The Home Front Flashcards
Why was evacuation introduced?
British gov expected the Germans would bomb britain from the air so it took precautions to protect civilians from bombings and gas attacks.
Where were people evacuated to?
children were moved from the likeliest targets- the cities- into the countryside.
When did the evacuation take place?
1st of September 1939 and there was also a second evacuation in 1940
What were the experiences of the evacuation?
-Parents reluctant to be separated
city school closed
-teachers went with children to countryside
-evacuees gathered in village or school halls to be chosen by foster families
-Homesickness and the phoney war saw many children drift back to the cities by Christmas 1939
Successes of evacuation
some children very happy- helped on farms and better diet
- safer
- social reforms as it highlighted poor conditions of children from the inner cities
- enabled mothers to take on vital work
- experience of country life for first time
criticisms of evacuation
- chaotic process when a mismatch in number of evacuees and foster homes
- some had miserable time- seen as burdens
- country families shocked by the evacuees- some had to deal with children who wet their bed and had no experience of using a knife and fork.
- badly treated or exploited
- clashes between city and country values
- bullying
- split from siblings
How did gov prepare for air raids?
anderson shelters- february 1939 had enough room for a family and safer than house, saved thousands of lives
morrison shelter- 1941, could be erected indoors by the end of the year half a million of these shelters had been distributed.
Forced to abide by the blackout rules to ensure no light was visible from their homes
In december 1939 over 1500 people were killed on britains roads, compared to an average of 600 per month in the pre-war period.
