Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II The evacuation of civilians in Britain during the Second World War was designed to save civilians in Britain , particularly children , from the risk of the aerial bombing of cities by moving them to areas thought to be less at risk . Operation Pied Piper , which began on 1 September 1939 , officially relocated more than 3 . 5 million people . Further waves of official evacuation and re - evacuation occurred from the South and East coast in June 1940 , when a seaborne invasion was expected , and from affected cities after the Blitz began in September 1940 . There were also official evacuations from the UK to other parts of the British Empire , and many non - official evacuations within and from the UK . Other mass movements of civilians included British citizens arriving from the Channel Islands , and displaced people arriving from continental Europe . Evacuation Scheme . The Government Evacuation Scheme was developed during summer 1938 by the Anderson Committee and was implemented by the Ministry of Health . The country was divided into zones , classified as either " evacuation " , " neutral " , or " reception " , with priority evacuees being moved from the major urban centres and billeted on the available private housing in more rural areas . Each area covered roughly a third of the population , although several urban areas later bombed were not classified for evacuation . In early 1939 , the reception areas compiled lists of available housing . Space for a couple of thousand people was found , and the government also constructed camps which provided a few thousand additional spaces . In summer 1939 , the government began to publicise its plan through the local authorities . They had overestimated demand : only half of all school - aged children were moved from the urban areas instead of the expected 80 % . There was enormous regional variation : as few as 15 % of the children were evacuated from some urban areas , while over 60 % of children were evacuated in Manchester and Liverpool . The refusal of the central government to spend large sums on preparation also reduced the effectiveness of the plan . In the event over 1 , 474 , 000 people were evacuated . Evacuation . Evacuation was officially announced on August 31 , and began on September 1 , two days before the declaration of war . From London and the other main cities , people in the priority class boarded trains and were dispatched to rural towns and villages in the designated areas . They were also sent by bus to closer areas . With the uncertainties over registering for evacuation , the actual movement was also disjointed — evacuees were gathered into groups and put on the first available train , regardless of its destination . School and family groups were further separated in the transfer from mainline trains to more local transport . Some reception areas became overwhelmed . East Anglian ports received many children evacuated from Dagenham . Some reception areas received more than the expected number of evacuees and others found themselves receiving people from a priority group or social class different from the one they had prepared for . Almost 3 . 75 million people were displaced , with around a third of the entire population experiencing some effects of the evacuation . In the first three days of official evacuation , 1 . 5 million people were moved - 827 , 000 children of school age ; 524 , 000 mothers and young children ( under 5 ) ; 13 , 000 pregnant women ; 7 , 000 disabled persons and over 103 , 000 teachers and other ' helpers ' . While these numbers seemed high , some people were reluctant to move and only 47 per cent of the schoolchildren , and about one third of the mothers actually went to the designated areas . Hosts were often put to inconvenience , especially by many children who seemed to be vulnerable to stress symptoms such as enuresis ( estimated at between 4 % and 33 % ) . A further two million or so more wealthy individuals evacuated ' privately ' , some settling in hotels for the duration and several thousand travelling to Canada , the United States , South Africa , Australia . Goods as well as people were evacuated . Art treasures were sent to distant storage : the National Gallery collection spent the war at the Manod Quarry near Ffestiniog , North Wales . The Bank of England moved to the small town of Overton , Hampshire and in 1939 - 1940 moved 2 , 154 tons of gold to the vaults of the Bank of Canada in Ottawa . The BBC moved variety production to Bristol and moved senior staff to Wood Norton near Evesham , Worcestershire . Many senior Post Office staff were relocated to Harrogate . Some private companies moved head offices or their most vital records to comparative safety away from major cities . Government functions were also evacuated . Under " Plan Yellow " , some 23 , 000 civil servants and their paperwork were dispatched to available hotels in the better coastal resorts and spa towns . Other hotels were requisitioned and emptied for a possible last - ditch " Black Move " should London be destroyed or threatened by invasion . Under this plan , the nucleus of government would relocate to the West Midlands — the War Cabinet and ministers would move to Hindlip Hall , Bevere House and Malvern College near