Evacuees charity is in need of your help
evacuees and their families.
The charity, based in Gringley On The Hill, Nottinghamshire, was formed with the assistance of The Imperial War Museum in London for children evacuated during the Second World War.
Karen Follows, The British Evacuees Association manager and editor, said: "We are currently experiencing financial difficulties due to the naturally decreasing membership numbers but we are aware there are many out there who have not yet heard of us. We publish our members' stories in the pages of our bi-monthly magazine The Evacuee, together with photographs, articles of interest, news of events and a Lost Touch section. We have recently reunited two sets of friends which had not seen each other for over 80 years!"
More than 3.5million people, mainly children, were evacuated during the Second World War. Some were lucky to experience a happy childhood away from their family, home and all that was familiar, and some unfortunately did not. All have unique stories to tell and are the last link to the Second World War.
Karen added: "They are such an important part of British history and it is vitally important their legacy lives on so future generations are aware of their sacrifices and experiences as children growing up during World War Two, when they were taken from their familiar surroundings and sent to live with complete strangers in unknown locations.
"Their education was severely disrupted and their formative years were spent away from home, many suffered from homesickness and anxiety. Counselling was not offered and the impart of their separation is still being felt today."
After the end of the war, some children never returned home, having been told they had no family or home to return to. Those who did return came home different, they were ‘grown up and independent’ as a result of their experiences.
They had encountered and witnessed things many children would not have seen before. Some experienced hostile relationships from their ‘foster’ parents and some were billeted to adults who had no children of their own so had little empathy or experience in looking after them.
Siblings were often separated for the first time, just when they needed to be together. Evacuation was not compulsory but if you had spare rooms in your home, it was compulsory to take in children, so this made for some uncomfortable situations.
Some never felt welcome and suffered silently for years. Some were lucky to be taken to caring loving homes and treated as one of the family and not used as ‘cheap’ labour. Long-lasting relationships were formed and are still in place with family descendants.
Karen said: "The association, a registered charity, provides these people with a voice and a sense of togetherness. They write their stories for publication, and read those of others, and realise they were not alone. We encourage our members to tell their story and the cathartic aspect helps them come to terms with their past experiences.
"We provide schools, other educational establishments, the media, local history groups and individuals with information. We are also regularly asked by television and radio for input into their programmes.
"Over the past 27 years,