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THE CHILDREN HAVE ALL BEHAVED MARVELLOUSLY
THE greatest organised movement of a human population in the world's history started yesterday.
As if by some quiet smooth-working machine, nearly 1,000,000 children, mothers, blind and maimed people were taken from danger to safety. In three days - perhaps less - 3,000,000 will have made the journey across the invisible frontier.
Thousands of households all over Britain yesterday welcomed small strangers who were to be for a time members of the family.
Most homes in the evacuated areas were adapting themselves bravely to a sadder change which had robbed them of their children. London has lost much of its
laughter. Nearly half of the 3,000,000 are being evacuated from the Greater London area.
The rest are from the naval and shipping areas and the industrial districts of
the Midlands, North, and Scotland.
Everywhere the task of moving this enormous number of children was carried out with great ease, owing to the thorough preparation and the co-operation of officials, parents, and children. And officials everywhere said "the children behaved simply marvellously."
Evacuation seems far too long and clumsy a word for such a swift, quiet
operation. "Flit" would be better.
In London the Great Flit began at dawn. Nearly 200 children from three to 13, awakened in the middle of the night, were taken by their parents to Myrdle-street School, Commercial-road, E. - the first place to start the evacuation.
Then all over London boys and girls, accompanied in many cases by their
parents, made their way to their schools, for the great adventure.
Each had a label tied to the coat, was given a gas-mask, and a supply of food
for the journey.
Meanwhile, the whole transport system of London had been reorganised.
Drivers and conductors of tube trains, trams, and buses had all been given
special instructions. Many main roads were made "one-way" streets for the occasion.
The flit began. By tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of
thousands, the children started off to their unknown destinations.
From every school filed a procession of boys and girls, each led by a master
or other official wearing an armlet.
Some filed through the streets to an underground railway station, where they took their places in an empty train which set off at once to some mainline terminus where they were transferred to an ordinary train.
Others clambered on to a line of buses.
Copyright © 2002 Peter N. Risbey.
