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The Great Fire of London was a fire that was so big that it burned nearly all of the buildings in London, with the exception of the Tower of London as that was made from stone, and stone doesn't burn up easily.
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29th July 2018
On the 1st September 1939, over 3 million children were evacuated from the cities into the countryside. For many, it was their first time going outside the city. Many evacuees were very sad to say goodbye to their parents, but some were excited for the time ahead.
Those under 5 years old had their mothers evacuated with them.
Why were children evacuated from their homes?
They were evacuated because the Government feared that many children would die in the event of bomb attacks, so they wanted to get them out safely.
A group of children arrive at a station at Brent, Devon after being evacuated from Bristol in 1940.
What was it like for the evacuees?
The majority of the evacuees had never been outside London. Most had never seen a farm animal before. The majority swore a lot, much to the shock of those living in the countryside. Not many of them had seen lush green fields or trees before they went out to the country.
Getting chosen
The children evacuated would then be taken to somewhere such as a town hall once they had arrived at the village/town they had been evacuated to. They would then be chosen by the locals to stay with them.
The struggle to keep the children out
For 9 months after the war begun, not much happened for ordinary Brits. There were no bomb or gas attacks. Parents in the city wanted their children back with them (quite understandably.) Propaganda programmes and posters were put up encouraging those evacuated to stay in the countryside.
There were also some for parents as well:
The end of the war
After the war ended, many children returned to their families in the city. For some it ended the confusion the countryside brought, but for others it was confusing as they could barely remember their families that they last saw six years ago.
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Dunkirk evacuation
Introduction.
Adolf Hitler , the leader of Germany , ordered the German army to invade the Netherlands and Belgium on May 10, 1940. By May 12 Germany had invaded France and was moving quickly. Allied forces that were in France retreated to the coast. Within a few weeks, the Netherlands and Belgium had surrendered. By May 26 the Allied forces were gathered on the beaches of the small port of Dunkirk.
The Evacuation
Even before Belgium surrendered, the British government decided to evacuate troops from Dunkirk. The port was on the English Channel , across from England. The British collected any kind of boat that could help with the evacuation, including British and French naval vessels and hundreds of civilian boats. Moving so many troops directly from the beaches was a slow and difficult process. It was helped by the fact that Hitler stopped the German advance before it got to the port of Dunkirk. He thought the German air force could destroy the troops trapped on the beaches. However, British Royal Air Force (RAF) planes were able to combat the German air force and protect the Allied troops.
The evacuation at Dunkirk was a success. It was not expected that so many soldiers’ lives would be saved. However, almost all of Britain’s tanks, heavy equipment, and trucks had to be left behind in France. Shortly after the Dunkirk evacuation, Germany completed its conquest of France.
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WW2 Evacuation Investigation upper KS2
Subject: History
Age range: 7-11
Resource type: Worksheet/Activity
Last updated
5 January 2023
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What was life like for children who were evacuated during WW2? This investigative task is suitable for pupils in upper key stage two and is aimed to cover 1/2 lessons.
It includes: -A powerpoint presentation which guides teachers through the interactive lessons -A starter activity based upon differentiating between primary and secondary sources -A video link to watch with the children -Sources for children to read to find out about different perspectives of evacuation life -A transcript of source 5 for teachers to unpick the difficult vocab with pupils in a mini plenary -Worksheets for pupils to complete -Worksheets for LA children to complete -A plan of the lesson used.
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The Home Front: WW2
Although it was the men who went off to fight the war, the people left behind at home also had a part to play in the war. The Home Front is the name given to the effect of the war on people’s everyday lives.
Home Front WW2: Evacuation
When the war began in September 1939 the government knew that large cities would be the target for German bombs and that casualties would be high. Evacuation was introduced to move school children, teachers, mothers with children under the age of five and disabled people out of the cities to the countryside where there was little risk of bombing raids.
Evacuation was voluntary and the government expected more than 3 million people to take advantage of the scheme. However, by the end of September 1939 only 1.5 million people had been evacuated and most of those returned to their homes when there were no bombing raids. When the Battle of Britain and the Blitz began in 1940, evacuation was re-introduced.
The children to be evacuated assembled in the school playground. They all wore name tags and had to carry their gas mask as well as their belongings. After saying goodbye to their parents they travelled by train or by coach to their destination where they met the people who were to house them. Most of those evacuated had no idea what their life as an evacuee would be like nor when they would see their parents again.
Home Front WW2: Rationing
Britain has always imported food and other goods from overseas. Being an island this means that goods come into the country by ship or air. In 1939 most goods were transported to Britain by ship.
From the beginning of the war, one of Hitler’s tactics against Britain was to use submarines to torpedo ships bringing supplies to Britain. This meant that imported goods were in short supply.
