Evacuation Collection

Harrogate Ladies College
A girls school in a castle: Harrogate Colleges pleasant retreat at Lord Swintons residence near Ripon, Yorkshire at the beginning of World War II

Two little girls awaiting evacuation from Paddington Station, September 1939
Part of the evacuation of London during WW2

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)

SS St Julien as a hospital ship, at Newport Docks, c. 1940
This image shows SS St Julien at Newport Docks following her conversion into a hospital ship, as denoted by the red cross painted on the side of her hull

Barnardo Evacuees at Comlongon Castle, Dumfries
A group of Barnardos sit on a wall at Comlongon Castle, Dumfries. The property was used a an evacuation home during the Second World War. Date: circa 1942

RAF Sea King Helicopter about to land on Crinkle Crags in the Lake district to evacuate an injured walker being treated
Ashley Cooper / SpecialistStock

Small boats used in the Dunkirk evacuation, WW2
A convoy of small boats which had been used in the Dunkirk evacuation, seen here on 9 June passing Lambeth Bridge, on the River Thames in London. Date: 1940

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

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

The evacuation called Operation Pied Piper was the British government decision to relocate its children out of urban centres to locations where the risk of bombing attacks was low or non-existent

Evacuees during World War Two. 3rd September 1939

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

Returning evacuee children wave goodbye to Derby as their train moves out, bound for London and their homes. 15th June 1945

The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk

SS St Julien at the Banana Dock in Dieppe c. 1939
SS St Julien is pictured here at the Banana Dock in Dieppe during her service as a hospital ship. St Julien was built in 1925 as a vessel to serve the GWRs Weymouth route

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

Paddle steamer Medway Queen, Sheerness, Kent
Paddle steamer Medway Queen, arriving at Sheerness-on-Sea, Kent. During the Second World War she acted as a minesweeper, and made seven evacuation trips from Dunkirk in 1940, rescuing 7000 men

Newspaper front cover: evacuation of Dunkirk, 1940
" Through an inferno of bombs and shells, the B.E.F is crossing the Channel from Dunkirk-in historys strangest armada

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

British evacuation of Charleston SC, 1782
Charleston, South Carolina, abandoned by the British near the end of the Revolutionary War. Hand-colored halftone reproduction of a 19th-century illustration

Croydon Airport - de Havilland DH. 84 Dragon G-ACIU
de Havilland DH.84 Dragon G-ACIU (msn 3041) of Surrey Flying Services Ltd. approaching to land at Croydon Airport. First registered on 25.07.33 was previously owned by Marmaduke Furness (Lord Furness)

Convict Ship
circa 1870: Convicts on a ship bound for Botany Bay, Australia. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Dunkirk evacuation in World War Two
Like a Regatta: the embarkation of the British Expeditionary Force by small boats from the Dunkirk beaches. Swarms of light craft taking off Allied troops to larger ships

Dunkirk Evacuation
FRANCE : Beaten back by the German advance, the British evacuate mainland Europe via the beaches of DUNKIRK, under heavy attacks from the enemy

Evacuees waiting to leave Paddington Station, 1939
This image shows eight young boys and girls about to leave London as evacuees to the countryside. Although the images shows them laughing it must have been a daunting experience for them

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

Castle Milk, Lockerbie
Castle Milk, near Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire. The house was one of several in the area used by Barnardos as an evacuation home during the Second World War

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

Queen Mother visiting London evacuees at Horsted Keynes, 1939
The Queen Mother(1900-2002) with evacuated children from Battersea. A little four year old girl called Shirely here is playing " mothers"

Second World War child evacuee, c1939 (colour litho)
3104406 Second World War child evacuee, c1939 (colour litho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Second World War child evacuee, c1939)

Bound for the country - South Shields Children who are to live in the country under the boroughs latest evacuation scheme pictured in happy mood while waiting to leave by train to-day. 7th July 1941

Late Evacuees
4th July 1940: Three evacuees from Islington, London, make a dash for the train which will take them to the country, during the Second World War. (Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Earls Court Wheel
The Giant Ferris Wheel at Earls Court, London, showing the emergency evacuation procedure - a picture which was no doubt intended to reassure nervous passengers Date: 1894

Gallipoli evacuation WWI
Captain Davidson of the HMS Cornwallis (last ship to leave Suvla Bay) meets General Byng on the gangway after the evacuation

