This is part of TOS Unit Study Newsletter. Enjoy!
“Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan,
Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they
were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids.”
—The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, chapter
one
Why Were the Children Away from
Home?
During World War II, England was faced with war on its doorstep. The advent
of fighter planes and bombers meant that civilians were not safe at home while
soldiers fought England's enemies in France, Germany, and beyond, especially
since part of the strategy of the German army was to attack civilians and thus
weaken the morale of Germany's opponents. When England became engaged in the
war, this danger was known, and heavy causalities were predicted among the
civilian population, particularly in London. As the center of government and the
most populous English city, London was often targeted for attack. Though the
civilian loss of life was not as great as originally predicted, it was still
quite heavy.
On September 1, 1939, two days before war was declared in England, efforts
began to evacuate over 1 million children from London and the more populous
areas of England. Many were sent to live with relatives or with foster families
in the countryside, in Cornwall, and in Scotland. More than 16,000 were sent
overseas, though some of these children died in enemy attacks en route. Despite
the efforts at evacuation, the war took its ghastly toll. More than one in ten
air raid victims were children under the age of 16. Official estimates place the
child death toll during the war at 7,736. In addition, 7,622 were seriously
wounded in the attacks. Including adults, more than 60,595 civilians were killed
by enemy action in Great Britain during the war, with another 86,182 seriously
injured.
The fictitious Pevensie children (Pevensie is Lucy, Susan, Edmund, and
Peter's surname) were placed with an eccentric but wise professor who lived in a
large house in the country. According to Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis himself
harbored some children during the war effort. In fact, the Professor Digory
character (who appears in several Narnian tales) shares many characteristics
with Lewis himself.
The study of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe may
be a good opportunity to learn more about the terrible events that surrounded
World War II. Perhaps it will even give your children a new perspective on how
thankful they should be for our present (though tenuous) level of security. The
links below provide good starting places to learn more about the role of
children in England during this terrible conflict. If you wish to see another
film that depicts this, you may want to rent the recent film version of Five
Children and It based on the fantasy classic by E. Nesbit. Though in the book
version the children are not evacuated, the film adaptation makes use of this
element as part of the plot and gives another touching portrait of the fears and
discomforts that the evacuated children endured.
Internet Links:
The Evacuation of Children
During World War II (lots of pictures—great site!)
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/war/evacuation.htm
The
Children's War (a BBC site)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlondon/1945/childrens_war.shtml
Excerpts
from How We Lived Then: A History of Everyday Life During the
Second World War
http://www.johndclare.net/wwii6b_blitz_longmate.htm
|
