BOOKFEST 'REMEMBERS' November 2011

When the Children Came Home: stories of wartime evacuees a talk by author Julie Summers

On 1 September 1939 the largest mass evacuation in British history began. Over the course of the next six years some 3.5 million mothers and children were affected. Using stunning photographs, Julie Summers spoke movingly about some of the people she had met and interviewed while she was researching her book. Weaving together their individual tales of excitement, happiness, heartbreak, fear, love and loyalty, she created a vivid picture not only of their wartime experiences, but also of what happened to them when they eventually returned to their families after months and often years away from home. It was a fascinating and compelling portrait of wartime Britain from the children’s perspective. The talk was sponsored by SADAA and dedicated to the memory of Joan Tate and historian and broadcaster Richard Holmes, who died this summer.