大象传媒

A lot has been written about children being evacuated from cities during the early days of the war, but not many people realise that they were not the only evacuees.
In 1940 when I was employed as a Boy Clerk in the Chief Constable's office in Birmingham during the Blitz, I occasionally went home at week-ends to the workhouse in Oswestry where my father and mother were Master and Matron.
On one of these visits I discovered that the number of residents had been increased by several coach loads of elderly evacuees from the East End of London. Little prior notice of their arrival was given, and nobody seemed to have any clear idea of the approximate time when they might be expected. A large boiler of soup made from best beef was kept ready for their arrival, but when they arrived very late in the evening many of them refused to eat it, saying that they were not used to such food.
The visitors were certainly not used to life in the country and they found it difficult to adust. They were accommodated in large dormitories at the top of the building, and during the weeks following their arrival some of them complained constantly. One of them even wrote a letter to his M.P., with the result that in February 1941 Mr. Thurtle (M.P. for Shoreditch) asked the Minister of Health "whether he is aware that conditions under which elderly evacuees are living at Morda House, Oswestry, are unsatisfactory, and that, in particular, the treatment of three evacuees who need medical treatment leaves a great deal to be desired; and if he is unable to arrange for the evacuees to receive better treatment at this institution, whether he will endeavour to make arrangements for their transfer to more comfortable quarters elsewhere?"
As a result the Minister of Health, (Mr. Ernest Brown) arranged for an investigation to be held, and when details of the Parliamentary exchange appeared in the local newspaper there was a great deal of indignation.
In due course the Deputy Hospital Officer of the Midland Region carried out the promised investigation, and his report gave an interesting insight into the story of the elderly evacuees.
It revealed that the hospital wards were as good as those in any class 1A hospital, that a wireless set for the exclusive use of the evacuees had been given by voluntary effort in Oswestry, that a gramophone and records had been provided, that the County Library Service arranged issues and exchanges of books twice weekly, and that a newsagent called with papers and periodicals daily.
The food, according to the report, was wholesome and good, and almost all the evacuees were in receipt of a pension and were able to purchase items from the shops in Oswestry to supplement the diet. As for the medical treatment given to the evacuees, it was reported that the doctor visited every other day and was readily available at short notice if required, while some of the women patients who had been having insulin for some time in London were sugar-free and not requiring insulin because of suitable medical treatment and dieting.
It was apparent from the report that the evacuees were well-cared for and, indeed, compared to the lot of some people at that time, were to be envied. Unfortunately, they did not all agree. Some eventually drifted back to London, but some did stay on in rural Shropshire.

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