The first site visited on the tour is Paddington Station, commonly referred to as London Paddington. Operated by Network Rail, the station is a central railway and underground terminus located on Praed Street in the west end of central London.[1] The first train station in the Paddington district opened in 1838 and was located on Bishop's Bridge Road.[2] However, as train services expanded the main station situated on Praed Street was built, opening in 1854.[3] Expanded to serve the Great Western Railway, Paddington Station was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, with the assistance of Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt.[4] By 1863, Paddington Station became the world's first underground railway.[5]

Since 1854, Paddington Station has undergone multiple expansions, improvements and restorations. Extensions have been completed to provide space for retail, as well as food and drink outlets, while restorations to the glass roof built in 1961 and various platforms have been undertaken. Additionally, construction to expand the station in order to meet increasing passenger statistics was completed in 2017.[6] Despite all the changes completed to date, a statue of Brunel, the original designer, remains in the station along with a statue of the literary fictional character, Paddington Bear.[7]

Paddington Station is a significant historical site as it was one of the train stations used to evacuate schoolchildren from London during the Second World War. Anticipating air raids from the Germans, the British government tasked the military with Operation Pied Piper, in which approximately three million people, the majority of whom were children, were transported from major towns and cities beginning in September 1939.[8] Although not mandatory, many families sent their children away due to fear of bombing and the closure of urban schools.[9] Thus, millions of schoolchildren were escorted by teachers on trains to the English countryside.[10] At Paddington Station alone, hundreds of children were evacuated, with only their luggage and a tag indicating their name and former address.[11]

[1] Railway Technology, "Paddington Station Restoration, London," accessed February 20, 2019, https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/paddington-station/

[2] Juliet Whitcombe, "Paddington Station's History," Crossrail, November 23, 2010, accessed February 20, 2019, http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/articles/paddington-stations-history

[3] Railway Technology, "Paddington Station Restoration, London."

[4] Ibid.

[5] Juliet Whitcombe, "Paddington Station's History."

[6] Railway Technology, "Paddington Station Restoration, London."

[7] Juliet Whitcombe, "Paddington Station's History."

[8] David Prest, "Evacuees in World War Two - the True Story," British Broadcasting Corporation, February 17, 2011, accessed February 18, 2019, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwtwo/evacuees_01.shtml and Shannon Quinn, "Operation Pied Piper: The Mass Evacuation of Children in London During WWII," History Collection, accessed February 18, 2019, https://historycollection.co/operation-pied-piper-the-mass-evacuation-of-children-in-london-during-wwii/

[9] Laura Clouting, "Children of the Second World War," Imperial War Museum, January 3, 2018, accessed February 19, 2018, https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-evacuated-children-of-the-second-world-war

[10] David Prest, "Evacuees in World War Two." and Shannon Quinn, "Operation Pied Piper."

[11] Shannon Quinn, "Operation Pied Piper."

The evacuation from Paddington Station had a significant impact on children living in London during the Second World War. Although the purpose of Operation Piped Piper was to protect the vulnerable, the procedure had devastating social impacts, disrupting, as well as permanently altering the lives of countless children. Yet, the evacuation has often been regarded by some contemporary scholars "as 'the most carefully planned logistical operation affecting children which the world had ever witnessed.'"[1] In addition, a Times article from 1941 noted it was good for those who experienced bombing to evacuate because in the countryside their mind and health could improve.[2] While some have interpreted the operation as beneficial, evacuation realities differed based on the child's social status.

