Royal Commonwealth Society, Bath and District Branch, 44AD and Bath Abbey presents:
SHATTERED LIVES
Children in the 1940’s
The Royal Commonwealth Society, Bath and District Branch (RCS Bath) is collaborating with 44AD artspace, Bath Abbey, and local schools and youth organisations of Bath and North East Somerset to produce Shattered Lives, a research project and art exhibition, exploring how children lived during the war, and the impact it had on their lives.
Shattered Lives is the third project in a trilogy that commemorates the impact of World War II.
• The first project, Heroes of the Commonwealth, honoured the soldiers and people who served during the war.
• The second project, Tomorrow to be Brave, explored the lives and contributions of women during the war.
• The third project, Shattered Lives, focuses on the experiences of children living during the 1940s wartime period.
Invitation to Collaborate
We are delighted to invite your school to participate in the Shattered Lives art exhibition and Bath Abbey service. We would like students to research how children lived during the Second World war, and as a group, create a collaborative artwork to show what they have discovered about wartime childhood.
Young people taking part in the project might investigate:
• Evacuation – many children were sent away from cities to the countryside for safety.
• Fathers away at war – many families were separated for years.
• Food shortages and rationing – families had limited food and supplies.
• Bombing and air raids – children experienced fear and danger during attacks.
• Disruption to education – schools were sometimes closed or damaged.
The artworks produced by the schools will on display at 44AD artspace gallery, following a special remembrance service at Bath Abbey on Armistice Day...
The service will include:
• Participating schools
• The Military Wives Choirs
• Personal memories from people who experienced childhood during the war
Shattered Lives reminds us that war doesn’t only affect soldiers—it also changes the lives of children and families forever.
Some dates to remember
Deadline for all artworks is 30 October 2026
Bath Abbey Service will take place on 11 November 2026 at 3:30pm
Art Exhibition launch event will take place at 44AD on 11 November 2026 (4:15pm - 6pm)
Art Exhibition will continue at 44AD until 15 November 2026
How to Participate
If you would like your school to take part in the Shattered Lives exhibition, please get in touch with
To get you started, here is some information on some different topics of research for the
Shattered Lives project:
Evacuation
Operation Pied Piper
In July 1939 the government delivered leaflets to every home in Great Britain explaining how and why evacuation was necessary. This plan had been in the making for some years and so when war was declared it was ready to implement. Children were called back to school in August and teachers were briefed and told that they would only have a few hours before it was implemented. As the situation worsened it was decided that the evacuation would start on 1st September. All but a small minority complied with the order.
Children were told to have a packed case, food for the journey and to carry their gas mask and their label. Operation Pied Piper was the biggest and most concentrated mass movement of people in Britain’s history.
In the first four days of September 1939, nearly 3 million children were transported to places of safety in the countryside. They were accompanied by 100,000 teachers. Children some as young as two years old, were labelled like parcels and separated from their parents. None of them knew where they were going or when they would be home again.
When they arrived at their destination which was often total chaos, they were lined up and chosen by people who had agreed to have a refugee. Sometimes there would not be enough places and a child could be left alone until someone could be found to take him or her resulting in some very unhappy mismatches. This caused quite a significant culture clash with many rural hosts shocked by the poor health and hygiene of the evacuees.
Because the expected heavy bombing did not happen many evacuees returned home, only to be evacuated again during the Blitz. A third wave of evacuation occurred during the V-weapons attacks.
Rationing
Rationing during WWII was introduced in 1939 by the government to control food, clothing, petrol and other essentials.
Although this had a significant effect on children, the extra milk, cod liver oil, and orange juice lead eventually to a healthier generation. Children adapted by helping to grow vegetables and young children and babies received priority vitamins and were given extra food like eggs. Children had their own ration books and had extra coupons to account for growth although shoes were scarce.
Ration books were issued to everyone by the Ministry of Food to everyone including children and Members of the Royal Family. Rationing was extended to most goods by 1942. This was to ensure fair distribution due to wartime shortages.
Families were required to register with specific shops like the grocer, butcher and milkman and coupons were for fixed items. Vegetables, bread and fish were not rationed but all were scarce.
Rationed items included bacon, butter, sugar, meat, cheese, eggs, milk, tea, jam, sweets and tinned and dried food. Also rationed were clothing coal and soap. Carrots were promoted to promote eyesight and bread was fortifies with calcium.
There was a surplus of some foods especially carrots. People made carrot jam, cake and lollies. In 1942 The Ministry of Food created campaigns like Dr. Carrot to encourage children to eat more vegetables.
In 1941, a points system was added for canned and dried goods allowing for choice on some items like spam rice and biscuits.
There were special allowances for pregnant women Children and people with certain illnesses.
