Early in 1938 the British government started to think about how they could organise evacuation and by January, 1939, preparations had started. A list was made of the places most likely to be bombed and these were the only places where evacuation was organised.
In Scotland these were:
- Edinburgh
- Rosyth
- Glasgow
- Clydebank
- Dundee
After the war actually started and it became clear that other places were in danger, these were added to the list:
- North and South Queensferry, October, 1939
- Greenock, Port Glasgow, May, 1941
- Dumbarton May, 1941
It is important to know this if you want to find out what happened in your own local school. There were also 29 English towns on the original list.
A list was also made of "safe" areas to which people could be sent. That was a much larger list, particularly in Scotland where housing conditions were badly overcrowded: it took a very large number of small households to take in all the people from the cities.
In the "safe" areas, billeting officers started to visit households to ask if they were willing to take evacuees and by March there was a full list of accommodation which would be available.
In March and April 1939, the schools handed out forms so that mothers and children could register for evacuation. It was not compulsory and so the authorities needed to know how many people were likely to go.
At the same time many families were making their own arrangements. Some people had friends or relatives in country areas and they preferred to send their children there.
In Glasgow, when the forms were all returned, 106,000 children had been registered for the government evacuation scheme. 26,000 were registered as private evacuees and 46,000 children were registered to stay in the city.
Throughout the spring and summer of 1939, very detailed preparations were made for transport, food supplies, medical attention and volunteer helpers. Rehearsals were held in Glasgow schools in June.
When it came to the days immediately before the war started and the plans had to be put into action, the schools were ready.