THE MID SUSSEX TIMES - TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 5 1939

THE GREAT EXODUS FROM LONDON

Population of Mid Sussex Nearly doubled

OVER 10,000 EVACUEES ACCOMMODATED

The population of mid Sussex has been nearly doubled in three days by the reception of over 10,000 evacuees, school children, mothers, teachers and others from Greater London. In the biggest exodus in history, Britain has evacuated 3,000,000 children, mothers, teachers, blind and maimed from the big cities.About half this number are from Greater London, including the London county council area. 

Something like 250,000 evacuees have found refuge in sunny Sussex, and from Friday onwards the Southern Railway was the scene of unprecedented activity as long trains packed with children and their attendants rushed down to the coast or deposited there loads of labelled and regimented humanity at distributing centres like Haywards Heath, Three Bridges and Hassocks. 

The whole scheme was a wonderful piece of organisation. It went like clockwork: trains arrived on time, the children were sorted out and dispatched to the receiving towns and villages with a minimum of delay, and billeting was carried out methodically and quickly. 

Ordinary traffic of course was dislocated to a certain extent, but a skeleton service was run on the railway, and travellers did not suffer any great inconvenience.

Watching the youngsters, with their haversacks and bags, their gas masks and the parcels containing iron rations slung across their shoulders or clasps in little hands, lined up outside gateways while the billeting officers were arranging for their accommodation brought a lump to the throat.

It might have been one's own children who had been torn from their homes and were seeking refuge amongst strangers in a strange place.

The smaller one's cried dismally for their mothers; the bigger boys and girls put on a bold front on and sang lastly choruses from “Boomps-a-Daisy” and “the Lambeth walk”.

Next day postman in the London area had a busy time delivering to anxious mothers letters beginning “Dear mummy, I have arrived safely at Haywards Heath”…. or whatever the place might be. 

Arrangements for the reception of Mid Sussex’s 10,000 worked splendidly. The billeting officer has had the assistance of large bands of day and Sunday school teachers and other workers, and many residents with cars lent valuable help.

The children classed as unaccompanied were sent with teachers or leaders, each in charge of a group of 10. They knew of the youngsters whose personal hygiene required attention, and had instructions to report such cases to officials at the railheads.

At the railheads in this area – Haywards Heath, Hassocks and Three Bridges – Mr W. B. Stott, (Medical Officer of Health for Mid Sussex) arranged for medical inspections by doctors and district nurses. In addition, there were at each station members of the British Red Cross Society in uniform, and they conducted to the place of inspection any children referred to them by leaders of the groups.

At each of the two reception depots near Haywards Heath station – garages loaned by Messrs H. E. Griffin and Messrs Caffyn Ltd. – there was a doctor and a staff of district nurses and Red Cross members. A doctor and a similar staff were in attendance at a medical inspection room at each of the Hassocks and Three Bridges railheads.

The doctors working at Haywards Heath where Dr Agnes Dunnett and Dr Irene Callender, while at Three Bridges Dr P. H.Nankivell was in attendance and at Hassocks Dr W. H. Eggar.

Children found to be suffering from complaints making it undesirable for them to be sent to their billets were segregated and taken to two special evacuation hospitals, established to serve the needs of those districts.

One of these is at Haywards Heath and the other at Burgess Hill. They are staffed entirely by voluntary workers, and Dr Stott is extremely grateful to those who helped in perfecting the preparations and are giving their services. 

In the first three days ten were admitted to the evacuation hospital at Haywards Heath, and eighteen to the one at Burgess Hill.

These special hospitals remain available for evacuated children suffering from minor illnesses, but they will only be admitted on the authority of a local doctor or district nurse.

With regard to the possibility of infectious diseases, Dr Stott gives the opinion that there will be ample accommodation for any such cases at Deans Isolation Hospital, Hurstpierpoint, which has been enlarged and brought up to date. Should the need arise additional beds can be provided there at very short notice.

On the subject of diphtheria, Dr Stott states: 

“we are in the happy position here of having a large percentage of our elementary school children immunised against diphtheria.

In my opinion, it is very fortunate that this is so, because there is no doubt that a number of the evacuated children will be diphtheria carriers. It is quite impossible, at an ordinary medical examination, to pick out such carriers. The result is that there is a risk of cases of diphtheria occurring among the child population who have not been immunised. I feel very strongly that although the majority of elementary school children have been immunised it is just as important for children attending private schools, in fact for every child from one year upwards who might come into contact with evacuated children, to be protected against diphtheria.

I, therefore, recommend parents to consult the own doctors on this matter without delay”. 

In the first three days 3283 evacuees were detrained at the Haywards Heath railway station. Of these 1,652 were distributed in the Cuckfield urban area (comprising the wards of Cuckfield, Haywards Heath, Lindfield and with us field), while 1,246 were sent to the Cuckfield rural area and 385 to the Burgess Hill Urban District.

Yesterday (Monday) a further batch of 473 evacuees was received, of which 234 and 239 before the Cuckfield urban and rural areas respectively.

From Three Bridges, where the rail head officer was Mr F. S. Bond, 944 were received into the Cuckfield rural district in the first two days. Apart from mothers and children received by rail, 36 pupils of a London school for deaf and dumb were brought by road to Cuckfield on Friday. They are staying at Cuckfield House. 

The Cuckfield Urban District Council’s Rail Head Officer was Mr J. A. Evans, who was assisted by Mr F. T. Weller. The Haywards Heath Railhead Officer for the Cuckfield rural district Council was Mr S. Eaton

Many of the children arrived in school groups, with banners bearing the names of their schools. Where possible they have been billeted in groups, so as to facilitate educational arrangements later. 

Happy faced Salvation Army officers were noticed in charge of some of the children arriving on Saturday.