As many as 200,000 children in the war years became sick with whooping cough but vaccinations were only available from 1957. `Vaccinations for Diphtheria were available in 1942. Common illnesses were head lice and skin diseases caused by poor nutrition. There was also an increase in Ricketts which affected children’s growth.
Young people also suffered from mental health caused by anxiety and fear.
The Bombing of Bath
The city of Bath was bombed in April 1942 during what was referred to as the Baedeker raids. The targets of the Luftwaffe (German air warfare) were chosen for their cultural and historical value.
Although Bath was subjected to numerous air raid sirens during 1940 and 1941 as the bombers were on their way to Bristol, Bath remained untouched until April 1942. The start of the Baedeker Blitz was in response to the RAF’s bombing of the city of Lubeck, Germany. Over the weekend of 25-27 April 1942, Bath suffered three raids, when 80 enemy aircraft targeted the city.
At first people did not believe that the aircraft were coming for them in spite of the air raid warnings. The first bombs dropped on Saturday night and lasted for several hours.
The German bombers then returned to France to refuel and rearm, and returned several hours later.
The third raid caused extensive damage on the following Monday morning with the bombers raking the streets with machine gun fire.
417 people were killed and another 1000 were injured.
19,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including the Assembly Rooms which lost its roof, and the Royal Crescent.
Most of the buildings in Queens square were affected and the Francis Hotel took a bad hit. Many of the churches in Bath were hit and St Andrews church was destroyed. The raids severely damaged the city’s Georgian architecture.
Among the firefighters was Harry Patch who lived in Combe Down. In the 2000’s, he was the last surviving frontline veteran from the First World War. He served as a firefighter in World War II dealing with the Blitz in Bath.
A memorial plaque for the victims is located in Royal Victoria Park and there is a memorial garden in Shaftesbury Road.
Gas Masks
During World War II the British government issued all children with gas masks because they feared that Germany was proposing to use poison gas as they did in World War I. These masks were intended to keep children safe and 10 million were made and distributed in 1938 in the event of war breaking out.
All children had to carry their gas masks where ever they went even when they were evacuated to the country. Schools practised putting on the masks quickly and some children found it fun to blow ‘raspberries’ inside the mask when they breathed out. They were frequently made to wear them during lessons to get them used to the masks.
Special designs were made for young children and babies, as the masks looked very frightening. Mickey Mouse masks were made for children aged 2 -5 years. Some were red with big round eyes and so named to make them sound friendlier. Older children wore black rubber masks with metal filters. These were carried in a cardboard box with the child’s name or school written on it.
Not all parents were happy with the baby masks as the babies were almost covered by them and they were afraid that not enough air was getting in. The masks were fitted with an asbestos filter which absorbed the poisonous gas and attached to this was a rubber tube with a handle used to pump air into the masks.
There were also gas-proof prams and along with the masks they became a common feature on the home front.
It showed how seriously the country believed they were in danger.
Education
Children’s lives were dramatically changed during World War II. Their education was severely disrupted by evacuation and bombing, with the lack of resources forcing lessons to be held in church halls, village halls, cellars, air raid shelters, and even pubs. Due to rationing, there was a shortage of pens, paper, and textbooks. Schools faced teacher shortages as young men had left for the front. Many retired teachers were called up to help out.
The 1939 evacuation programme disrupted thousands of children, leading to overcrowded rural schools and empty urban ones. Some five schools were damaged by bombing. Lessons were often interrupted by war-related activities like knitting for troops, salvaging materials, and collecting kitchen waste.
Practical skills were strongly emphasised: boys were taught woodwork and metalwork, while girls focused on domestic science and needlework. The curriculum shifted towards the war effort, including air raid drills and gas mask training. Children learned first aid and fire safety and could identify enemy aircraft from their silhouettes. In industrial areas, there was a heavy focus on engineering, metalworking, and technical drawings. Older children often left school early to work in factories.
The 1944 Education Act brought much-needed reforms, but for many children, education was sporadic. This act eventually mandated free secondary education for all and raised the school leaving age to 15.
There was a significant decline in overall literacy and numeracy by 1945. Single households with husbands away or killed, left children with limited educational opportunities. Research has shown that war children, on average, achieved lower incomes and had higher rates of disability.
Despite these hardships, children’s practical learning continued to adapt to the wartime context, reflecting both the challenges and resilience of childhood during World War II.
Entertainment
Children’s entertainment during World War II depended heavily on imagination and resourcefulness due to rationing, shortages, and safety concerns. With few manufactured toys available, children adapted everyday objects and their surroundings into playthings.
The government’s “make do and mend” attitude shaped how children played, encouraging them to reuse and repurpose materials such as cardboard, shrapnel, and scrap wood.
