Evacuation Plans for Pupils The start of the second world war put children living in cities in danger of being hurt in enemy bombing, so a plan to send them to live with families in the country was explained to parents. From Green Lane School 180 children were to be evacuated. At 1.10pm on 1st September 1939 the children arrived and prepared to leave the town. They were put into groups of 10 with a teacher or a helper, and put on buses to take them to the railway station for the train to Padiham. On 2nd September Miss Wheatley visited the children and was happy to find the facilities there excellent. The school at Green Lane was closed and arrangements were made to teach the remaining children in houses and rooms near the school on a shift system. In December it was decided to use Green Lane as a school again as there were air raid shelters nearby, and the buildings were divided up to make space for the children from St Michael's and Midland Road schools. A week later air raid shelters were constructed in the school by bricking up classroom 2 and strengthening the cellars. Air raid practices were held - 650 children were taken to the shelters in 3 minutes. Air Raids on Bradford Leads to Poor Attendance In August 1940 a large number of buildings in Bradford were set on fire and demolished by incendiary bombs. The Director of Education gave out this notice: "if children are up for long hours during the night due to Air Raid Alarms, 1 hour is to be allowed for them to arrive at school for the morning session. Registers should not be closed until 10 o'clock." Gas Masks
All children and adults had been supplied with gas masks in case of gas attacks. The air raid wardens visited school regularly to check the masks were being carried and were working. Play Centre Set Up In 1942 mothers were once again working, doing the jobs of men who were away at war. The school buildings were used after school and during the holidays for their children. Children's Health Suffering Cases of mumps, chicken pox and scabies were common at school. The records noted that "the children do not seem to have the same vitality as before the war and the power of resistance is not good. The children are not as clean. The water supply has been unsatisfactory lately." Peace in Europe The announcement was made at 3pm on 7th May 1945 that Germany had capitulated. On 8th May the school was granted a holiday to celebrate the end of the war. Celebrations took place all over town - illuminations, bonfires and processions. The Great Snow February 1947 saw terrible weather conditions made it difficult for children and teachers to get to school. Snow fell heavily and attendance was the lowest ever experienced. There were electricity cuts all over the country and many of the children's fathers were out of work. It was a hard time. Royal Wedding On 20th November 1947 school closed for the wedding of HRH Princess Elizabeth (our future Queen) to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
World News World War II Rationing starts The government imposed limits on the amounts of food each individual is allowed to buy. "Points" rationing was introduced the following year, where each foodstuff was equivalent to a certain number of points so you could spend your allocation how you pleased. A great deal of ingenuity was needed to make palatable food out of the allowances. Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister Churchill's rousing patriotic speeches kept the nation's morale high throughout the difficult war years. His speeches are classic pieces of prose. Do you recognise: "We shall fight on the beaches " and "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"? Dunkirk Evacuation 26 May 1940: Downing Street ordered rescue of troops trapped on the beaches at Dunkirk. Hundreds of English civilians used their own boats to remove the soldiers. This kind of plucky, can-do attitude became known as "Dunkirk Spirit". Battle of Britain begins 10 Jul 1940:
D-Day landings 06 Jun 1944: Operation Overload swung into action, beginning the Allied invasion of Germanoccupied France. Hundreds of thousands of troops landed in this massive invasion. Victory in Europe (VE) Day 08 May 1945: This marked the end of the fight against Germany and her Allies. Indian Independence 15 Aug 1947: India was split into two countries: India and Pakistan. The Partition forced the largest mass movement of humanity in history (10 million people relocated). Community/religious violence claimed more than one million lives as Hindus fled to India and Muslims to newly-created Pakistan. Immigration to England was greatly increased from these areas. Trafalgar Square Christmas tree The tradition began of Norway thanking England for friendship during the second world war by donating a Christmas Tree to stand in Trafalgar Square every year.
The battle against the German Luftwaffe for supremacy of England's skies raged until October 1941. Start of the Blitz 07 Sep 1940: German Luftwaffe planes begin an intensive night-time bombing campaign on London and the South East. Many buildings were destroyed and lives lost but Londoners pulled together and make the most of life in the air raid shelters. Henry Moore found inspiration for his abstract sculptures in the scenes he witnessed: "I spent the time looking at the rows of people sleeping on the platforms. I had never seen so many reclining figures, and even the train tunnels seemed to be like the holes in my sculpture." NHS founded The National Health Service Act was passed which makes provision for free health care for the nation.