Today 75 years ago some 3.5 million children across the country were evacuated to safety from the major cities.

My brother and sister where sent to Wales in the Second World War. I was kept on the edge of London in a small village Bexley in Kent with our parents. They have always not surprisingly resented that decision and the fact that I was allowed the apparent insecurity of Bexley to their safety. However its not safety that is the issue but the psychological trauma of separation and its long term consequences anger and depression. I still occasionally feel guilt but after a 12 year analysis it helped me understand that it was 'not my decision' but our parents for their own reasons made what they felt at the time in the 1940's was in the best interests of my brother and sister. Little then was known about the long term effects of this forced and sudden separation. No matter how apparently rational the decision children cannot fully comprehend the rationale. The scar stays lodged in the unconscious world working and nagging away. If only we could put the clocks back parents may have made different decisions