Figure 1.--British Primeminister Neville Chamberlain incredibly after meeting with German F�hrer Adolf Hitler in Munich returned to guarantee the Bitish people 'peace in our time' (September 1938). The British people supported assessments like this seeking to appease Hitler. They voted for candidates expousing pacifist ideas or opposing increases in defense spending. The result was that while the Luftwaffe massed across the Channel, parents found themselves on the frontline of the War. They had to send their children off to school with gas masks. And once at school, along with reading and artithmatic, the children drilled at putting on their gas masks and rapidly moving into the safest areas of the school. No shelters were available for them.

We are not sure about the beaucratic dimensions of school air raid percautions. We do not know if this was overseen by the ARP or the Ministry of Education. Perhaps it was a copperative venture. Nor do we know the time line involved. Presumbably some unit drew up guidelines for the schools. And then each school had to develop its own plan, kidentifying for example the strongest structures and most secure shelter area. One night think that someone fom the ARP or Ministry of Education would then assess the plan or provide technical engineering assistance to each headmaster/head teacher. But we do not know if this occurred. Perhaps readers will know more. Nor are we sure when the schools began holding drills to train the children how to react when an air raid sireen sounded. We suspect that there was some drilling during the Munich Crisis (September 1938), but this needs to be confirmed. There was some optimism when Chamberlain returned from Munich and announced that he had achieved 'peace in our time'. The public was related and this probably affected school preparations. Only 6 months latr, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia (March 1939). From that point it was clear to even Chamberlain that war was coming. What occurred at the schools we are not sure. As it was close to the end of the school year, thee may not have been air raid drills instututed, but this needs to be confirmed. By the time school began (September 1939), war had been declared. The first order of business, at least in the cities was evacuating the children. This was up to the parents, but many of the students in city schools were evacuated. This was done primarily through the schools. The evacuee children reported to their neighborhood school and then were bussed or marched to the train stations. Once the children were evacuated, the schools got down to the buiness of drilling the children. This occured at both the city schools and the small towns and vullages that hosted the children. Of course the efforts at the city schools were much more intense as the cities became the primary targets of the Luftwaffe. What we do know a great deal about is what whent on inthe schools to train the children how to react in case of an air raid.

Administrative Responsibility

We are not sure about the beaucratic dimensions of school air raid percautions. We do not know if this was overseen by the ARP or the Ministry of Education. Perhaps it was a copperative venture. Nor do we know the time line involved. Presumbably some unit drew up guidelines for the schools.

School Plan

And then each school had to develop its own plan, identifying for example the strongest structures and most secure shelter area. One night think that someone fom the ARP or Ministry of Education would then assess the plan or provide technical engineering assistance to each headmaster/head teacher. After all this is not something on whuich most school administrators had technical training. But we do not know if this occurred. Perhaps readers will know more.

Beginning Drills

Nor are we sure when the schools began holding drills to train the children how to react when an air raid sireen sounded. We suspect that there was some drilling during the Munich Crisis (September 1938), but this needs to be confirmed. There was some optimism when Chamberlain returned from Munich and announced that he had achieved 'peace in our time'. The public was related and this probably affected school preparations. Only 6 months later, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia (March 1939). From that point it was clear to even arch-appeaser Primeminister Chamberlain that war was coming. What occurred at the schools we are not sure. As it was close to the end of the school year, thee may not have been air raid drills instututed, but this needs to be confirmed. By the time school began (September 1939), war had been declared.

Evacuations

The first order of business, at least in the cities was evacuating the children. This was up to the parents, but many of the students in city schools were evacuated. This was done primarily through the schools. The evacuee children reported to their neighborhood school and then were bussed or marched to the train stations.

Drill

Once the children were evacuated, the schools got down to the buiness of drilling the children. This occured at both the city schools and the small towns and vullages that hosted the children. Of course the efforts at the city schools were much more intense as the cities became the primary targets of the Luftwaffe. What we do know a great deal about is what whent on in the schools to train the children how to react in case of an air raid.