Worcester and Parliament to Stratford - upon - Avon . Winston Churchill was to relocate to Spetchley Park whilst King George VI and other members of the royal family would take up residence at Madresfield Court near Malvern . Some strained areas took the children into local schools by adopting the World War I expedient of " double shift education " — taking twice as long but also doubling the number taught . The movement of teachers also meant that almost a million children staying home had no source of education . Evacuation Centres . In 1939 the British Government passed the ' Camps Act ' which established the National Camps Corporation as a body to design and build residential camps for young people that could provide opportunities for outdoor learning and also act as evacuation centres in the event of War . The architect T . S . Tait was responsible for the design of the buildings which included accommodation for over 200 children and staff , recreational halls , washblocks and a dining hall / kitchen complex . These Camps were replicated in over 30 different rural locations around the country . During the war years , these acted as safe refuges for city children from Nazi bombing raids . After the war the ownership of the sites was transferred to the local authorities . Over the years most of these sites have been lost , but the best preserved example today is Sayers Croft which is located at Ewhurst in Surrey . The dining hall and kitchen complex is protected as a Grade II listed building because of the importance of Tait ' s work , and because of the painted murals depicting the life of the evacuees . Other evacuations . A second evacuation effort started during and after the fall of France . From 13 to 18 June 1940 , around 100 , 000 children were evacuated ( in many cases re - evacuated ) . Efforts were made to remove the vulnerable from coastal towns in southern and eastern England facing German - controlled areas . By July , over 200 , 000 children had been moved ; some towns in Kent and East Anglia evacuated over 40 % of the population . Also , some 30 , 000 people arrived from continental Europe and from 20 to 24 June 25 , 000 people arrived from the Channel Islands . Men of German ( and later Italian ) origin were interned from 12 May 1940 . Many interned were refugees from Adolf Hitler . By July , almost all of these men under seventy were held in military camps , mainly on the Isle of Man . At first , unnecessary mistreatment was common , but conditions soon improved . For many interned persons , conditions in the camps were not especially unpleasant . In May 1940 , the Children ' s Overseas Reception Board ( CORB ) was created to organise the evacuation of children to the Dominions , primarily Canada , as well as South Africa , Australia and New Zealand . As many as 210 , 000 applications had been received by July when the scheme closed . However , shipping shortages soon slowed the evacuation . After the sinking of the " City of Benares " on 17 September 1940 , the entire plan was scrapped . Only 2 , 664 children were moved . About 13 , 000 children had been privately evacuated overseas . When the Blitz began in September 1940 , there were clear grounds for evacuation . Free travel and billeting allowance were offered to those who made private arrangements . They were also given to children , the elderly , the disabled , pregnant women , the ill or those who had lost their homes ( some 250 , 000 in the first six weeks in London ) . By the combination of all the state and private efforts , London ' s population was reduced by almost 25 % . As bombing affected more towns , ' assisted private evacuation ' was extended . London proved resilient to bombing despite the heavy bombardment . The destruction in the smaller towns was more likely to provoke panic and spontaneous evacuations . The number of official evacuees rose to a peak of 1 . 37 million by February 1941 . By September , it stood at just over one million . By the end of 1943 , there were just 350 , 000 people officially billeted . Still , the V - 1 attacks from June 1944 provoked a significant exodus from London . Up to 1 . 5 million people left by September — only 20 % were " official " evacuees . From September 1944 , the evacuation process was officially halted and reversed for most areas except for London and the East coast . Returning to London was not officially approved until June 1945 . In March 1946 , the billeting scheme was ended , with 38 , 000 people still without homes . Cultural impact . The movement of urban children of all classes to unfamiliar rural locations , without their parents , had a major impact . The Evacuees Reunion Association was formed with the support of the Imperial War Museum . It provides opportunities for former evacuees to contribute and share evacuation experiences and for researchers to request information such as the long term effects of evacuation upon children . The evacuation has spawned a whole literature of children ' s and young adult fiction . The convenience of the setting for the writer is clear , allowing the child heroes to have adventures in a strange , new world . Some of the authors , like Nina Bawden , had themselves experienced evacuation . Novels for adults featuring evacuation and evacuees are : Non - fiction : Other :