We went along to a very enjoyable and informative talk at the local Westcott History Group on the subject of Operation Pied Piper as part of the remembrance of the start of WWII.
Operation Pied Piper was the code name for the evacuation of major cities on the day that war was declared, where many children were taken from possible danger zones to areas of relative safety in the countryside. The village of Westcott was host to two schools from London and this talk concentrated on them and what happened.
The Reading Room was packed with people; many of who were of a generation that could remember the events first hand (some even stood up and added to the talk with personal details). Several local children came in and acted out the roles of evacuees by reading out letters written by them to their parents. A woman also read out passages from the memories of the local lady responsible for the allocation of the children to suitable accommodation. I particularly like that she referred to her self as the Dumper and the children as the poor Dumplings. I think this episode and memories would make for an interesting children’s story, luckily I obtained a copy of the talk for reference. So you never know – another incomplete project.
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