SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

My step son was one of those filmed for 2 and a half weeks in the autumn for the 2nd series of Evacuation to be shown on BBC1/CBBC from Thursday <http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcone/listings/pr ... 3_15804_25> Does anyone have any stories about evacuees to/from Leeds.

My dad was evacuated during WWII from Beeston to Yeadon. Seems a bit "frying pan into the fire" when you think of the proximity of Avro and the aerodrome.

my dad used to live at the bottom of Armley rd and was evacuated during the start of WW2. He was sent down to Norfolk area but hated it. My Grandad brought em back. All the neighbours were horrified that he had done so, but he said if they were all gonna die, then they would do it all together.tight old bugger even made em all keep sitting watching the film at the pictures during one air raid as he had paid good money and no gerry b(edited for content)d was going to spoil his film...

Aye my dad was from Armley and he was evacuated to Lincoln. He didn't want to come home as he was located on a farm in t'countryside!

my heavily pregnant grandma was evacuated to tadcaster and so my dad was born in haslewood castle.

Our evacuation was a private do. We lived alongside Chas. Roe's and a stone's throw away from Barnbow so, with my father being away in the Army, my mother took my two sisters to Batley to one of our aunts and I was sent to Pontefract with an uncle. I got a scholarship in 1943 and we all came back to Leeds. Some friends of mine were evacuated as far away as to Barwick.

peterg wrote: Our evacuation was a private do. We lived alongside Chas. Roe's and a stone's throw away from Barnbow so, with my father being away in the Army, my mother took my two sisters to Batley to one of our aunts and I was sent to Pontefract with an uncle. I got a scholarship in 1943 and we all came back to Leeds. Some friends of mine were evacuated as far away as to Barwick. It's a bit funny really. We had relatives who lived close to the North Circular Road (London). They sent their 2 kids up to Leeds !

My dad was evacuated to a farm near Wakefield,though hes not sure where.My mam and her 8 siblings were kept at home on Quarry Hill,my grandmother (who died before i was born) said that that Hitler would not split them all up.On a darker note my mam tells me that my grandmother kept a few spare coins for the gas meter,so if the worse came to the worse then the family would take its own life,a bit like what happened in Berlin in 1945 when the Russians invaded.Different generation lads and lasses,a different generation.we wont see the like again im sure.

cnosni wrote: My dad was evacuated to a farm near Wakefield,though hes not sure where.My mam and her 8 siblings were kept at home on Quarry Hill,my grandmother (who died before i was born) said that that Hitler would not split them all up.On a darker note my mam tells me that my grandmother kept a few spare coins for the gas meter,so if the worse came to the worse then the family would take its own life,a bit like what happened in Berlin in 1945 when the Russians invaded.Different generation lads and lasses,a different generation.we wont see the like again im sure. this country could do with some bulldog spirit now,while theres still a few left!

As my other half stated at the top of this message our son is currently on a BBC childrens programme where he is living as an evacuee from the 1940's.    Daniel says it was hard being an evacuees(and he only did it for 2 1/2 weeks). He was allowed no contact with us or the outside world so he has an understanding now of what the children who where taken away from their families went through. He did however, come back a much healthier boy. They had no sweets or treats and only had good old healthy home cooking mixed with a lot of outdoor chores with no snacks in between meals. They made their own entertainment doing things like building go-carts, something that not many children do today! Maybe a few more of us - me included could benefit from a 1940's diet and exercise regime.