Evacuation

Evacuation, which began in September 1939, moved children and other vulnerable people away from threatened cities. It saved lives, but could separate families and disrupt education. Hosts receiving children from poorer urban areas encountered malnutrition, disease and lice infestation.

Evacuation meant moving civilians from threatened places to areas considered safer. Operation Pied Piper began on 1 September 1939, moving schoolchildren and other vulnerable people away from major cities to towns and rural areas.

Evacuation, school closures and shortages of teachers and supplies interrupted learning. Children could experience both the fear of bombing and the disruption of schooling, showing how total war affected people too young to serve or work.