor legion attack

on the Spanish city of Guernica during the Spanish civil war was shown

at local cinemas. It was believed that bombing would cause massive

destruction and loss of life. Since world war one technology had

improved an aeroplane what could only carry one pilot whom was no more