Gas Mask Training

No one was better trained with using gas masks than the school children. We note drills with school children trainng them to efficently put on gas masks correctly and quickly. Parents were susposed to train the children at home, but ghey got much more practice at school and became bery profitient at it. This dovetailed with air raid drills teaching the children how to behave in case of Luftwaffe raids using conventional bombs. Many but not all children were evacuated from the cities. Many schools continued to operate and of course so did the schools in the countryside. And when the expected bombing did not occur wih the outbreak of war (September 1939), many city children returnd home by Christmas. The children were well tained and got a lot more practive once the Blitz began (September 1940). The RAF succes, however, forced the Luftwaffe to begin bombing primarily at night which meant that many schools were hit when the children were at home. We note an impressive demonstration at a Glasgow school. This of course was only one part of the school air raid drills. Normally the air raid drills were conducted with the children carrying rather than wearing the masks. But because of classroom drills they were able to quickly put on the masks when instructed to do so. We even see British children at play outside of school wearing gas maks. That seems, however, more like staged publicity images.

The Blitz

School children were only in danger for a relatively short period. The Luftwaffe did not have the capability to strike Britain in force untill the fall of France (June 1940). The children had been evacuated when war was declared, but when the noming did not follow, many parents reacting to teary letters from their children brought thm home. Many children were back into the cities by Christmas (Decemner 1939). This meant when France fell, they really were in danger and a second evaulation had to be stahed. And this time the children knew what evacuation meant and resisted the whole process, unlike had been the case in 1939. The Germans quickly moved into the excellent French air bases, giving them the facilities to launch the air assault on Brtain. The Battle of Britain was conducted in several phases which affected the danger level for school children. The Battle of Bitain began in a small way (July 1940), first attacking shipping in the Channel and Channel ports. And even when the Battlr of Britain was launched, the initial German target was the RAF, the landing fields and service facilities, hoping to catch planes on the ground (August 1940). When the British struck back, Hitler decided to turn to terror (September 1940). Apparenly in his mind, boming other countries was something reserved to the Germans. when Hitler changed the focus of the Luftwaffe attacks to British cities. This became known as the Blitz. This did put school children in danger, but the RAF shot down so many German bombers that the Luftwaffe was forced to night raids. This meant to children were at home with their parents, rather in the schools. They would not be in danger again until the Germans launched the V-weapon campaigns (1944). .

Air Raid Procedures

A air raid drill began with a senior pupil walking down the hall. He blew a whistle to give an air raid alert or shaked a hand rattle to signal a gas attack outside classroom doors. The resonse varied from day to day depending on the purpose of the drill. On some days the children might be instructed to put on their gas masks and continue working with thm on. This was to both tain the children on how to put on the masks fast and to get used wearing them for an extended period while carrying on with their classroomkm school work. On other days the children might be instructed to grab their masks and carry them to the safe area previously designated at the school. Here the teacher had to organize a system that permitted each child to quickly ger his or her maskk which wa often stored in the clokeroom. The children were taught to moved in class grouos and at quick time so the children could get into the safe area in an orderly fashiion in a matter of minutes. The children learned to move as group with no one getting out in frint or falling behind. Their also might be ocassional drills with the children practicing getting under their desk and overing their faces to prepare for instance when adequate warning was not received. Fortunateky the British Chain Home Network provided for timely warning. The children might brings books with them to read on the safe areas. Some teachers might even try to teach some lessons. Normally they did not put on their gas masks in the safe areas, but their might be occasional drills just to make sure they could do so quickly. The time devoted to the drills varied. Some were done quickly. In other instances they might spend more tome in the safe areas to get the children accustomed to longer periods during a raid. When the Blitz beggan the children spent a good deal of time in the safe areas. This was fairly common when the Lufwaffe began hammering London (September 1940). A bell was used to signal an all clear.

Created: 8:40 AM 1/13/2014
Last updated: 8:40 AM 1/13/2014