Evacuees Collection

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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]

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

Paddington Station, c1940
A group of nurses wave off a train load of evacuees during World War 2. The mass evacuation of children from cities and towns, known as Operation Pied Piper, began in 1939

Children Evacuees Evacuated Britain Large Towns
Children being evacuated from Britain's large towns to safer areas, a total of 1, 800.00 children, teachers and mothers were transported by road, rail and sea at the start of WWII

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

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

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

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

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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.