When the Children Came Home Stories from Wartime Evacuees
On 1 September 1939 Operation Pied Piper began. Its aim was to place the children of Britain's industrial cities beyond the reach of the Luftwaffe. One-and-a-half million children, pregnant women and school teachers were evacuated in two days. A further two million children were evacuated privately, making it the largest mass evacuation of children in British history. Somne children went abroad, others were sent to hostels or institutions, most were billeted with foster families. Some were away for weeks, others for years. Julie Summers tells the story of what happened when these children returned to their families. For some it was a wonderful experienced that enriched their whole lives, for others it cast a long shadow, for a few it changed things for ever. [This book] weaves together a collection of personal stories to create a ... portrait of wartime Britain from the children's perspective."--Back cover.