Author Topic: World War 2 Evacuees  (Read 866 times)

Offline Cymro36

  • RootsChat Extra
  • **
  • Posts: 24
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
World War 2 Evacuees
« on: Tuesday 14 April 20 20:47 BST (UK) »
Let's make it clear from the outset that this is the longest of long shots as I'm starting with a virtually blank page, but with old age I've begun to wonder about a boy and girl who were evacuated to stay with relations of mine at Port Talbot, South Wales, during W.W.2.  Unfortunately I have absolutely no info about them and am only assuming that they came from London as that was where the greatest number of evacuees came from.  Although we played together and we attended the same school during their stay, I was only about 4 or 5 at the time and have no memory of their names.  I do not even know if they were siblings or which schools they came from or how long they stayed (though I believe it was not for the full duration of the war).  Now for what I do know - the names of the relations with whom they stayed were William (or Will) and Sarah Owen who lived at 14, The Uplands, Penycae, Port Talbot.  The school attended during their stay was Central Primary School, Port Talbot.  And that is all I know.  While I realise that this is probably a wild goose chase, there may be just the slimmest chance that they are family history buffs and might see this post.  Alternatively, there just may be a Roots Chat member who knows of someone who was evacuated to South Wales and might - just might - fit the bill.  As I said at the outset, it's the longest of long shots, and I don't expect success, but it's an itch that I just have to scratch.

Offline Viktoria

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 4,091
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: World War 2 Evacuees
« Reply #1 on: Tuesday 14 April 20 22:43 BST (UK) »
Hello, the school ,if still in existence will have their records re when they started and their address(es).
I have mine from my time as an evacuee in Shropshire.
Also if when they returned to their home(s) they were still of school age as their date of birth will be on the school’s admission register
I got mine from the village school.
If the school no longer exists there is still a chance the records will be with the Local Education Authority.
If you can get a copy of the relevant page it will give the date the children started ,if they were over five when they started they will in all probability
have come from elsewhere ,not the area local to the school as then they would have started at five,Inwas five and a day.

If the same children left in about 1944/5 but were still of school age then they would have gone home to wherever.
Wales gave refuge to many children from Liverpool.

Best of luck with your searching .
Viktoria.

Offline Spidermonkey

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 5,737
  • https://www.apigintime.net/blog
    • View Profile
Re: World War 2 Evacuees
« Reply #2 on: Tuesday 14 April 20 22:50 BST (UK) »
Was this a private arrangement? I am not sure that Port Talbot was a receiving area for evacuees due to the concentration of heavy industries there. It might be that looking in the wider tree of your relations might show the answer.

Offline Gibel

  • RootsChat Aristocrat
  • ******
  • Posts: 2,638
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: World War 2 Evacuees
« Reply #3 on: Wednesday 15 April 20 00:20 BST (UK) »
Logbooks 1899 - 1963 for Port Talbot Central School are held at West Glamorgan Archives. I think the admission of evacuees would be recorded in the log book. Names may not have been recorded but I think where they had come from was likely to be be recorded. It doesn’t mention Admission Registers so they may have been lost or still be with the present school.


Online softly softly

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 8,101
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: World War 2 Evacuees
« Reply #4 on: Thursday 16 April 20 16:56 BST (UK) »
Do you have the dates of birth for William(Will) and Sarah.

John

Offline Spidermonkey

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 5,737
  • https://www.apigintime.net/blog
    • View Profile
Re: World War 2 Evacuees
« Reply #5 on: Thursday 16 April 20 17:08 BST (UK) »
It doesn't look like Will and Sarah were living at 14 The Uplands in 1939.

Online softly softly

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 8,101
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: World War 2 Evacuees
« Reply #6 on: Thursday 16 April 20 17:18 BST (UK) »
As a matter of interest Spidermonkey were you able to view persons at that addess and if so what criterior did you use to access the address please.

John

Offline Crumblie

  • RootsChat Veteran
  • *****
  • Posts: 721
  • Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
    • View Profile
Re: World War 2 Evacuees
« Reply #7 on: Thursday 16 April 20 17:22 BST (UK) »
My mother was evacuated from Leeds and I was able to find her on the 1939 Register at the place she had been sent to. The stupid thing was it was only about 10 miles from where she and her parents lived. I don't know how long she stayed away but I know a lot of children did return home either of their own accord or because their parents took them away. If the council found out they would be returned, some more than once.

Offline Spidermonkey

  • RootsChat Marquessate
  • *******
  • Posts: 5,737
  • https://www.apigintime.net/blog
    • View Profile
Re: World War 2 Evacuees
« Reply #8 on: Thursday 16 April 20 17:23 BST (UK) »
I was able to view the page - I used the address function on FindMyPast.  14 isn't shown on the index (mistranscribed, perhaps) but because address were recorded on a continuous sheet, I found a nearby house and worked backwards.  Have a look for yourself by looking for Uplands [in the street box] and Port Talbot [in the Borough/District] box.