Children evacuated from London were sent to live with foster families.[3] While some child evacuees were met with generosity, experiencing the pleasures of the country, others experienced fear, cruelty and loneliness.[4] Additionally, many child evacuees were "met with hostile anti-Semitism, Social Darwinist attitudes and the mutual suspicion of class."[5] Children from lower or working classes evacuated from urban slums, such as London's East End were often referred to in the countryside as 'lousy slum children' and 'those children'.[6] Middle and upper-class parents could afford to make their own organized evacuation plans, often sending their children overseas.[7] In addition, while handicapped children were not always qualified for evacuation, those who were tended to have positive experiences. However, their experiences were based on the attitudes of those they encountered throughout the process, such as authority figures, the general public, as well as teaching and nursing staff.[8]

Yet, not all urban families could afford to evacuate their children, as the government expected the cost of billeting to be paid by the parents. Ultimately, many children remained in London or returned after being evacuated. Instead of diminishing social differences, Operation Pied Piper reinforced class divisions in London.[9] While evacuated children were susceptible to psychological effects associated with family separation, children who remained in London still faced hardships. Children not evacuated were vulnerable to bombing during the Blitz, while also experiencing an interruption to their schooling.[10] However, the sites visited later in the tour will go more in depth on the experiences of children that remained in London during the war.

[1] Niko Gartner "Administering 'Operation Pied Piper' - How the London County Council Prepared for the Evacuation of Its Schoolchildren 1938-1939," Journal of Educational Administration and History 42, no.1 (2010): 19, accessed February 21, 2019, https://journals-scholarsportal-info.proxy.library.brocku.ca/pdf/00220620/v42i0001/17_apphtlteois1.xml

[2] From Our Special Correspondent, "Care of Evacuated Children," Times (London, England), April 28, 1941, accessed February 21, 2019, http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/9DBKB3

[3] Niko, Gartner, "Administering 'Operation Pied Piper,'" 23.

[4] Amy Helen Bell, London Was Ours: Diaries and Memories of the London Blitz (London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2008), 123.

[5] Ibid., 122.

[6] Ibid., 122.

[7] Ibid., 129.

[8] Sue Wheatcroft, "Children's Experiences of War: Handicapped Children in England During the Second World War," Twentieth Century British History 19, no. 14 (2008): 480, 486 and 500, accessed February 20, 2019, http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.brocku.ca/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=e498d0db-6dea-4484-af83-85e6eb9a37ab%40sessionmgr102

[9] Amy Helen Bell, London Was Ours, 124.

[10] Ibid., 130.

Primary Sources:

From Our Special Correspondent. "Care of Evacuated Children." Times (London, England), April 28, 1941. Accessed February 21,2019. http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/9DBKB3

Secondary Sources:

Bell, Amy Helen. London Was Ours: Diaries and Memories of the London Blitz. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2008.

Clouting, Laura. "Children of the Second World War." Imperial War Museum. January 3, 2018. Accessed February 19, 2018. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-evacuated-children-of-the-second-world-war

Gartner, Niko. "Administering 'Operation Pied Piper' - How the London County Council Prepared for the Evacuation of Its Schoolchildren 1938-1939." Journal of Educational Administration and History 42, no.1 (2010): 17-32. Accessed February 21, 2019. https://journals-scholarsportal-info.proxy.library.brocku.ca/pdf/00220620/v42i0001/17_apphtlteois1.xml

Prest, David. "Evacuees in World War Two - the True Story." British Broadcasting Corporation. February 17, 2011. Accessed February 18, 2019. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/britain_wwtwo/evacuees_01.shtml

Quinn, Shannon. "Operation Pied Piper: The Mass Evacuation of Children in London During WWII." History Collection. Accessed February 18, 2019. https://historycollection.co/operation-pied-piper-the-mass-evacuation-of-children-in-london-during-wwii/

Railway Technology. "Paddington Station Restoration, London." Accessed February 20, 2019. https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/paddington-station/

Wheatcroft, Sue. "Children's Experiences of War: Handicapped Children in England During the Second World War." Twentieth Century British History 19, no. 14 (2008): 480-501. Accessed February 20, 2019. http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.brocku.ca/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&sid=e498d0db-6dea-4484-af83-85e6eb9a37ab%40sessionmgr102

Whitcombe, Juliet. "Paddington Station's History." Crossrail. November 23, 2010. Accessed February 20, 2019. http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/articles/paddington-stations-history