Were you an evacuee during the Second World War? ResCEW NEEDS YOU! – University of Reading
19 May 2005
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and researchers at The University of Reading are scouring the country for ex-evacuees to ensure that their experiences of wartime Britain are never forgotten. During the war, hundreds of thousands of children were evacuated from towns and cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester, and now the University's Research Centre for Evacuees and War Child Studies (ResCEW) wants to hear from ex-evacuees to help with the Home Front Recall Project. Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the Home Front Recall Project is a national initiative and a follow-on from the highly successful D-Day Anniversary celebrations in 2004. Its purpose is to make sure that the part played by civilians in the Second World War is fully represented during the events to be held in London in July 2005 to mark the 60th Anniversary of the ending of the war. A key activity is the development of a database containing basic information relating to evacuees and their evacuation. Dr Martin Parsons, Director of ResCEW, said: "This database will provide a point of contact and create an opportunity to bring together people who may not have seen each other for the past 60 years. "It will also enable us to answer queries that we already receive on a daily basis from ex-evacuees enquiring about individual schools, reception and evacuated areas. Finally, it will also help us carry out vital research in the field of evacuee and war child studies." Ex-evacuees who would like to take part in the Home Front Recall Project should complete a questionnaire at the following website: http://www.extra.rdg.ac.uk/evacueesarchive/section2/homefrontrecall.htm. Alternatively, please contact Mrs Daniela Brewis at The University of Reading on (tel) 0118 378 5824 or (email) d.brewis@reading.ac.uk. ResCEW would also welcome individual recollections of evacuation in written form so these can be deposited in the archives. End Notes for editors -Dr Martin Parsons, Director of ResCEW, is available for interview. A black and white image of two wartime evacuees is also available for media use. Please contact Craig Hillsley on (tel) 0118 378 7388 or (email) c.hillsley@rdg.ac.uk