London and Middlesex Archaeological Society

LAMAS Evacuation Project

This year, 2005, is the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. With this in mind, the Society’s Local History Committee is co-ordinating a project looking at the experiences of Londoners who were evacuated during the War.

The project follows on from a talk entitled ‘Psychiatry and War’ given at the 2003 LAMAS Local History Conference, Lunatick London, by Dr Trevor Turner and Dr Michael Neve of the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL. Drs Neve and Turner spoke about the experiences of Londoners on the home front during the Second World War and about the psychological effects upon them of the Blitz. In connection with this, Drs Neve and Turner suggested that the emotions and experiences of evacuees was an important area for future research. Central to this is research into the preparation and advice evacuees were given about the likely psychological and emotional effects of evacuation.

The Committee, with help from the Museum of London, has created a questionnaire which asks for people’s experiences of evacuation. The replies will make an important and unique contribution to current research, knowledge and understanding about evacuation and how it affected thousands of Londoners, both past and present.

If you were evacuated from London during the War, or if you are a Londoner who was evacuated from another town or city, we would like to hear from you. More details about the project and how to contribute are given on the questionnaire.

To download a questionnaire please select PDF format or Word format.

Please feel free to download the questionnaire for friends and relatives and others who may be interested in contributing to the project, and to make photocopies to pass on to them.

If you have any questions, or would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact Julia Hoffbrand at the Museum of London at the address below. Telephone and email details are given on the questionnaire.
Please return your replies by post by 31 December 2005 to:

Julia Hoffbrand,
Later Department,
Museum of London,
150 London Wall,
London EC2Y 5HN