0:00:22 > 0:00:24This story belongs to Erica
0:00:24 > 0:00:26and her mummy, Michelle.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41It's a tiny tale about how children, just like you,
0:00:41 > 0:00:45lived in the olden days, over 70 years ago.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Now it's time for Mummy Michelle to take Erica
0:00:51 > 0:00:53on a journey of discovery.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Together they're going to find out
0:00:56 > 0:00:59what life was like all those years ago.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03You look busy, Erica, what are you doing?
0:01:03 > 0:01:06I'm packing, I'm having a sleepover at Laura's.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Can I tell you a story about a girl called Cathy who went away?
0:01:10 > 0:01:14- Where was she going?- She didn't know, and neither did her mummy know.
0:01:14 > 0:01:20- It happened 70 years ago.- 70 years? - Mm-hm, it was a long time ago.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Long before I was born but round about the time Nana was born.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26- That was a long time ago.- It was.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Cathy had to pack all her things to go away
0:01:29 > 0:01:34because something was about to happen that would change everybody's lives.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37- What happened?- All the countries were fighting each other
0:01:37 > 0:01:40and they called it World War II.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42See my grandad Bobby?
0:01:42 > 0:01:44He had to go and fight in the war.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48He joined something called the RAF, which means the Royal Air Force.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51- Do you know why it's called World War II?- No.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54Because a war had happened before, called World War I.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59During World War II, most people wanted to help
0:01:59 > 0:02:04protect their country, so people became soldiers, sailors or pilots.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09In this old film, you can see some women about to fly some planes.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13They were helping deliver the planes to the fighter pilots.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16- Can you tell me more about Cathy? - I can do better than that!
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Do you want to get dressed up like Cathy and her mummy
0:02:19 > 0:02:24- and go on a big adventure and find out all about World War II?- Yeah!
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Come on, Mum! Come on, Mum.
0:02:28 > 0:02:29You look lovely.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33So do you, I like your clothes. Let me see you.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38Can I have a wee twirl? Ooh, absolutely gorgeous.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Mummy Michelle and Erica are wearing clothes just like Cathy
0:02:42 > 0:02:44and her mummy would have worn.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50They're ready for their big adventure. But where will they go?
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Mummy Michelle has brought Erica
0:02:58 > 0:03:02to the Museum Of Scottish Industrial Life at Summerlee.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06- This is a house a bit like the one Cathy would have lived in.- Is it?
0:03:06 > 0:03:08- Will we go and have a look?- Yes.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16- What do you think of this room, Erica?- It looks very old.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Do you think? What's missing in this room?
0:03:22 > 0:03:27- A television.- It is a television missing. Shall we have a wee seat?
0:03:27 > 0:03:30They had a radio. They used to listen to the radio,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33and they listened to stories, music and the news.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36- Will we put it on?- Yeah.- OK.
0:03:39 > 0:03:40JAZZ MUSIC
0:03:42 > 0:03:44The radio was very important.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46As well as being used to listen to music
0:03:46 > 0:03:49it was also used by the government,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52who are the people in charge of the country.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56'The BBC Home Service. Here is a special bulletin...'
0:03:56 > 0:03:59One of the important messages given on the radio was that
0:03:59 > 0:04:02all the street lights were to be switched off at night
0:04:02 > 0:04:06and everyone was asked to cover up their windows in their homes.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10- Can you get the tape?- Yeah.- OK, and I'll get the scissors.- Yep.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12And I'll cover up.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15The reason people had to cover up their windows
0:04:15 > 0:04:18was because enemy planes flew over Britain at night
0:04:18 > 0:04:21looking for the lights of big cities.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24If they saw any lights, the planes would drop bombs.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29Lots of children helped to cover up the windows in their homes.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Just like Erica is doing now.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35This stopped any light from being seen from the sky at night-time.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39- Really dark.- We mustn't let a peep of light, so this is the last one.
0:04:39 > 0:04:44- Can you put that on for me? - Yeah.- Right. Wonderful.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47What a great helper.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Good job, Mummy Michelle and Erica!
0:04:49 > 0:04:52No light is going to escape from that window.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02SIREN IN DISTANCE
0:05:02 > 0:05:04What's that noise?
