The photo below shows Sergeant Ivan Hector Culbert
(1918-1979), the great-grandson of John Culbert and Mary Ward. Ivan joined the Royal Canadian Regiment on 8 January 1940 and served
overseas until he returned home in January 1946 with his war bride, Elvira Hutchings.
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| Photo courtesy of Ivan Culbert’s son, Phil Culbert. |
Ivan was stationed in England when this photo was
taken, far from his home on Poplar Farm near Lucan, Ontario. The little British
boy with a tin can was begging for money to get something to eat. Ivan kindly gave the boy a
coin.
We don’t know the identity of the boy. One wonders if
he was part of Operation Pied Piper in which the British government
relocated millions of children out of urban centres to rural locations in
Britain and even overseas. It was assumed that the risk of bombing would be
lower in the countryside, and so the children would be out of harm’s way.
Mothers were reluctant to be separated from their
children but were told it was in their best interest. Propaganda such as the
poster below discouraged mothers from the temptation to bring their children
back to the city …
Long lines of children were led to bus and train stations
to begin their journeys to the countryside. Each child was given a box
containing a gas mask and a few personal belongings. Each child wore a label
with their name on it, pinned to their coat, in the same way that you would label your luggage.
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Children about to board a train to the countryside, wearing name labels pinned to their coats.
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The character of Paddington Bear was inspired by
author Michael Bond’s recollections of watching newsreels of children being
evacuated.
"When I was small, I had memories of children being
evacuated from London with a label around their necks and all their possessions
in a suitcase, and this became part of Paddington," said Michael Bond.
"Paddington Bear was a refugee with a label -
'Please look after this bear. Thank you', and he had a little suitcase."
BBC History describes the man in charge of evacuation,
Sir John Anderson, as a cold, inhuman character with little understanding of
the emotional upheaval that might be created by evacuation. There was no careful selection process as to how and
where the children were placed when they arrived in the countryside. Children
were billeted with hosts who were paid, and who were invited to “take their
pick” as the children lined up against walls or in the village halls.
Life in rural areas was a shock for urban children, unaccustomed to the lack of indoor plumbing and running water. Many children had never seen farm animals. Most children were not told where they would be going, why
they were going nor why their parents weren’t coming with them. It was a time
of adventure for some but for others it was traumatic and lonely.
After the war, many children returned to homes which
were missing a parent who had died in service or as a result of the bombings.
In some cases, children lost both their parents. After years away from their
families, some of the children who had been quite young at the time of the
evacuation didn’t recognize their own parents.
Looking back on Operation Pied Piper, it was concluded that wrenching children away from their families for the duration of the war was more
traumatic than the risk of bombing. Thankfully, many children had been spared
the horrors of bombing that took place in the cities. However, evacuation
wasn’t always as safe as it seemed. Hundreds of evacuees were killed while
enroute to safe havens. Some were killed after being relocated, by minefields
or other wartime hazards.
Many children were fortunate in that they had positive
experiences with their hosts who treated them well and with kindness. Some children
enjoyed their new rural homes so much that they didn’t want to go back to the
city. Sadly, that wasn’t the case for all children. Some suffered from ill
treatment and sexual abuse.
What became of the little boy in our photo? We don’t
know his name or his story. Was he part of Operation Pied Piper? Was he orphaned? We
can only hope that he had a chance to grow up safe and loved. And we can note that a Canadian soldier – a descendant of John Culbert and Mary Ward - cared enough to give that little boy a coin.
In 2018, Phil Culbert wrote a tribute to his father, Ivan Hector Culbert on the Culbert Family History blog. If you missed it, click here.
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Ivan Culbert
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IVAN HECTOR CULBERT'S FAMILY TREE:
Ancestors:
John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-grandparents)
Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (grandparents)
Myron Manford Culbert & Effie Pearl Taylor (parents)
Ivan Hector Culbert
Descendants (Children):
Victoria "Vicky" (Culbert) Schloendorf
Ian Richard Culbert
Phillip Myron Culbert
Elizabeth Christine Culbert (1955-2020).
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