The government introduced rationing to make sure that everyone had a fair share of what was available.
Every man, woman and child was given a ration book for food and had to register with a grocery store. The grocery store was only given enough food for the people on their list. When someone bought rationed food, the grocer stuck a sticker in his or her ration book to show that that week’s ration had been purchased.
At first only butter, sugar and bacon was rationed. By the middle of 1940 all meat, eggs, cheese, jam, tea and milk was also rationed. Clothes were rationed from June 1941 due to a shortage of raw materials and also to allow the factories and workers to concentrate on producing weapons, aircraft and ammunition for the war.
Home Front WW2: One Person’s Weekly Food Allowance
| 4oz (113g) | lard or butter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12oz (340g) | sugar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4oz (113g) | bacon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | eggs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6oz (170g) | meat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7oz (57g) | tea | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vegetables were not rationed but were often in short supply. People who had gardens were encouraged to plant vegetables instead of flowers. The government called this ‘Digging for Victory’ and produced posters to persuade people that they were helping to win the war by planting vegetables.
The only fruit that was available was that grown in Britain e.g. apples, pears, and strawberries. Bananas, oranges, peaches and other imported fruit were not available at all.
Dried egg powder was available and was used to make scrambled eggs.
Home Front WW2: Clothes Rationing
Everyone was given a book of 66 coupons to use to buy new clothes for one year.
This was cut to 48 in 1942 and 36 in 1943. Each item of clothing cost a certain number of coupons.
| Raincoat | 16 | 15 | 11 |
| Overcoat | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| Jacket | 13 | 12 | 8 |
| Shirt/Blouse | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| Jumper/Cardigan | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Trousers | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| Shorts | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Skirts | 8 | 6 | |
| Boot/Shoes | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| Nightdress/Pyjamas | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Underpants/Knickers/Vest | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Socks/Stockings | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Second hand clothes were not rationed and children’s clothes were handed down from one child to the next or sold on to other families. The government used the slogan ‘Mend and Make Do’ to encourage people to repair or patch torn or worn clothes.
As more and more men were ‘called up’ to serve in the forces, women were called upon to take over the jobs traditionally done by men.
Women worked in the factories producing aircraft, ammunition, weapons and other goods needed for the war effort. They worked long hours and could earn as much as 40 shillings (£2.00) a week. This was quite a good wage in the 1940s but was less than the men had been paid for doing the same job.
The women who worked in the fields and on farms were known as Land Girls. They were given a uniform and had to live on the farms where they were sent to work. They worked long hours and the work was hard. Land Girls were paid 32 shillings (£1.60) per week.
Other jobs done by women included:
Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS), Air Raid Wardens, Auxillary Territorial Service (ATS), Women’s Auxillary Air Force (WAAF), Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), Special Operations Executive (SOE) [known as Secret Agents or Spies], Entertainers
The Home Guard or Local Defence Volunteers (LDV) was formed in 1940 when there was a real risk that Hitler might invade Britain. The men that served in the Home Guard were all volunteers and were mostly those that were too old (over the age of 40) or too young (under the age of 18) to serve in the forces. They became known as ‘Dad’s Army’.
The men were issued with a uniform and an armband with the letters LDV to show that they were members of the Home Guard. Members of the public were asked to donate any rifles, pistols or shotguns that they might have to provide the Home Guard with weapons. Those that were not provided with weapons made makeshift weapons from pieces of pipe or knives.
Most of the men had full time jobs and trained in the evenings. As well as preparing themselves to be ready to fight off a German invasion, the Home Guard also guarded buildings that had been bombed to prevent looting, helped to clear bomb damage, helped to rescue those trapped after an air raid, guarded factories and airfields, captured German airmen that had been shot down and set up roadblocks to check people’s identity cards.
This article is part of our larger educational resource on World War Two. For a comprehensive list of World War 2 facts, including the primary actors in the war, causes, a comprehensive timeline, and bibliography, click here.
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- World War 2 Evacuees And The Home Front Ks1 2 Drama And History Resource
World War 2: Evacuees and the Home Front – KS1/2 Drama and History Resource
13-page PDF
Fitting National Curriculum drama requirements into English time can be a problem, but Alison Chaplin has an exciting solution: why not develop children’s drama skills at the same time as you deepen their understanding of another curriculum area?
This resource offers examples of drama activities that have been used to explore the historical area of Britain since 1930 – specifically the home front.
Alison Chaplin is a drama teacher and writer living in the North West. She has over 30 years’ experience in youth theatre and drama teaching.
Check out more of her resources on her TES page Arts on the Move and on her website artsonthemove.co.uk .
