Evacuees Collection

Ma Brightmore, 81 year old evacuee in the Oxfordshire village of Charlbury from Londons East End, has discovered she is a born darts player. In the bar-parlour of the Rose and Crown

Fittleworth Evacuees Party 1939
Photography by George Garland. Garland Collection West Sussex Record Office. RefNo:Garland N19049

Catford Evacuees
A group of excited evacuee schoolchildren wait with their nurses on the platform of Catford train station in south east London. (Note the barrage balloon behind them)

Evacuation - World War Two - Children Safer in the Country
Evacuation - World War Two - Children are Safer in the Country.... leave them there. Governement advice recommending children stay away from the big cities and targets of the bombers. circa 1942

Child at receiving centre WWII
Bette Malek waits with her doll at the Fulham receiving centre in London during World War II

World War II evacuees
Evacuee train leaving the station with people waving goodbye during World War II

Union Workhouse, Dursley, Gloucestershire
A distant view of the Dursley Union workhouse (left) from the road at Stinchcombe, Gloucestershire. The workhouse, designed by a Mr Fulljames, was erected in 1838-9

Evacuees on a Train
Its goodbye to the little tots who are bound for new homes with new parents in the safe country districts of Britain - evacuees looking out of the window of a train

Evacuees at Paddington Station in 1939
This moving image of evacuees making their way along platform 4 at Paddington Station was also taken during the 4 day evacuation of London and other major cities in September 1939

Child evacuees on Maidenhead station, 1939
An image of a group of child evacuees from the East End of London on Maidenhead station in Berkshire in 1939

Evacuee children in gas masks near Windsor, 1941
London babies find peace in the country: a nurse walks evacuated children in gas masks across a playground, to accustom them to the wearing of gas masks. LCC Residential School near Windsor

Evacuation as a National Service - Poster
It Might by You! Caring for Evacuees is a National Service circa 1942

Children prepare to be evacuated from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, 11th September 1939

Evacuees waiting outside the departure platform at Paddington in 1939
One of the very first war time roles that the GWR was engaged in was the evacuation of children from cities to the relative safety of the countryside

Roedean School Moved to the Keswick Hotel
This article from The Bystander reports the evacuation of Roedean Girls School from its old site in Brighton to the Keswick Hotel in the Lake District

Children wait on the platform of East Ham railway station waiting for evacuation to the country. 2nd September 1939

Woman police officer Kathleen Saville, London, WW2
Woman police officer Kathleen Saville (joined January 1940), on duty in London during the Second World War, seen here at a railway station helping a group of child evacuees find their train

London evacuees return from Suffolk. Parents greeting their children on arrival at St Pancras station, London. September 1942

Belgian refugee children WWII
Belgian refugee children arrive in England during World War II

Three weeks old Raymond Ratford, the youngest evacuee, photographed with the mother. The second convoy of London evacuees

World War Two, evacuation of children. Written in the faces of these children, setting off to safety is a tale of fears and doubts hardly formed in their bewildered minds

Child refugees washing in Salisbury Cathedral during the Second World War. 25th November 1940

Children waiting to be evacuated from Southampton 1940, to avoid the WW2 German air raids

Children from London evacuated to South Wales. October 1940

Evacuated Birmingham schoolchildren seen here cooling off with an ice cream whilst taking in the sights of Stratford of Avon. 4th September 1939

Liverpool - July 1944. Evacuation children at a Liverpool Train Station. It is not clear if they have arrived from London, or are going to London. Picture taken 24th July 1944

Children evacuated from Rochester to a camp in Wrens Wood, Ashdown Forest, have found their own band, of various instruments. There, amid the pines they have school, and play time is in the open air

Evacuation to Wales. May 1940. Many thousands of people, along with vital institutions and priceless historical objects, were evacuated to Wales for safety in the Second World War

Evacuation to Wales. August 1940. Many thousands of people, along with vital institutions and priceless historical objects, were evacuated to Wales for safety in the Second World War

Children evacuated from Lathom Road, East London during World War II. Circa 1939

The first British children evacuees arrive in Australia. Pictures here at a zoo in Melbourne. The Childrens Overseas Reception Board (CORB) was a British government sponsored organisation

World War Two - Evacuation of children This happy study of evacuees from Heaton, Newcastle, shows a school class setting out for a nature study in the woods " somewhere in Northumberland"

Children - Food - 1940s Young Boy standing outside a shop, with a loaf of bread and a toffy carrot instead of a toffy apple which are on ration

Children of Pimlico, London who attend St Michaels Church School on Buckingham Palace Road, packing for tomorrows evacuation