With fewer cars on the roads and many open spaces left by bomb damage, streets and bombsites became playgrounds. Children commonly played hopscotch, skipping, tag, rounders, cricket, and marbles. Skipping ropes and chalk were especially popular.
Many toys were homemade from scrap materials. Sticks were used for games like pick-up sticks or as pretend weapons and tools, while stones were used for counting and strategy games. Children made dolls, toy tanks, and aeroplanes from wood, cloth, and metal.
Board games and card games became important indoor entertainment, especially during air raids. Popular games included Monopoly and specially themed wartime games such as Aeroplane Spotter, and Night Raiders, which reflected real wartime experiences like bombing and evacuation.
Children enjoyed comics and adventure stories, while the wireless (radio) provided entertainment and comfort in shelters. The BBC Children’s Hour was especially popular. Cinema also offered an escape from wartime hardship, with films starring heroes such as Roy Rogers and comedy acts like Abbot and Costello. Sing songs were held to keep their spirits up. Many songs from the first war like roll out the barrel were popular with children.
Many children turned their contributions to the war effort into games. Activities such as collecting shrapnel, spotting enemy aircraft, and helping in “Dig for Victory” vegetable gardens became both useful and entertaining.
Common toys included homemade dolls, wooden tanks, and model aeroplanes. These reflected the war around them and showed how children adapted their play to fit the realities of wartime life.
The Girl Guides
In 1940 Girl Guides from across the British Empire contributed to the Girl Guide Gift week from 19th - 25th May 1940.
Girls were asked to give half a day’s pocket money or however much they could collect. In just a few months, they raised £46,000 (approx. £2 million in today’s money). This money was used to purchase two air ambulances. The air ambulances were presented to the RAF on 21st July 1940 and were based at RAF Hendon.
Credited to ‘winning the war’ the Guides were set up by Agnes Baden Powell, the sister of Robert Baden PowelL, founder of the Boy Scouts. They were a crucial volunteer force of 750,000 in Britain alone during World War II.
These young girls played a huge role on the home front. Between the ages of 11-14 years, the Guides performed duties such as fitting and distributing gas marks, working in first aid posts, helping with the evacuation of children and participating in salvage and food production.
Older Guides and Rangers aged from 14-17 years + undertook more demanding roles, assisting in hospitals with nursing duties, running mobiles canteens, and Home Emergency Services. Queen Elizabeth 11 became a Guide in 1937.
They were trained in first aid and helped to treat injuries during air raids, older ones also helping in hospital. Like the Boy Scouts they acted as messengers and delivered supplies. They learned emergency skills such as fire watching and they helped with food shortages taking part in the Dig for Victory effort.
The Boy Scouts
The Boy Scout movement in Britain was found by General Robert Baden Powell in 1908. Its aim was to develop good citizenship, chivalrous behaviour and to learn skills in various outdoor activities. Baden Powell wrote Scouting for boys which became popular reading for boys. Boy scouts had to promise to be loyal to his country, help others and obey the scout law. the Scouting movement sped rapidly through out the Commonwealth and many other countries until there was a Scout movement in 170 countries by the 1920. Younger boys were keen to join and so the Wolf Cubs were formed.
During World War 11 the Scouting movement adopted the slogan The Boy Scouts are Carrying on. By the end of 1940 0ver 53,000 Scouts had trained for 175 different National War Service jobs.
Scouts and Wolf Cubs were integral to civil defence and home resilience. They served in dangerous jobs as fire watchers and stretcher bearers during the Blitz. Scouts could be booked to help put up Air Raid Shelters.
The Anderson shelter was dug out and built in gardens, Morrison shelters were built inside houses. By 1941, 500,000 Morrison shelters had been issued to households across the UK.
During the Blitz which lasted from September 1940 to May 1941 Scouts supported civilian organisations including the Air Raid Wardens Service the Fire Brigade and the Ambulance service.
During operation Pied Piper they helped with the organisation of young evacuees.
They also carried out tasks such as helping the Women’s Timber Corps (the Lumber Jills) to fell wood for the effort. They collected plants which could be used for medical purposes such as sphagnum moss for its antiseptic properties and used in wound dressings.
The Sea Scouts played a vital active role in the war effort, famously contributing to the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo) with their own boats.
Scout-crewed "Little Ships", such as the 45ft motor picket boat Minotaur (1st Mortlake Sea Scouts) and cockle boats like the Renown, ferried soldiers from beaches to larger vessels under fire.
In 1940 when the Home Guard was formed, Scouts were called in to teach them tracking first aid and bushcraft. They served as messengers, signallers and coast watchers and supported the Thames River Emergency Service. From 1941 they specialized in training in wireless, Morse Code and navigation.