I was starkly reminded of the plight of many of the Channel Island mothers who, when they were released from the Evacuee reception centres, discovered that they were not allowed to rent property unless their husbands were in the Forces.
As a result, many of the mothers whose husbands were trapped in occupied Guernsey shared houses with Guernsey mothers whose husbands were in the Forces. In one Stockport house, four mothers, with two or more children each, were crammed into a four bedroomed house for several years.
Margaret Le Poidevin and her mother shared a home (an empty corner shop building) with Mrs Tippett and her children. Their home is shown below.
In addition, some mothers were told by local officials "You cannot possibly care for your children on your own, without your husband. You should consider letting them live with local families until the war ends." To mothers who had left their homes and possessions behind in Guernsey, this really was the last straw.They refused to hand their children over. They were all that they had left!
You can find out more about this evacuee ‘homesharing’ in my ‘Diary of an Evacuee’ page on my Guernsey Evacuation website:- http://guernseyevacuees.wordpress.com/diary-of-an-evacuee-jun-1940/
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