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Dover: Lock and Key of the Kingdom
Dover in the Second World War - Evacuation
On 26 May 1940, following the German invasion of Holland,
Belgium and France, the Ministry of Health wrote to the Town
Clerk declaring Dover an evacuation area and advising the
early removal of school children. That same evening the
Admiralty signalled the start of Operation Dynamo - the
evacuation of the troops stranded on the beaches at Dunkirk.
At the height of the Dunkirk operation the evacuation of the
children commenced. At 7:45 am on Sunday 1st June the
first train carrying 707 children to safety in South Wales
pulled out of the Priory Station. By the end of the day 2899
children along with 235 teachers and helpers had left the
town.
In the days and weeks that followed many mothers with
babies and people who had no need to remain in the town
left for safer parts of the country. Although 600 infants and
624 children between the ages of 8 and 14 remained in
Dover at the insistence of their parents, the population of the
town was reduced from 40,000 to 15,000 within a few
weeks.
Belgium and France, the Ministry of Health wrote to the Town
Clerk declaring Dover an evacuation area and advising the
early removal of school children. That same evening the
Admiralty signalled the start of Operation Dynamo - the
evacuation of the troops stranded on the beaches at Dunkirk.
At the height of the Dunkirk operation the evacuation of the
children commenced. At 7:45 am on Sunday 1st June the
first train carrying 707 children to safety in South Wales
pulled out of the Priory Station. By the end of the day 2899
children along with 235 teachers and helpers had left the
town.
In the days and weeks that followed many mothers with
babies and people who had no need to remain in the town
left for safer parts of the country. Although 600 infants and
624 children between the ages of 8 and 14 remained in
Dover at the insistence of their parents, the population of the
town was reduced from 40,000 to 15,000 within a few
weeks.
