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with previous years, or even to give adequate representation of facts,
as medical records had to be sent with the children to their various
destinations and so valuable data were not available. For those
reasons amongst others, all Medical Officers have been requested
to make their annual reports as short as possible, and many Tables
formerly included have been altered or omitted altogether, under
the guidance of the Board of Education.
Included in the annual report is an article on evacuation as
it occurred in Acton. This was prepared by the Education Department
which took charge of evacuation. In addition there are given
the figures of those children who had returned to Acton by the
end of the year.
EVACUATION.
The Government ordered the evacuation scheme to be put
into operation commencing on Friday, 1st September, 1939. The
local scheme which had been planned on a four day operation was
expedited and completed on the third day. A further opportunity
for evacuation was given and on the fourth day one train was
despatched containing mothers and children under five and
unattached children of school age whose parents wished them to
be evacuated.
The whole operation was carried out smoothly and without
any accident, notwithstanding the interruption by the air raid
warning on the Sunday morning. On that occasion through the
courtesy of T. Wall & Sons Ltd. the party then assembled at the
Control Point for entraining, was marshalled into the firm's air
raid shelters and on the "all clear" being given was re-assembled
and entrained without hitch or delay of the train.
The school roll at the end of July was 6,500.
Children of school age evacuated in school units—2,924 )
=51%
,, ,, „ „ with parents—410
The School Attendance Officers estimate that 30% of the school
population have been evacuated under private arrangements or were
on holiday at the time of evacuation and have remained in their
holiday places as instructed.
If that estimate is reliable the school population remaining in Acton
is slightly less than 20%.