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| Primary Homework Help Britain Since the 1930s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| for information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
©Copyright Mandy Barrow 2013 primaryhomeworkhelp.com Follow me on Twitter @mbarrow Woodlands Junior School, Hunt Road Tonbridge Kent TN10 4BB UK
Register and get FREE resources and activities Ready to unlock all our resources? Life during World War II British people who weren’t fighting in World War II still had a very different life to the one they had before the war. For one thing, there wasn’t as much food around so every little bit had to be saved and used – even if it didn’t taste very nice! And clothes that were too small or had tears in them just had to be fixed and made bigger because there weren’t many new things around to buy. Everyone had to help each other get the things they needed to keep warm and healthy. Many people – especially children – who lived in cities were evacuated to the country to keep safe from air attacks such as the Blitz . Bombs dropped by German planes could flatten brick houses in seconds. Can you imagine going to school one morning, and coming back to find your house was gone? Or when packing your rucksack, popping in a gas mask to protect yourself in case of a gas attack? Farms in the country became busy communities of people who moved in to help use every bit of the land to grow food. They might have moved there because they didn’t have a home anymore, or because they just wanted to help out as much as they could. Top 10 facts
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Pictures of life during World War IIHave a look through the images in the gallery and see if you can spot the following:
 When most of the men in Britain went off to fight in the war, women stepped in to do some of the jobs left vacant. One of these groups was the Land Girls , who worked on farms to grow food, look after livestock and keep the buildings and grounds in good shape. Not all the men could go overseas, though. Some were just too old or too young, and others had jobs that were thought to be too important for them to leave – these were called ‘reserved occupations’, and included farmers, coal miners and ship builders. Men who stayed in Britain could join the Home Guard, whose main job was to defend the land if there were a sudden attack by the enemy, holding them off until soldiers could get there. There never was an attack like this, but what members of the Home Guard did do was watch over important resources like factories that might have been key targets of an attack, and places like dark fields where enemy troops might parachute into thinking that nobody would see them land. The Home Guard also captured enemy pilots whose planes had crash-landed. The Home Guard was formed in 1940 and disbanded in 1945, and over 1 million men were part of it for most of this time. Lots of things that people used to be able to pick up in shops around the corner weren’t available during the war. For instance, a factory that used to produce clothes would have been reassigned to produce items for the troops instead. Also, foods like bananas that would have come in on ships from other countries were unavailable because it was dangerous for ships to bring food to Britain. Convoys of ships were used to bring essential food items from other countries but many of these ships were destroyed by the Germans before they could get to Britain. A system called rationing was set up in 1940 that restricted how much food, clothes and other supplies people could have in a week or month. Each person – both children and adults – had a ration book with coupons in it that they’d hand over to their local shopkeeper, who would give them items their coupons allowed them to have. This system meant everyone got something to eat, and something to wear, even if it wasn’t very much. The first foods that were rationed were bacon, sugar, tea, butter and meat. This list grew and grew as the war went on, and people got used to making each little bit stretch as far as possible. For example, today you could go out and buy as a dozen eggs and as much milk as you like. But back in war time, people were allowed just one egg per week and three pints of milk per month! People could grow and eat as many vegetables as they wanted, so gardens of all sizes popped up wherever there was space for one – even in parks. Rationing carried on after the war was over because supplies were still low, but gradually items came off the rationing list so things were never as restricted as they was during the war. Rationing ended for good in 1954. The Blitz lasted from September 1940 to May 1941. During this time, Britain was bombed very heavily in a number of air-raids. Major cities (like London), factories and seaside towns were all targeted because bombing them would cause the most damage – such as destroying rows of houses, production of weapons, or ports where ships carrying supplies would come to. Loud air-raid sirens would warn people that enemy planes were on the way, and they would need to run to the nearest shelter – no matter if it were the middle of the day or night. Some people had Anderson shelters buried in their back garden, or Morrison shelters in their home. These were strong structures that were built to protect people inside from bomb explosions. In London, Tube (underground) stations were used as air-raid shelters too. Many people also owned gas masks that they could wear to breathe clean air after an explosion. Because living in cities was so dangerous, mums and dads decided to send their children to the country. These children were called evacuees . This was a really hard decision because nobody wanted to say goodbye to their families, but it was the best way to make sure children stayed safe – nobody knew when the war would finally be over. Many children travelled by train to farms, to homes in the country or to large, stately homes that had lots of room. Some British children even went overseas to countries like Canada . They would write letters about their new adventures to their parents. Related VideosJust for fun...
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Ww2 evacuees homework helpEvacuees ww2 primary homework help, primary homework help evacuees ww2, ww2 evacuees primary homework help, primary homework help ww2 evacuees, chegg homework help reviews. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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At 11.07am on Thursday 31st August 1939 the order was given to evacuate forthwith. 1.5 Million children, pregnant women and other vulnerable people such as the disabled, evacuated to safer countryside locations in just two days.
