HOW CANADA HELPED BRITISH EVACUEES DURING WW2

Interviews with Second World War evacuees, together with surviving wartime records, show there were certain individuals and organisations that made a huge difference to the lives of these penniless evacuees, not just financially, but also emotionally. Amongst these were the Canadian Channel Islander Societies who helped thousands of British evacuees.

When news of the Channel Islands evacuation and occupation reached Channel Islanders who were living in the Vancouver area of Canada, a sense of shock swept through the community. They quickly realised that the evacuees, who had been sent to the British mainland, would need clothing, shoes, cash and medical supplies. The Channel Islands – Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Herm and Sark are 70 miles away from England but around 30 miles from the French coast.

In June 1940, 17,000 children and adults left Guernsey, arriving in England with just the clothes on their backs. Whole schools were evacuated with their teachers, and some reopened in England during the war as 'Guernsey schools' so that the evacuated teachers and pupils could remain together. One school was financially supported by Americans, with one child being sponsored by the President's wife, Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt. The only communication between England and Guernsey was through 25 word Red Cross letters.

Interviews with the evacuees, together with surviving wartime records, show there were certain individuals and organisations that made a huge difference to the lives of these penniless evacuees, not just financially, but also emotionally. Amongst these were the Canadian Channel Islander's Societies. When news of the Channel Islands evacuation and occupation reached the 500 Channel Islanders living in the Vancouver area, a sense of shock swept through the community. They quickly realised that the evacuees would need clothing, shoes, cash and medical supplies, and a writer, Philippe William Luce, formed the Vancouver Channel Islanders Society. 

A handful of their newsletters have survived, and the society noted at one meeting,

"Thousands of old folks, women and children urgently

need help, and every dollar counts. It costs about $1000 a

week for shoe repairs and dental attention alone. Every

letter from the kiddies to their parents in the Islands costs one shilling and families building homes in England need stoves, furniture, bedding etc.ⁱ

The society's newsletters give details of the fund raising efforts they made. They sold Christmas cards and Jersey seed potatoes, and held raffles – with one prize being a prize Jersey calf which raised $3,000. Local people donated clothing, shoes, socks, quilts and books to the society, which were sent to Victory Hall, 535 Homer Street, Vancouver, for packaging on Thursday afternoons. The society organised lunches for which admission was $25 per person, together with musical evenings, concerts, film shows and picnics. 

In October 1941 the Vancouver Lion's Club donated all the proceeds of its annual charity concert to the society, which featured an appearance by Lansing Hatfield, a star of the New York Opera. By February 1942, the Vancouver society had sent $3,254 to London for the evacuees together with 119 crates of clothing, and letters of thanks began to arrive from Channel Island evacuees in England,

"More and more letters of thanks are coming from the recipients;

some exceedingly touching scribblings from little children."

Some of the Canadians who donated clothing to the society placed little notes in the pockets of coats and jackets. A Guernsey evacuee at the Forest School in Cheshire found the following note in the pocket of his coat,

"To the little boy who receives this parcel. Please write to me

at the above address and let me know how you like it. May

God Bless you, and keep you safe from harm. Sincerely yours,

Mrs C J Collett."

Insert here: Image of note from Canada

Another society was established in Victoria,Vancouver Island, containing around 100 members. At their first meeting in August 1941, the committee decided to arrange a Channel Islands Arts and Crafts event, to arouse interest in the islands, and between 1941 and 1945, the Victoria society raised $4,992 for the evacuees. They used the Women's Institute rooms on Fort Street for the collection and packaging of clothing, before sending the crates to the Vancouver society, or directly to London.⁴

It is not known exactly how many more Channel Islanders in Canada carried out this wonderful work, but their efforts clearly went a long way in helping hundreds of unfortunate evacuees in England who had been torn from their homes.

If anyone in Canada can help provide me with more information about the Canadian Channel Islanders societies, I would love to hear from you. I would also love to contact the family of Mrs C J Collett, from Vancouver, whose note is displayed in this article.

Please contact me by email at: whaleybridgewriter@gmail.com

All of my history books can be viewed here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gillian-Mawson/e/B008MWQ0IE/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_

Sources:

i  Vancouver Channel Islanders Society Minutes, February 1942 (found in Mr P Martel's diary)

4The Daily Colonist, Channel Islanders in Victoria, 3 May 1979, p.4

A POEM OF EVACUATION

I thought that readers may wish to see this poem, written by an evacuee, Joan Ozanne.

It describes her feelings on the day that she left her home in Guernsey in June 1940, to
be evacuated to England.  She did not return home for five years.



My childhood was left inside.
when I closed my bedroom door.
In the hall, distraught, father waits, mother weeps.
The dog unaware, wags his tail
and licks the tears from my face.

Reluctantly we speed to the harbour.
The smell of tobacco smoke on
father’s jacket will remain with me.
On the ship we say goodbye, perhaps forever.
I feel empty like a shell


(c) Joan Ozanne


Find out more about the Guernsey evacuation here:
http://guernseyevacuees.wordpress.com/evacuation/

TELEVISION SHOW WANTS TO REUNITE EVACUEES

During my work on the Guernsey evacuation, I have been lucky enough to reunite a number of evacuees with wartime friends.

