Britain of evacuation in World War Two Essay

During the course of World War Two, many people were evacuated, not just children. There were many differing reactions to evacuation. The reaction would depend on the experience you had. Reactions would also change over time during the war and even after the war had finished. One set of people affected by Evacuation was the Children. Many children did not know where they were going and therefore experienced feelings of fear and anger. The children disliked being separated from their parents but put on brave faces so not worry their families. When the children arrived at their destination, they were taken to school halls of town meeting places where the were chosen by their â€Å"foster† families, which they disliked because often they were split from their sisters and brothers. If they had negative attitudes, they very often did not settle quickly like those who had positive attitudes and would see their stay as a holiday. If an evacuee had a positive experience, they would have pleasant memories of being treated as one of the family. Evacuation was described as â€Å"no better than a ‘paedophile’s charter’ † as it would have been easier to abuse children away from home. However, in a study of 450 ex-evacuees, only 12% of them had bad experiences. Michael Caine remembers being evacuated with his brother Clarence. He said † My brother used to went the bed when he was nervous. My foster mother could not figure out who it was so she beat both of us, and Clarence became more nervous and wet the bed more. † However, not all experiences were bad. On ex-evacuees remembers being given clothes when he was evacuated. A child’s reaction to evacuation would depend on their experiences while in care. Another set of people who were affected by evacuation was the children’s parents. Most parents were reluctant to send their children away but agreed because of propaganda. Not all parents sent their children away though. Some parents thought that their children were safe in their family home. However, most parents brought their children home due to the ‘phoney ‘ war. But the children were evacuated again when the Blitz happened, although the scale of evacuation was not as large as the first wave in September 1939. Thanks to the Blitz, many parents changed their opinions on evacuation, now agreeing that it was probably best for their children.