A closer look at the life of a child growing up in Britain during World War II...

Created by: Luke, Yanga , Wandile and Tanya

All of the evacuees had to wear labels saying where they were going. British children went to live with foster families in the country side or even overseas. Some of the British children enjoyed their new lives, while others felt terribly homesick. The evacuation was declared on August 31, but it only started on September 1, two days before they declared war. From London and the other main cities, the top class people boarded trains and were taken to rural towns and villages in the assigned areas. With the uncertainties over registering for the evacuation, the actual movement was also disjointed–evacuees were gathered into groups and put on the first available train, not caring where its destination was.

The children had only their hosts and no parents. There

was a lot of vandalism and hooliganism. Because they

had so much free time and the children went to bomb

and crash sites and collected little bits of the bombs

and planes and traded it amongst other children. The

children also contributed a lot by helping their hosts in

the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign by working in the gar-

dens. They also joined teams ‘Lending a Hand on the

Land', working on farms to help boost food production.

Many of the ‘drives’ coordinated by the WVS relied on

children to help out.

Part time schooling with a shift system in operation

younger students in the morning, older students in the

afternoon. Each school had its own air raid shelter

facilities. They were taught how to put gas masks on

incase of an emergency. The children were not

compelled to attend but most did, bringing their gas

masks with them. There air raid practice drill has now

became the most popular activity. At school children

also learnt about the British Empire. At the age of 14

children left school and started work.

During World War 2 food rationing had a massive

effect on the British children’s lives, it meant that the

children had a very different and a much stricter diet

because sweets, meat, flour, butter, and many other

important foods had to be rationed to a limited amount

for each family. The children soon learnt how to make

do, using the food they had available. For example;

although there was little sugar there was plenty of

carrots. The children liked to make lots of carrot cake

during the war.