I have also collected over 100 evacuation stories from all over Britain for a new book

However, there is now help at hand for anyone evacuated within Britain.  Researchers with the popular ITV show 'Surprise Surprise' want to help wartime British evacuees to be reunited with friends they have lost touch with!

If you would like them to help, please email surprisesurprise@itv.com
or call 0207 157 4550


My blog on the Second World War Guernsey evacuation is here: http://guernseyevacuees.wordpress.com/evacuation/

and you can find out more about some of the evacuees I want to reunite here:
http://guernseyevacuees.wordpress.com/can-you-help/
 
 
The image below shows the Tippett and Munro families (Guernsey evacuees) being reunited in Stockport, by me

MARKING THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAMBUSTERS RAID, IN HIGH PEAK

MARKING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAMBUSTERS RAID,  IN HIGH PEAK

I attended a very moving ceremony at the war memorial in nearby Chapel en le Frith yesterday, to remember RAF 617 Squadron's Flight Lieutenant William (Bill) Astell who died at the age of 23 when his Lancaster bomber exploded shortly after crossing the Dutch border on the flight to the dams. During the raid, another local man, Sergeant Jack Marriot, from New Smithy near Chinley, also lost his life. His Lancaster crashed after it had dropped its bouncing bomb on the parapet of the Eder dam. 

 

I also witnessed the  'fly past' by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's Lancaster bomber 'City of Lincoln' - on its way back from a fly over of the Derwent Dam in the Hope Valley. This dam was used by 617 Squadron during the war to practice the dropping of  'bouncing bombs'. The sight of this historic aircraft was a poignant moment, as it circled the village several times before leaving us.  Below are two photographs of the Lancaster. The one on the left    was taken by me, whilst the other was kindly provided by Becky at High Peak Radio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can read part of my book free here:  'Guernsey Evacuees: The Forgotten Evacuees of the Second World War'

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AAL5TNC/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_fRe5qb1CY4PPE

Silk Embroidered Postcards from World War One

Since January 2013 I have been a volunteer with the  'Derbyshire Lives Through World Wars' project: http://derbyshirelives.wordpress.com/stories/

I am searching through the High Peak's local museums, libraries and archives for items which shows the effect of war on the community, and asking local people to get in touch and share their stories. I am also contacting community groups to to find out what plans and support needs they may have to enable them to commemorate wartime events in High Peak. 2014 sees the centenary of the start of World War One on 28 July 1914, whilst 8 May 1945 marks the 75^th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

I recently spent some volunteer time in Buxton Museum searching through their boxes of ephemera, on the hunt for items relating to World War One and the Second World War. Some of the finds were fascinating, and will be featured in due course on the 'Derbyshire Lives Through World Wars' blog.  I was particularly moved by a number of silk embroidered World War One postcards which had been sent by troops in France and Belgium to their families in Derbyshire. I returned home and decided to purchase some myself through online auctions. Yesterday I received the first of these postcards, 'United We Stand' and here it is:

The message on the back says 'To Mother from your loving son Ted'. Unfortunately the seller does not have any information on 'Ted'.

I was curious about the actual making of these postcards, and information on this can be viewed on several websites, including this one:
http://www.ww1-propaganda-cards.com/index.html


I aim to share more finds on this blog during the rest of my time on this project, which ends in late March. I hope to hear about the effects of war on the home front in the High Peak area, as well as the stories of local troops: stories and memorabilia on farming and food, family life, local war industries, the Land Army, church activities, hospitals, air raids, prisoners of war, evacuees and refugees, women and fund raising, and the local Home Guard. 

YOu can find out more at the following Derbyshire website: http://derbyshirelives.wordpress.com/stories/

POST SCRIPT: My volunteer work on this project ended in late March 2013 as the information gathered has been sent to Derbyshire County Council.

However, I am still looking for stories of wartime evacuees in Derbyshire. Please contact me through the comments box at the foot of this blog. Thank you.  (at July 2013)



Note: ** I have received requests for information about my book 'Guernsey Evacuees: The Forgotten Evacuees of the Second World War' - you can read part of the book free here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AAL5TNC/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_fRe5qb1CY4PPE

How my Grandmother risked her life in the dockyards during World War Two

A few years ago my Mum told me about her mother, Petrina McAndrew, and her wartime work. Petrina was born in 1911 and when war was declared, she was living close to Rosyth dockyard, across the river from Edinburgh. The dockyard was quickly brought up to full strength and Petrina, along with many other local women, began work as a riveter alongside the male workers. She was taught to pass red hot rivets to the male welders who were repairing war damaged ships. Rosyth dockyard and the Forth Bridge were considered prime German targets, so when war broke out, the government ordered children from the surrounding community to be evacuated. Less than half of the children were evacuated at that time, and Petrina was one of those mothers who refused to send her children – Margaret aged five and Jean aged three – away. A visit to Rosyth by Winston Churchill in 1940 underlined Rosyth's importance to the war effort.

