Former WWII Evacuees - I would like to hear from you

[NorthMonkey]

Hi all.

 

I'm a student at Reading University (originally from Sheffield) and I am going into my final year. Of course, with this comes the dreaded dissertation piece.

 

Anyway, for part of my BA History degree last year, I did a module on Children in War and part of the module included the experiences of Evacuees involved in the Second World War. The course was led by Dr. Martin Parsons who is the founder of the Research Centre for Evacuees and War Child Studies (ResCEW) and who is also closely linked with the Evacuees Reunion Association (ERA). I enjoyed (if this is the right word) studying this highly undocumented part of British History which is often confined to a mere page or two in History textbooks. As a result, I have chosen to write about this for my dissertation.

 

The reason I have joined these boards is hopefully to find any former WWII evacuees, anyone who lived in billeted areas or anyone who has any form of recollection of the time and their experiences with evacuation in wartime England and paticularly, Sheffield/South Yorkshire.

 

My dissertation would benefit significantly from any first hand accounts of the time, ideally through interviews with the people mentioned above. It would be a huge help if anyone would be prepared to give me a bit of their time where I could ask questions (which I would send you before I came and you could choose which you would prefer not to answer) in relation to the experiences they have. However, I am aware that many people have mixed memories of the experience of evacuation and may not prefer to take part in any personal one on one recorded interviews and in this case I would still love to hear from you whether it be by email or any other way you would be prepared to talk to me.

 

Any help or links or anybody interested in talking about their experiences of the time, whether you were an evacuee or part of a host family or you had ANY experience of the time, it would be a great help and I would be forever in your debt for helping me in my research.

 

Any questions please reply on here or feel free to contact me.

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Ciaran.

[flyer]

My two brothers & I evacuated in 1939 to Burton -on -trent,it didn't last long 3familys in 3 months,they were much too nice for 3 ruffians fm Penistone Rd.We got shiped back pronto,And my poor mother hoping she was going to get a break.

[NorthMonkey]

So you had a nice host family?

 

Thanks for this insight. Remember people, you're not signing up for anything just yet, just want to hear about your experiences

[NorthMonkey]

Please anyone?

[flyer]

Please anyone?

At 72 the memory begins to fade just a tad,So I wouldn't hold my breath for too many replys,but I do remember the hundreds or thousands of kids all waiting for the different trains being herded into groups,we were all given a brown carrier, seemed to be full of food,but then i was only 5 so any amount of food would be a lot.As a afterthought you may find this hard to believe but the houses we were sent to had toilets INSIDE the house.

[NorthMonkey]

Thanks. I understand that as it was quite a long time ago people's memories might not be the clearest.

 

Insights like these, no matter how small are invaluable to me, its one thing learning about the "cattle market" situations etc in textbooks, but to hear it from the people who were there is very special.

[Nancy Burton]

My Dad and his sister were from Sheffield, and during the war they were evacuated to America. I've been trying to find out a bit more about it recently, but haven't had much luck. Anyway, my Grandfather was a Sheffield GP, and I think there was some scheme set up through one of the Sheffield papers or something. They were sent to a really lovely family in Massachusetts called Warner - we have some great home movies of them enjoying the American life.

I know they were very happy with the family because until my dad died recently he kept in close contact with the nieces and nephews of the couple who took them in. I think they were forunate enough to consider them his second family.

I'd love to hear what you find out about other evacuees!

[NorthMonkey]

Thanks for your insight. I have done a bit of research about evacuees that were sent abroad, America, Canada etc and it is a very interesting area that doesn't seem to get the coverage that the evacuation in Britain gets (which itself is very limited). As I find out more about the topic I would be happy to let you know my findings.

[KIWI]

Hi northmonkey

both my sister and i were evacuated,I believe to a place called Shireoaks Notts. I dont remember too much about it apart from getting on the train and arriving at the house we was allotted to, but i do remember the tea chest full of toys, I'd never seen so many toys in my life and perhaps that is why i dont remember much about the family. I do remember missing my sister who was billeted at a different place

[Rivelin6]

Hi North Monkey,

My father was evacuated in the war but had such a bad experince that he asked his father if he could come back to Sheffield, which he did. I can't remember now where he went but if you need someone to interview I could ask him for you.

Lois Hopkins