The British evacuation began on Friday 1 September 1939. It was called 'Operation Pied Piper'. Between 1939 - 1945 there were three major evacuations in preparation of the German Luftwaffe bombing Britain. The first official evacuations began on September 1 1939, two days before the declaration of war. By January 1940 almost 60% had returned to ...
Evacuation is the process of moving people away from an area where they are in danger to a safer area. People may be evacuated for many reasons, including wars, natural disasters, or industrial accidents.
Evacuation. On the 1st September 1939, over 3 million children were evacuated from the cities into the countryside. For many, it was their first time going outside the city. Many evacuees were very sad to say goodbye to their parents, but some were excited for the time ahead. Those under 5 years old had their mothers evacuated with them.
The Dunkirk evacuation was an event of World War II (1939-45). An evacuation is the process of moving people away from where they are in danger to a safer place. The Dunkirk evacuation moved about 340,000 British, French, and Belgian (Allied) soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, France , across the English Channel to England . It began on May ...
A helpful collection of evacuee activities for KS2 pupils. During WW2, many children, pregnant women and other vulnerable people were moved from big cities like London to safer countryside locations. This was known as evacuation, and over 1.5 million people were displaced to avoid danger from bombing raids. If you'd like to teach your pupils ...
The purpose of evacuation in WW2 was to ensure the safety of school children, mothers with children under five, pregnant women and some disabled people. They were evacuated to smaller towns and villages, away from the big cities that were considered under threat of a German bombing. This lesson plan will give your KS2 students an insight into what life was like during evacuations in WW2 ...
WW2 Evacuation - Full Lesson & Resources. Subject: History. Age range: 7-11. Resource type: Lesson (complete) File previews. zip, 2.45 MB. This lesson will help children to understand evacuation during the Second World War. They will learn what evacuation meant, who was evacuated and why, as well as what life was like for evacuaees.
The Second World War was started by Germany in an unprovoked attack on Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler had refused to abort his invasion of Poland. When did World War Two end? The War ended in the Summer of 1945. It is estimated that 50 million people lost their lives during World War 2.
Use this wonderful resource pack to teach KS2 children about the evacuation process during the Second World War. This pack includes a variety of resources to deepen children's understanding of how evacuation worked, why it happened and who was affected. This download includes: A beautifully designed fact file, full of interesting facts about evacuation; A letter-writing activity with ...
Evacuees lesson; World War II. This lesson involved looking at historical sources and deciding which were helpful in providing evidence in historical enquiry. The children also carried out some reseacrh using the bbc evacuees page and then created a fact page about evacuation. Report this resource to let us know if it violates our terms and ...
Taflen Weithgaredd Cês Faciwî. Explore more than 99 "Evacuees Ww2" resources for teachers, parents and pupils as well as related resources on "Ww2 Evacuees". Instant access to inspirational lesson plans, schemes of work, assessment, interactive activities, resource packs, PowerPoints, teaching ideas at Twinkl!
What was life like for children who were evacuated during WW2? This investigative task is suitable for pupils in upper key stage two and is aimed to cover 1/2 lessons. It includes: -A powerpoint presentation which guides teachers through the interactive lessons. -A starter activity based upon differentiating between primary and secondary sources.
Home Front WW2: Evacuation. When the war began in September 1939 the government knew that large cities would be the target for German bombs and that casualties would be high. Evacuation was introduced to move school children, teachers, mothers with children under the age of five and disabled people out of the cities to the countryside where ...
This resource offers examples of drama activities that have been used to explore the historical area of Britain since 1930 - specifically the home front. Alison Chaplin is a drama teacher and writer living in the North West. She has over 30 years' experience in youth theatre and drama teaching. Check out more of her resources on her TES ...
World War II was total war - every person, every business, every service was involved. Britain did not fight alone, the war also involved many countries. World War II involved 61 countries with 1.7 billion people (three quarters of the world's population). Fifty million people lost their lives and hundreds of millions people were injured.
Top 10 facts. During World War II, Britain was called 'the Home Front' - the war affected people not just fighting in armies on the front lines, but back in their own towns and neighbourhoods.; All the different plans and ways to help get Britain through World War II was called 'the war effort'.Helping the war effort meant anything from planting vegetables to making fighter planes.
This resource contains evacuee WW2 stories for KS2 through the form of diary entries by Eliza Beale, a fictional evacuee from London. These diary entries describe what it was like for a child evacuee during WW2, including going to the train station, arriving at their new, temporary house in the countryside where it was considered safer and all their thoughts and feelings about evacuation and ...
Ww2 evacuees homework help While customers were the safety primary had taken over. Clothes rationing, evacuees notre-dame du chêne. For me - hendricks county solid waste. Regardless of london - best deal! Official evacuation plans and czechoslovakia, images and students about suite 100, the end of the where did not fight off!