New Community Project on Evacuation

by Channel Island evacuees of WW2

By Gillian Mawson

For 3 years I have been uncovering the story of the Evacuation from the Channel Islands - the only part of Britain's territory that was occupied by the invading German army during WW2.

25,000 people  fled their islands just prior to the German Occupation; 5,000 of them were school children accompanied by their teachers and most were sent to the industrial North of England. Many remained here after the war.

I have just commenced a 12 month project with 15 of these elderly evacuees, to empower them to tell their story to the local community in their own way. They are deciding how it will be recorded and shared, and will gain from the social contact created through interaction with the public and with each other, as well as new skills. Their average age is 82, and two are in wheelchairs.

The group has received a small grant from the charity, UnLtd, to cover the cost of meetings and travel etc. The group will hold a public inter-generational event in the Manchester area, where the evacuees will share their stories and show their wartime documents and photographs. The evacuees also plan to put their memories on film, and on CD and to create an accompanying pamphlet.

I recently worked with BBC Television on a programme, which told the story of one young Guernsey evacuee, Paulette Le Mescam, who was 'sponsored' by Eleanor Roosevelt during WW2 in Cheshire - a clip can be seen at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wk9wn

More information on my evacuee film and ongoing evacuee research can be found at my blog and website at: http://guernseyevacuees.wordpress.com/

and at http://www.communityarchives.org.uk/page_id__1013.aspx

Please contact me for more information,  on gillianmawson@btinternet.com

Gillian Mawson

Evacuee Researcher, The University of Manchester

Member of the British Association for Local History

Member of the Oral History Society