Oceans Apart : Stories of Overseas Evacuees in World War Two

From May 1940 the Children's Overseas Reception Board began to move children to safety abroad to Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand. The scheme was extremely popular, and over 200,000 applications were made within just four months. In addition, thousands of children were privately evacuated overseas. The 'sea-vacs', as they became known, had a variety of experiences. After weeks at sea they began a new life thousands of miles away. Letters home took up to twelve weeks to reach their destinations and many of these children were totally cut off from their families in the UK. Most found their new way of life to be a positive one in which they were well cared for; for others it was a miserable, difficult or frightening time as they encountered homesickness, prejudice and even abuse. This book reveals in heartbreaking detail the unique experiences of sea-vacs, and their surprising influence on international wartime policy, used as they were as an attempt to elicit international sympathy and financial support for the British war effort. From May 1940, the Children's Overseas Reception Board began to move children to Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand for their own safety during the Second World War. The scheme was extremely popular, and over 200,000 applications were made within just four months, while thousands of children were also sent to be privately evacuated overseas. The 'sea-vacs', as they became known, had a variety of experiences. After weeks at sea, they began new lives thousands of miles away. Letters home took up to twelve weeks to reach their destination, and many children were totally cut off from their families in the UK. While most were well cared for, others found their time abroad a miserable, difficult or frightening experience as they encountered homesickness, prejudice and even abuse. Using a range of primary source material, including diaries, letters and interviews, Penny Starns reveals in heart-breaking detail the unique and personal experiences of sea-vacs, as well as their surprising influence on international wartime policy in their power to elicit international sympathy and financial support for the British war effort. From May 1940 many British parents moved their children to safety abroad to Australia, South Africa, Canada and New Zealand. Over 200,000 applications had been made by the time the scheme closed just four months later, and these 'Seavacs' as they became known had a variety of experiences. After weeks at sea and then a new life thousands of miles away, letters home took up to 12 weeks to reach their destinations and many of these children were totally cut off from their families in the UK. This book reveals in heartbreaking detail the unique experiences of Seavascs, and their surprising in 'Oceans Apart' reveals in heartbreaking detail the unique experiences of overseas evacuees and their surprising influence on international wartime policy, used as they were as an attempt to elicit international sympathy and financial support for the war effort.