Problems Arise

Although the British government had surveyed possible housing for children in the countryside, they didn't take into account the fact that many wealthy families could arrange their own accommodations. This lead to many of the possible spaces being already taken when children arrived.

Many children did not know where they were going. Scenes like the one shown above, where two unnamed children being picked up sceptically and by unhappy adults, were frequent. When there was not enough assigned spaces, children were often liner up at the railway by officers and adults picked which children they wanted. This, and lack of multiple bed spaces at many homes, lead to brothers and sisters being split up, a fact that made the transition even harder on children.

Many children were treated well, but others were abused. Some were beaten, some were not fed properly, and Terri McNeil was reportedly kept in a birdcage. It was for some of these reasons that some children fled back to the cities. This is discussed in the clip below from an episode of the BBC scifi show, Doctor Who. The episode is entitled "The Empty Child" and takes place during WWII.

Other children were brought back to London by parents before 1940 because nothing seemed to be happening in the war and parents assumed London would stay safe. However, there were no schools open for the children and with the parents either fighting in the war or working in the war effort, these children roamed the streets alone during the day. The following British propaganda poster promoted evacuation.