La Suisse fraternelle; le passage a Geneve des evacues des departements envahis; venant... 1918. Creator: J Renand
La Suisse fraternelle; le passage a Geneve des evacues des departements envahis; venant d'allemagne, par Schaffhouse, ils se dirigent, apres avoir ete reconfortes et pourvus vetements

Evacuated Children with their Teacher, 1943. Creator: Unknown
Evacuated Children with their Teacher, 1943. Scene from the Second World War: British evacuees in the countryside. From "Women's Institutes, by Cicely McCall. [Collins, London, 1943]

Children Leaving London for the Country, 1943. Creator: Unknown
Children Leaving London for the Country, 1943. British evacuees escape bombs during the Second World War. From "Women's Institutes, by Cicely McCall. [Collins, London, 1943]

School Dinner for Evacuated Children, 1943. Creator: Unknown
School Dinner for Evacuated Children, 1943. Scene from the Second World War: British evacuees are fed. From "Women's Institutes, by Cicely McCall. [Collins, London, 1943]

WW2 - John And Mary's Visitors
An illustrated front cover for a WW2 story book, John And Mary's Visitors, written by Grace James. The image portrays a group of evacuees. Date: circa 1940

WW2 - Evacuees
A WW2 children's story book illustration which portrays a pair of evacuee children. Date: circa 1940

WW2 - Watersmeet
An illustrated front cover for a WW2 children's story book, Watersmeet, written by Heather White. The image shows a bus conductress and her helpers assisting a group of evacuees. Date: circa 1940

WW2 Evacuees And French Soldier
A pair of WW2 illustrations from a children's ABC book. The left image shows couple of evacuee children standing by a garden fence, surprised by the look looking over

Wartime House Party, Cliveden, Taplow, Buckinghamshire. Photographs of Cliveden House, and Viscount and Viscountess Astor with child evacuees, with cine camera and playing games. Date: 1939

Tilly Losch and child evacuees, Highclere
Tilly Losch, Countess of Carnarvon, (1903-1975) hosting child evacuees, at Highclere Castle, Newbury. Article captioned, The Food of Love, by Edwin Evans

London's children evacuated at the beginning of World War Two: a first wave of 400000 children went on 1st September 1939, in the charge of 22000 teachers

Spanish Civil War child refugees arrive at Southampton, 1937
Children from Bilbao waiting to land from the Spanish Compania transaltantic liner Habana at Southampton docks-child refugees evacuated to England during the Spanish Civil War, 1937

Evacuees in the grounds of their Hostel. Date: circa 1942

A father leads his two children to be evacuated 1939
A father in the middle of his two children with backpacks and gas masks photographed from behind as he takes them to be evacuated

Evacuees receive their kit bags in the country 1939
A group of evacuated children are greeted by a smiling woman and man and given their kit bags upon arrival at their countryside destination. September 1939

Evacuee children walking through countryside gate, Sept 1939
A woman helps children through a kissing gate in Somerset evacuated from south Blackfriars in London. A boy named Charlie in the foreground is the first through and holds a bouquet of flowers

Man greeted by his evacuated children and wife 1939
British man, having traveled to the country to see his evacuated family is greeted by his children and wife, during the second weekend of the war. September 1939

Lowther Castle, Cumberland, home for WW2 evacuees
Lowther Castle, Cumberland, home of Lord Lonsdsale, requisitioned as a home for WW2 evacuees, 2 September 1940. 1940

Refreshments for evacuees, WW2
Refreshments for evacuees during the Second World War, no doubt including a warming and fortifying hot Bovril drink. Date: 1940s

After unspeakable suffering, thousands and thousands of refugees from Austria, mostly women... (colour litho)
2815766 After unspeakable suffering, thousands and thousands of refugees from Austria, mostly women... (colour litho) by Beltrame

Bath night for evacuees in a cathedral in Southern England (b / w photo)
6011777 Bath night for evacuees in a cathedral in Southern England (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

East End schoolchildren wait for evacuation to the country. 2nd September 1939

Norwegian children and their families arrive in the UK after being evacuated from Spitzbergen. 12th September 1941

Evacuees are brought into the town of Brand, Germany, where they were registered and given food. 9th October 1944

A little group of Birmingham children who as a result of the evacuation, have exchanged the citys crowded streets for the peace and calm of an un-named Warwickshire village. 4th September 1939

Evacuated Birmingham schoolchildren seen here taking in the sights of Stratford of Avon. 4th September 1939

Michael David aged 5 months, a poor foundling who has been bombed from his home, now at the Hampstead Rest Home run by Miss Anna Freud. January 1941

Some of the children who were evacuated from Bristol and sent to the safety of the Somerset, Devon and Cornwall countryside between February 1941 and March 1942

