No 63: The evacuation of Gwladys Street School, Everton

The week before I visited the WW2 Exhibition in Capel Curig I had visited the Liverpool Records Office. I was born in Liverpool in 1938. My mother, from Penmachno, was a nurse at the Royal Southern Hospital. I showed some photos of my mother at the Royal Southern in Blog No. 32 in September 2009. My father, from Llithfaen, was a teacher at the Gwladys Street School and football fans will know that this school is next to Goodison Park, the Everton Football ground. I show a photo of my father (on the right as you look at the photo) with the school football team after they had won a rather magnificent looking shield in 1937.

On the outbreak of war my father and his class were evacuated to the village of Diddlebury near Craven Arms in Shropshire. My parents and I stayed at the Vicarage and I have a number of photos of our stay there but I was too young to have any real memories. I had assumed that the evacuation had taken place sometime following the declaration of war on 3rd September 1939 but last Christmas I received a book, "Children of the War Years" by Janice Anderson, published by Futura. Here I learnt that planning for the evacuation had started in 1938 and that implementation had started early in 1939.

I established that the Log Book for Gwladys Street School was held at the Liverpool Record Office and I made arrangements to go to examine it together with some other records in which I was interested. You must book ahead and order the records you wish to see. In the Log Book I saw the name of my father, Emyr Roberts, appearing from time to time and then in 1939 I started to come across references to the evacuation. On 8 March 1939 the Head attended a "meeting of Head Teachers to discuss the Evacuation Scheme in detail".

On 13 March the entry reads: "Meeting of parents to explain the scheme and issue forms and letters Meeting enthusiastic and Infants Hall filled to capacity. Many intelligent questions. The scholars took home forms for the evacuation to their parents and to those cases where pre-school ages were reported to live. Acceptances 83%"

At the exhibition at Capel Curig I learnt that "As early as March 1939 censuses were conducted to survey the available accommodation". It is clear that the planning in the cities was going on at the same time as the planning in the rural areas which were to receive the evacuees.

On 4 April the Log Book entry reads: "Evacuation forms signed by approx. 85% of the department. The whole of the staff volunteered to assist in the evacuation duties. Survey of kit bags etc required for conveyance of personal effects on examination reveals about 2/3rds without suitable receptacles. Resolved with the Headmistress to order Kit Bags for those agreeable - order placed for over 300." On 25 April there was a "successful parents evening with film display".

The next reference to the Evacuation is on 16 August when the Evacuation Instructions were received. On 25 August Evacuation Rehearsals were carried out - 10 groups of 50 formed.

28 August: "Official Evacuation Rehearsal. Authority for kin registration on this day. Evacuation Party to proceed to Ludlow @ 12.35 pm from Kirkdale Station on the 1st day consisting of approx. 450 children with 55 (Infants Department)."

31 August: "Second and Final Evacuation Warnings received to evacuate on Friday 1 September."

1 September: "The school was evacuated and left Kirkdale Station at 12.25 in charge of Mr H Watson and staff. The party travelled to Ludlow, where children were billeted in various villages. (Bromfield, Craven Arms, Wistanstow, Diddlebury, Munslow, Richard's Castle, Burford and Cleobury Mortimer)"

I read elsewhere that 226 trains left Liverpool that day carrying 57,000 children and 31,000 mothers with young children heading for destinations in Wales, Cheshire, Shropshire Hereford and Lancashire. The organisation that went into this was truly amazing and it must be remembered that this was also happening in all the major cities on the same day.

I assume that my mother and I also left Liverpool with my father on that train to live with the Rev. and Mrs Jones and their daughter Myra in the Vicarage in Diddlebury. Or did we travel to join him at a later date?

Gwynedd Family History Society, www.gwynedd.fhs.org.uk
Meetings for the next four weeks are:

Caernarfon, 29 September (In Welsh, last Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Library, Lôn Pafiliwn: Wil Aaron: "Y Llyfrgell fwyaf yn y byd"

Bangor, 4 October (In English, first Tuesday of each month) 7.00pm at the Quakers Meeting Hall, Dean Street: David Ellender "Plas Newydd: a home shaped by love and loss"

Conwy, 10 October (In English, second Monday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Ebenezer, Abergele Road, Old Colwyn: Vivian Parry Williams "Dolwyddelen and the Navvies 1874-79"

Pwllheli, 16 September (In Welsh, third Friday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Seion, Lon Dywod: Parch Olwen Williams: "Hel Achau"

Dolgellau, 13 Hydref (In Welsh, second Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at the Royal Ship Hotel: W Lloyd Davies: "Bachgen bach o Felin y Wig"

Llangefni, 15 September (In English, third Thursday of each month) 7.00pm at Capel Smyrna, Ffordd Glanhwfa: Angharad Holmes: "Môn to Mesapotamia. The story of a nurse"

Clwyd Family History Society, www.clwydfhs.org.uk

The meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month (except August) at 2.00 pm at locations that rotate within the former county of Clwyd.

Saturday 9 October: 2.00 pm at The Community Centre, Park Street, RUABON, LL14 6LE
Chris and Judy Walsh: "Wyvern Midland Railway"