大象传媒

Whilst the majority of stories focussing on the evacuation of children during WW2 discuss only the welcome that these children were given, this is by no means the full truth.

My grandfather was evacuated to Devon during WW2 and he would often re-count stories of neglect, hard-work and brutal beatings at the hands of those who were in a position to provide assistance.

The belief that all those who took in evacuees were kind-hearted is a too long perpetuated myth with child abuse and neglect being often rife. Of course, in those days the issue 'didn't exist' and there were no institutions to check for it though still it is high time that the myth of the kindness and selflessness of those who took in evacuees was exploded.

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