Sacrifice is this schools lesson, for here the children are offering their toys for sale to help the Soldiers Comfort Fund. 22nd June 1940

The hand maidens. They also serve who only sit and wait. So the youngest inhabitant in the Cardiff Royal Infirmary, her fingers too small to hold knitting needles

The flying Magic Carpet of the Arabian Nights has nothing on the Anderson shelter you see battered and bent, but still taking it, in the picture

In this quaint old mansion where they have a real old four-poster bed, four evacuees play make-believe bedtime games with their dolls. Circa November 1941

Evacuated children with their teacher Mrs Hunt in St. Ives, rural England during the Second World War. 15th May 1945

Evacuated children Irene Barker and Victor Woolridge take part in a singing competition in the classroom of their new school in rural Wales during the Second World War. 13th September 1944

The Pound family of Islington, London, return home from being evacuated to Harborough, Leicestershire. The family race up the steps of the home with Mr Pound who stayed behind, in the background

Mrs Reynolds, a ticket collector, and the mother of two evacuated children herself, takes the Lovell family through the barrier to their train. 6th July 1944

The garb of the nun is the age-old symbol of sister of mercy. In a country home of beauty and quietness this nun cares for evacuated children from the bombed areas

Its a great thing to know that so many mothers and children are being evacuated from London?s danger spots to safer areas outside. The children themselves, how ever, are amazingly calm about it all

Many and varied are the jobs done the Womens Voluntary Services. Looking round the teeth and down the throats of evacuee children is one the jobs, you see in the picture. Circa October 1940

By the inglenook fire of an old English mansion, these happy evacuee children from a blitzed area are learning the magic of Alice in Wonderland. Circa November 1941

Wroxton St. Mary near Banbury. Wroxton Abbey is now base of the staff of an evacuated London firm. Oxfordshire. 16th April 1943

Mrs Davies welcomes Mrs Thompson and her children, to her home in Stonefield Road Huyton, Merseyside, where they are to lodge. Picture taken circa 1st May 1942 (not actual date on caption)

Mill Road Rest Centre in Liverpool, Merseyside. Picture shows mothers and their babies who have just arrived on an evacuation train from London. Picture undated

Child eChild evacuees from England arrive in Australia during the Second World War. 16th December 1940

Norwegians waiting to be evacuated from the Svalbard Islands late one evening during the Spitzbergen Raid. 2nd September 1941

Evacuees on a ship from Great Britain arrive in South Africa during the Second World War. 18th October 1940

Women and children who were evacuated from the city of Penang, Malaysia to reduce the possibilities of casualties from bombs, arrive at a station en route to the South of the country. June 1945

Commander Walder, R. N. (retired) and his wife have taken five evacuated boys
Commander Walder, R.N. (retired) and his wife have taken five evacuated boys and a girl from the blitzed cities. He made one condition in taking them

Evacuees from a heavily blitzed town have found a peaceful haven on a famous Warwickshire farm. The Land Girls are giving them a lift home from the village school as they all return to the farm at

Children being evacuated, pictured leaving Harwich. June 1940

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"Catford Evacuees find safety and solace in the countryside during World War Two" During the tumultuous times of World War Two, children from Catford were among the many who found themselves uprooted from their homes and sent to safer havens in the country. One such evacuee was Ma Brightmore, now 81 years old, who vividly remembers her time in the picturesque Oxfordshire village of Charlbury. In a bid to protect innocent lives from bombings and air raids, thousands of children were evacuated across Britain. The Union Workhouse in Dursley, Gloucestershire became a temporary home for some young evacuees as they awaited their journey to safety. The image on a train is etched into our collective memory - anxious faces peering out through windows as they left behind familiar streets for an uncertain future. At receiving centers like East Ham railway station, child after child arrived with hope mingled with trepidation. Safety measures were paramount during these trying times; gas masks became an essential accessory for every child. A haunting photograph captures evacuee children near Windsor wearing these eerie masks that shielded them against potential chemical attacks. As evacuation plans unfolded across London, Paddington Station witnessed heart-wrenching scenes as families bid farewell to their loved ones. Evacuation had become a national service - depicted by powerful posters urging citizens to contribute towards this vital cause. Even amidst chaos and uncertainty, heroes emerged. Woman police officer Kathleen Saville stood strong on London's streets during WW2, ensuring the safe passage of countless evacuees seeking refuge far away from danger. Evacuation was not without its challenges; it meant separation from family and friends at a tender age. Yet it also brought moments of resilience and camaraderie as communities rallied together to support those displaced by war. Today we remember those brave souls who endured upheaval but found strength within themselves and in the kindness of strangers.