Evacuees

 Do you know of any evacuee children in Blackwell in 1939? Did anyone keep in touch with them?

Here is a story copied from the BBC WW2 People’s War telling of children evacuated to Stonebroom and Shirland.

'WW2 People's War is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar

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At the start of the war, children were evacuated from the large cities.

George H Johnston (GHJ) was then teaching at Nun Street school, Derby, and GHJ and these children were evacuated to villages (Shirland, Stonebroom) north of Alfreton. ((This was a big change for these poor deprived children, many of whom had not previously left Derby. After they returned to Derby the children came in voluntarily for 30 mins to be given work, and have their work looked at, and then they went away. This went on until July 1940. When GHJ went into the army in Sept 1940 they had still not got round to having classes in the school by then. They did eventually, but even then only a limited number of children were allowed to be together at any one time, and were consequently scattered through a number of different buildings. There were no air-raid shelters at the schools - it was not possible.))

The evacuation of the children from Nun St school to Stonebroom took place the day before the WW2 started: this was a Saturday. GHJ was told about it on Friday. War was declared on Sunday. It was not very well organised - there was a bus convoy with three groups going to different places. Mavis Richards (who worked in the Welfare Office in Derby, and GHJ later married) was with a group of Mothers and babies. The result of the disorganisation was that the 48 hours supply of initial food was all on one bus. GHJ and others had to take a Council dust cart round to take the food to each house. GHJ then lodged with the local headmaster. He was there on and off until July 1940: the numbers of pupils and masters evacuated became less as time went on: parents wanted their children at home. GHJ and two unmarried mistresses stayed there until the Christmas. September and October 1939 were very dry - as they were not supposed to be in buildings there were nature rambles every day.

(As reported by GHJ to his son, 1990)

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