Figure 1.--These British boys display their most prized possessions--Battle of Britain souvenirs. The wire service caption read, "London Souvenirs: These British boys who arrived Oct. 3 in New York City aboard the Cunard Line "Samaria", refugfees from war, hold souvenirs of the Battle of Britain, pieces of shrapnelland bullets. Left to righ: Ralph Poplar, 12; Roger Simon, 14; and David Dawkins, 14." These boys look to be from private schools. Most of the early evacuees to America and Britain were. When criticism emerged in the press, children from states schools were chosen for overseas evacuation.

British boys in World War I got war souvenirs their fathers and brothers brought home from the front. This was not necessary in World War II. Adults and children all over Britain watched the dramatic combat in the skies overheaf. The home front became the front line. The clear skies of July, Auugust, and early September meant that air combats were visible to all. And as a result of the fighting and anti-aircraft fire, all manner of things rauned down on Britain. A brand new hobby developed among boys. This was collecting war souveniers. The hunt was of course conducted not only by boys in London and the cities, but boys all over Britain. Boys hunted for shrapnell which was all over the place as a result of the anti-aircraft guns. The anti-aircraft shells exploded and sent shards of metal tearing out in all directions designed to damage the planes. A precise hit was relatively rare, but the shrapnell greatly extended the area at which damage might be done. Around London, anti-aircraft batteries were not a first used. Londiners complsined thinking that they were not being defended. As a result, antiaircraft batteries opened up even though they probably did more damag than good. The result was, however, a rain of shrapnell all over the city. Boys collected the jagged pieces of metal. Size and shape all were carefully examined and judged by the boys in assessing the tradeing value of a specific piece--rather like a jeweler assessing a fine jem. There were also German bomb fragments. Even more prized than the shrapell was junks of German planes. They were rarer and harder to find. The military seized downed planes. Thus plane fragments were hard to get. Also highly prized were shells, especially live shells. These came from both the Germand British planes as they fired at each other. Boys got hold of both spent and live shells. Boys in major battel areas compiled impressive collections. Boys traded among each other to improve their collections. Some girls also collected, but they were not as obsessed as the boys. The collecting of battle souvenirs led to boys being injured and in some cases killed when they found and played with live ammunition or other explosives that had not detonated.

Created: 5:26 AM 4/9/2009
Last updated: 7:01 AM 4/9/2009