Each day was fraught with danger, and Petrina's journey to work was dangerous too, as she travelled there early in the morning along unlit, icy roads. Initially there was hostility from some of her male colleagues, but once they saw that Petrina could pull her weight, things became more tolerable and she made some good friends. She was frequently subject to pranks from her friends in the dockyard and also from the crews of the ships and submarines that docked there. Further bombings took place around Rosyth in 1940 and at that point,

Petrina sent her two girls to stay with her sisters in Wolverhampton, believing it to be less of a target. But that is another story! Sadly Petrina died at the age of 48 in a moped accident when I was only two years old. Just the week before she died, she had sent me a lovely little coat to wear. I am keen to keep her memory alive as I am immensely proud of the arduous and difficult work that she undertook during the war. 

I recently discovered this photograph of my Grandmother, Petrina, with my Mum, Jean. It is so lovely I thought I would add it to this blog post.

NOTE You can view my books on Wartime Britain here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gillian-Mawson/e/B008MWQ0IE/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

MY NEW WARTIME BLOG CAN NOW BE FOUND AT 
https://evacueesofworldwartwo.wordpress.com/

THE MANCHESTER BLITZ OF DECEMBER 1940

The 'Manchester Blitz' was the name given to the most destructive raids on the city during the Second World War. The Luftwaffe mounted consecutive attacks on the city on the nights of 22/23 and 23/24 December 1940, unleashing 467 tons of high explosive and 1,925 canisters of incendiary bombs. Large areas of Manchester, Salford and Stretford were devastated, leaving an estimated 684 people dead and 2,364 wounded. The horrors were reflected in the records of the City Fire Headquarters, illustrating scenes of chaos and overwhelming pressure on the Fire Brigade, as they struggled to record and deal with the bombings and fires which broke out at the time. The city's civil defence services were overstretched as many units had helped in Liverpool just the night before.

The Manchester Fire Officer's log book recorded incidents as follows:

21 December - 1.09am - chimney fire at Chatham Street

quickly followed by

'Ceiling and roof fire at Barlow Street'

The level of air raid alerts rose steadily throughout that day and the next, and by 6.40pm on 22 December, the Officer simply did not have enough time to record each incident in his book, due to the overwhelming number of calls being received about the fires and bombs that were raining down upon the city.

Details of the devastation were recorded in private letters and diaries too. The Reverend of St Aidan's Church in Audenshaw recorded the following account:-

"Evacuated children had just returned home to spend a few days at Christmas with their parents. With constant heavy drones, menacing and monotonous, the planes began to circle ahead, slowly but with certain surety the flames began to take hold and spread. The streets were like rivers of fire, and into the midst of the fires came heavy bombs and mines. By midnight Manchester was a City of flame and thunder. Old buildings of historic treasure went roaring up into the sky. Death fled through the little alleys and into the homes of the rich and poor alike."

The bombings ceased around midnight on 22nd December but in the early hours of 23rd, the bombers returned. Again, Manchester's Fire Officer did not have enough time to record each separate incident, and he wrote later:-

"The results of this second attack were devastating. The major portion of the fire services personnel was by this time completely fatigued, and it is surprising that the men attacked the fresh fires with such vigour and spirit." 

The sky was illuminated by flames which could be seen from towns over 20 miles away.  A teacher who had been evacuated from Guernsey to England in June 1940 wrote this in his diary:-

"By the light of the fires burning in Manchester 8 miles away, a newspaper could be read in my street! Poor Manchester! The sky was literally 'alive', shells bursting, flames, searchlights, and to which the glow of tremendous fires just added the reality to the pictures, and proved beyond doubt that this noise, this upheaval, meant destruction, murder and death."

A report published by Manchester Corporation stated that 68 dwelling houses had been destroyed and another 483 damaged so badly that demolition was necessary. 8 factories had been completely destroyed and 159 damaged so badly that demolition was necessary. Many public buildings had been severely damaged, including the Free Trade Hall, Cross Street Chapel, the Cathedral, Chetham's Hospital, the Corn Exchange, Smithfield Market and St Anne's Church. Amazingly, the Old Wellington Public House, which dates from around 1552, survived the Blitz whilst everything around it was destroyed. The pub also survived the Manchester IRA bomb of 1996!

Yet despite these horrors, the Reverend of St Aidan's Church proudly recorded the stoic attitude of the people of Manchester:-

"For one week we stumbled and fell, dazed and bewildered. But when the New Year dawned, Manchester was on its feet again. Shops were open, factories were working, and Manchester was pulling her weight, mightier than ever. It is only when the pall of smoke and grime lifts, and the sun shines through that we see the broken and proud remains of our proud city."

To view BBC film footage of the damage caused by the Manchester Blitz, click here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/manchester/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_9275000/9275474.stm

To view a memorial, located in Piccadilly Gardens, to the civilians who died, see:
http://manchesterhistory.net/manchester/statues/remembertree.html

To view archive maps which pinpoint the bombed sites, click here:-
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1596191_archive-maps-pinpoint-manchester-blitz-bomb-sites

READ PART OF MY BOOK FOR FREE HERE: 'Guernsey Evacuees: The Forgotten Evacuees of the Second World War' - : http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AAL5TNC/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_fRe5qb1CY4PPE