Child evacuees

[Kim Pearce]

Hello,
I'm not even sure what I'm asking here.  My dad (and his 2 brothers) were evacuated from London to Wales in WWII.  He never spoke of his childhood, especially the time he spent in Wales.  I guess I'm looking for any information on his or his brothers, if there is any.
His name was Eric Ralph Pearce and his brothers' names were Donald and Peter. 
I would love to learn anything I can of their time in Wales, especially now that all 3 brothers have passed.
Thanks for any help provided.
Kim (Pearce)

[nanny jan]

Have you looked for them on 1939 Register?

[medpat]

I can't help you directly but when my children were young they watched a repeat of the BBC adaption of Carrie's War by Nina Bawden. It gives a real idea of the times. Carrie and her brother are sent to Wales from London during WW2.

Found this to give you an idea. Looks like access to all episodes from there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdMsoKrzvFY

 

[Sam Swift]

Where did your dad live before he was evacuated ? There may be an entry in his home school log book to indicate roughly to what areas in Wales children were evacuated. It may then be possible to check log books of schools in those areas to see if there is anything in those. Alternatively there may be an entry in the local newspaper.

[Sam Swift]

Looking at some of your previous posts and the 1939 Register (which shows his mother and grandparents , I would say that your dad may have attended a school in Deptford. He may well have been evacuated to Pembrokeshire, to the Haverfordwest area. There are some photos of evacuated boys from Deptford LCC School & Stanley Street School on the following sites :

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205197774

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/schools/primaryhistory/images/world_war2/evacuation/ww2_evacuees_wales.jpg                       which is part of a http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/evacuation/     -  photo of boys and their one of their teachers from Deptford who were evacuated to wales

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evacuees_from_Deptford_Park_School_in_London_saw_logs_on_the_estate_where_they_are_billeted_in_Haverfordwest,_Pembrokeshire,_

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Evacuees_from_Stanley_Street_School,_Deptford,_London_enjoy_a_morning_swim_in_a_Pembrokeshire_lake_during_1940._D977.jpg

These site with first accounts of what it was like living in Deptford during the war might be of interest to you : http://www.olddeptfordhistory.com/2012/10/wartime-memories-from-deptford-lewisham.html

http://deptforddame.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/deptford-memories.html

Although they don't cover 1940, the school log books 1930-1938 are held at the National Record Office : http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/c/F197827

This site gives details of schools and school log books and other things relevant to Deptford: http://www.famloc.co.uk/towns-and-locations/deptford-schools/

Somewhere in the list, it mentions Evelyn Street in Deptford Park being hit in teh Blitz (you can download the database and search it 1940-1945) https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/sep/06/london-blitz-bomb-map-september-7-1940

You might find som useful things here if you can access the BBC sites : http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/56/a2262656.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/48/a2045648.shtml

[Sam Swift]

Sorry forgot to say that although they have passed away, Eric and his brothers' records will be closed on the 1939 Register if they left the country. I'm not sure that it's possible to unlock their records without an address though.