South Yorkshire Times, July 15th 1944
Billeting Arrangements Work Well
South Yorkshire Welcomes London Evacuees
Evacuees, mothers with small children and school children, have this week been arriving in the Mexborough, Swinton, Wath, Dearne, and Conisborough districts from the London area. Billeting officers and their staffs, working with efficiency and zeal, have spoken of the generous responses of the public in taking in the children, offers of billet for whom have been showered upon officials, and have been far in excess of the number of child billetees received. The problem of finding accommodation for mothers and children has been greater. Official billetees, who arrived in the various areas on Saturday and Tuesday were all successfully billeted, but as more are expected over the weekend, appeals for more offers to take in this class of evacuee are being made by officials in most areas.
Children accompanied in some cases by teachers were the first to arrive. Tired after three weeks of shelter life with very little sleep, and dishevelled after the long journey, they detrained at Doncaster on Saturday were met by billeting officials and taken by bus to rest centres where kindly W.V.S. and Civil Defence workers had provided meals. A medical examination followed ablutions and within an hour or two the youngsters were enjoying their first sound sleep in weeks in billets or rest centres.
Dearne welcomed 143 children, including 112 County School children accompanied by teachers. They were received at the Highgate schools and conveyed to their billets the same evening. Conisbrough provided its complement of 35 with a meal at the Baptist Church Rest Centre, billeting them before nightfall. The headmistress who accompanied the 60 children went to Wath said that nowhere (and many of the children have been evacuated before) had they had such a grand reception. A similar number arrived at Swinton staying overnight in the Rest Centre at the Masonic Hall. The 35 who arrived at Mexborough were given a meal at the British Restaurant and found homes immediately. Inevitably, minor adjustments had to be made. Nine boys who should have arrived at Swinton boarded the wrong bus and spent the weekend in Doncaster. Nine girls who should have gone to Goldthorpe found themselves at Conisbrough. They had been there only two days, but there were tears at the transfer.
Unoccupied Houses Taken Over
Mothers with toddlers and younger children arrived on Tuesday evening. Two unoccupied houses were taken over at Conisbrough to accommodate some of the ten mothers and 25 children. By Wednesday, permanent billets had been obtained for all the 12 mothers and 19 children at Wath, 12 mothers and2 5 children at Mexborough, 26 mothers and 32 children in the Dearne and 12 mothers and 21 children at Swinton.
The first flying bomb to fall in the London area damaged the home of woman evacuated with her child to Swinton. Another fell in the next street. Each time, had they not been in the shelter they would a been killed. A family received at Conisbrough have been billeted five times. “If I can sleep in a stable floor without having to listen,” said a Mexborough evacuee “it will be good enough for me.” Another said that the children who could tell the flying bombs a long way away were the best guide when to take shelter. One little boy was less familiar with the sight of a cow he sighted through the bus window on the way from Doncaster and wanted to know what it was. Questions about pit-tips were asked by the grown-ups, few of whom had seen a colliery landscape before. Further batches of evacuees were expected in all the areas last night (Thursday).
As the Mexborough Parish Hall is being used in connection with the billeting, members of Oxford Road Church will hold their services and Sunday School this weekend at St Aiden’s.