“WE WILL TAKE YOUR CHILDREN TO SAFETY!”
During World War II, thousands of British teachers were evacuated with their pupils, yet we hear their stories far less often than those of child evacuees. Sadly the majority of teachers have now passed away, but their surviving diaries and private correspondence make their wartime memories all the more precious. These men and women took on a great responsibility. Cut off from their own families for the duration of the war, they not only educated the children in their care, but did their best to monitor their health and happiness. They visited local organisations such as the Women’s Voluntary Service and Red Cross, to ask for clothing for their pupils. Crucially, they provided hope and comfort to the children when they were homesick or emotionally distressed.
“THE TEACHER TOUCHED MUM’S ARM AND SAID SOFTLY, ‘YOU CAN LEAVE THEM NOW, MOTHER, THEY’LL BE SAFE WITH ME’”
On 1 September 1939 the British government’s plans for evacuation swung into operation and millions of schoolchildren, teachers, mothers and infants were moved before war was declared on 3 September. In the weeks leading up to the evacuation, teachers had liaised with parents regarding the preparations for evacuation and carried out evacuation rehearsals in their schools. In her school log book, Maureen Brass described the preparations that were made for the evacuation of St Dominic’s Infants School, in London: “The week before the evacuation, we gave parents lists of what the children should bring with them, made labels showing their names, the name of the school and the school number. Ours was school number 0302. On the morning of September
