Cambridge Evacuation Survey
The Cambridge Evacuation Survey, Ed. Susan Isaacs.Published in 1941 and arising from a conversation between social workers and psychologists in October 1939 who felt the details of the evacuation program needed to be recorded because of their importance as a study of a large-scale social experiment. They found they had access mainly to the Cambridge records so embarked upon a study of this one area in the hope that it might shed light on the whole...
posted by Benjamin Nakizo at 1:48 PM
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“It was a process that could not occur without creating far reaching social and educational problems. If we had planned for these problems with a tithe of the labour and intelligence which we put into questions of transport, if human nature had been taken into equal account with geography and railway time tables, there would in all likelihood not have been so serious a drift back to the danger areas”. (p4)
“The personality of the child is a weighty factor, even anxious, aggressive or delinquent children can be correctly placed if due care is taken”. (p5/6)
Not surprisingly teenagers were the most troublesome.
“We feel justified, however, in stressing our conclusion that a true understanding of the feelings and aims of ordinary human beings is an essential condition of success, whether we are concerned with the replanning and rebuilding of our great cities, the renewal of life in the countryside, the humanizing of our town schools, the training and teaching of youth, the education of adult citizens, the revision of economic structure”. (p11)
The teachers felt that these war the positive contributions to the children:
“What does it matter that the power of concentration of the children in the classroom was lessened, for were they not learning in a wider field of experience? Why should we worry that their progress in book learning was retarded, when we know that they have learned things that are not to be found in books? The development of character will ensure the concentration when it is really essential, while the increase in initiative will in course of time stimulate a desire for further knowledge, and it will come from within and not be enforced from without”. (p182)
P183:
The rate of change was reported by the teachers to be a major concern. The constant moving around of pupils and the rapid turnover in the schools as children returned home disrupted classes and the continuity of teaching.
Parents attitudes to the foster parents:
P133: “there is no doubt that jealousy, more or less disguised, is sometimes felt, and a sense of obligation and gratitude may even add to this underlying resentment. Then the mere fact of difference in customs and standards often arouses feelings of anxiety and hostility which may not be formulated as a complaint, or, if they are, may be exaggerated and dramatised.”.
Equality was also a big factor. Each child had very different experience and as such opinions back in the city were very varied with parents hearing very different stories from their neighbours and friends about their children’s experiences. This often led parents to bring their children home because by comparison they were having less of a fortunate time.
City kids in country homes found themselves lost and bored without their mod-cons and city comforts. This was especially true in the winter when outside recreation was difficult. Hence efforts were made by the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS), the Cambridge Local Education Authority, the Cambridge Students Union, Boy Scouts and Girl guide groups, local churches and the regional liaison officers for the evacuees to provide entertainment for the new children.
The evacuation scheme saw working class city kids, with their ‘bad’ behaviour and habits, being placed in the homes of rural, middle class Tory voters. This experience acted to shock middle Britain. During the first half of the 20th century a series of social welfare laws had been passed which many believed to have eradicated the problems of poverty experienced in the 19th century. Middle Britain believed itself to be living in more enlightened times. To realise that this was not the case, and to have the evidence of it being dumped at their doorsteps surely must have had an important post war political impact. Labour came into power right after the war on welfare state agenda. Surely many in the middle classes must have defected from the conservatives based on their wartime experiences, particularly with the evacuation scheme.
Another interesting trend to emerge was that of middle class woman, eager to maintain their position of authority in society playing leading roles in the social schemes in place during the war. If they couldn’t beat the welfare state movement they might as well lead it. So right from the state the welfare state was far from a socialist scheme but rather a pragmatic one implemented by the middle classes.
Another possibility, and one counter to the above one is that the working class children evacuated may have found themselves alienated from the wealth they experienced in the countryside. They would have been made fully class conscious as they experienced how ‘the other half’ lived.
Also it is interesting that welfare Britain, and even welfare Europe was born out of the total war experience on World War II. America obviously invested large amounts of money and manpower into the war but their civilian population never found themselves in dire straits on the front line. America’s free market system is a product of 19th century laissez-faire political and economic systems. It still is. Welfare Europe was born out of total war. America has never experienced total war, therefore is not a welfare state.
Also of note is that this book was written by child psychologists and social workers. They conclude that more of them are needed. It is a classic instance of a new profession looking to establish itself and make itself important. The war offered opportunities galore for such professions and their recommendations in part paved the way for the welfare state which would then go on to establish them in society. It is a classic case of a profession looking to expand its own power. Foucault spoke of something similar with the institutions of law and order. As well as medical professionals who dealt with the ‘mentally ill’.
Total war acts to roll the dice of the established social order. Politics, far from subsiding in national emergencies reach new heights as various factions compete to position themselves to better take advantage of the post war environment.
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