The Death of Duke Humphrey, 1447 (litho)
8661391 The Death of Duke Humphrey, 1447 (litho) by Norbury, Richard (1815-86); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Death of Duke Humphrey, 1447)

Means of removing wounded French soldiers from the battlefield, Second Italian War of Independence (engraving)
8676847 Means of removing wounded French soldiers from the battlefield, Second Italian War of Independence (engraving) by English School

Bulgarian soldiers fishing for guns in the river at Nish, or Niš, Serbia, after the Serb evacuation in 1916
3502763 Bulgarian soldiers fishing for guns in the river at Nish, or Niš, Serbia, after the Serb evacuation in 1916, from The Pageant of the Century

The French evacuating Portugal
2910915 The French evacuating Portugal; (add.info.: 1814 Engraving depicting the French evacuating Portugal. Dated 1814.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Belgian orphans leaving Paris for country homes, between 1914 and c1915. Creator: Bain News Service
Belgian orphans leaving Paris for country homes, between 1914 and c1915. Belgian children in Paris during World War I.

Fugitives, Gare du Nord, Paris, between c1914 and c1915. Creator: Bain News Service
Fugitives, Gare du Nord, Paris, between c1914 and c1915. Refugees(?) at the Gare du Nord railroad station in Paris, France during World War I.

Revolutionary War 1775-1783 (American War of Independence): George Washington riding in triumph through streets of
528079 Revolutionary War 1775-1783 (American War of Independence): George Washington riding in triumph through streets of Boston after 11-month siege ended with the withdrawal (evacuation)

The Dark Hours of Italy; On the roads of the Lower Isonzo, the 3rd Italian army... 1917. Creator: Unknown
The Dark Hours of Italy; On the roads of the lower Isonzo, the 3rd Italian army, to avoid being flanked, fell back in an orderly fashion, evacuating the Karst Plateau, taking equipment and all crews

The Dark Hours of Italy; Influx of troops to an evacuation station, 1917. Creator: Unknown
The Dark Hours of Italy; Influx of troops to an evacuation station, 1917. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 2" [L'Illustration, Paris, 1924]

A torpedoing immediately avenged; On December 14, 1917, in the Ionian Sea... 1917. Creator: Unknown
A torpedoing immediately avenged; On December 14, 1917, in the Ionian Sea, the "Chateaurenault" sank by the bow, at 9 o'clock in the morning

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

Une population francaise emmenee en captivite: a Guiscard (Oise), le 16 fevrier 1917, les... 1917. Creator: Unknown
Une population francaise emmenee en captivite: a Guiscard (Oise), le 16 fevrier 1917, les Allemands, preparant leur retraite

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"Evacuation: A Journey to Safety and Hope" In times of crisis, the concept takes center stage, weaving tales of resilience and bravery. From the hallowed halls of Harrogate Ladies College to the humble abodes in Catford, children were uprooted from their homes during World War Two. The Barnardo Evacuees sought solace within the walls of Comlongon Castle in Dumfries, finding comfort amidst uncertainty. As war raged on, parents clung onto hope that sending their little ones away would shield them from harm's way. Small boats emerged as unsung heroes during the Dunkirk evacuation, defying all odds to rescue stranded soldiers. Meanwhile, two innocent girls anxiously awaited their departure at Paddington Station in September 1939 - a poignant image etched into history. Not limited to conflicts alone, evacuations transcended wartime narratives. Union Workhouse in Dursley became a refuge for those seeking respite from adversity. RAF Sea King Helicopter descended upon Crinkle Crags in the Lake District, whisking away an injured walker with unwavering determination. Amidst chaos and destruction, humanity prevailed through acts of compassion and sacrifice. Evacuees found themselves aboard trains bound for unknown destinations; SS St Julien transformed into a beacon of healing as it sailed through Newport Docks as a hospital ship. The Dunkirk evacuation remains etched forever in our collective memory - Operation Dynamo or better known as "The Miracle of Dunkirk. " Against all odds, this audacious endeavor united nations under one purpose: saving lives. Evacuation is not merely about physical relocation; it symbolizes resilience against adversity and hope amidst despair. It reminds us that even amid darkness there exists light – a glimmer that propels us forward towards safety and brighter horizons.