0:05:04 > 0:05:06It's something called a siren.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09This is a man pretending to be an air-raid warden
0:05:09 > 0:05:12whose job it was to wind up the siren.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18When people heard the siren, they knew planes were on their way
0:05:18 > 0:05:22and they had to go to a safe place called an air-raid shelter
0:05:22 > 0:05:24to hide until it was safe to come out.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Mummy Michelle and Erica are sitting inside a pretend air-raid shelter.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32This is an old photo of a real one.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35It's dug into the ground
0:05:35 > 0:05:38and covered with soil to make it a safer place to hide.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Another thing the government wanted to do to protect people
0:05:44 > 0:05:47was to send children who lived in big cities to go
0:05:47 > 0:05:52and live in the country so they would be safe from the bombings.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54This was called evacuation.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58The children who went to the country were called evacuees.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03Cathy's mummy had to decide if Cathy should be evacuated or not.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07And she decided that Cathy would be much safer in the country.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11Here's a photo of Cathy and other evacuee children.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18It was a big adventure, moving lots of children into the country.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22And they were only allowed to take a few things from home with them.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Do you think you would like to be evacuated?
0:06:25 > 0:06:29- No way, I would miss you too much! - Oh, and I would miss you, too.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32But don't worry, we're only pretending to be evacuated,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35we're not really going to send you away.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Erica is packing a few of her belongings into a pillow case
0:06:38 > 0:06:42to go on her adventure. Just like Cathy would have done.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46All the evacuees had to wear a label like this one
0:06:46 > 0:06:50so everyone knew where the children came from.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54They had to wear them round their neck just like this.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58And it had your name and the name and address of your school on it.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59See?
0:07:01 > 0:07:04I look like Paddington Bear!
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Well, if you were a bear you would need a big hug. Can I have a hug?
0:07:17 > 0:07:21On the day of evacuation everyone went to school like normal,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23taking their belongings with them.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Right, children. Line up in your classes.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Everyone's going to get a sandwich, a sweet and an apple.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34Whole classes were evacuated together, along with their teachers.
0:07:34 > 0:07:35Open your bag, please.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38They were leaving their families
0:07:38 > 0:07:41and no-one knew when they would see each other again.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43But they all hoped it would be soon.
0:07:43 > 0:07:48- Children, wave bye-bye to everyone. - Look at the children waving goodbye!
0:07:48 > 0:07:52But they're just pretending they're being evacuated.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Children left the cities on all kinds of transport -
0:07:55 > 0:07:57buses, trains.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02Today, Erica and her friends are pretending to leave on an old tram.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07The grown-ups taking the children away
0:08:07 > 0:08:10wanted them to feel happy on their journey.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13They sang songs that were popular at the time to cheer them up.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17# Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run
0:08:17 > 0:08:21# Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run
0:08:21 > 0:08:25# Bang, bang, bang goes the farmer's gun
0:08:25 > 0:08:28# So run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run! #
0:08:38 > 0:08:41When the children arrived in the country
0:08:41 > 0:08:44they were met by someone called a billeting officer
0:08:44 > 0:08:48whose job it was to find places for the children to live.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51Mummy Michelle, Erica and her friends have come to
0:08:51 > 0:08:56the National Museum Of Rural Life to look around an old farmhouse.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00The evacuee children stayed with people in all kinds of houses.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Some large, some small.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07They were very different from their homes back in the city.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Erica, this is a house like the one Cathy
0:09:09 > 0:09:13would have came to stay in when she was an evacuee.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16- Wow!- What do you think of it? - It's really big.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20- It is really big and it's got lots of stairs, hasn't it?- Yes.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23And this is a bedroom like the one Cathy would have slept in.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28- What do you think? - It's very small and there's no toys.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31And it's not very colourful, is it?
0:09:31 > 0:09:36- There's only a wee bed. - Only a wee bed and no teddies.- No.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50The country children would go to school in the morning.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Cathy and the evacuee children went to school in the afternoon.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Moo! Baa!
0:09:57 > 0:10:00When the evacuee children were not at school,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02many of them had to do chores.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07So, Erica and her friends are helping to sweep the farmyard.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12It wasn't all hard work.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15The children did have time to play games.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Erica and her friends are playing games
0:10:17 > 0:10:21like Cathy would have done when she was evacuated.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25This game is called draughts. It looks great fun to play.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27- Er...- Well...
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Ah, the boys are playing dominoes! I wonder who's winning?
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Nn-ee-a-oo-ww!
0:10:33 > 0:10:37Toy aeroplanes were really popular when Cathy was a little girl.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Does it look like playtime at your school or nursery?
0:10:53 > 0:10:56OK, children, shall we listen to the radio?
0:10:56 > 0:10:57- ALL:- Yes!
0:10:57 > 0:11:00At night, the children would listen to the radio
0:11:00 > 0:11:02to find out what was happening with the war.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Then, one day, they heard this...
0:11:05 > 0:11:10'This is the BBC Home Service, and here is a very special announcement.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12'The war is now over!'
0:11:12 > 0:11:14- ALL:- Y-a-a-y!
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Up and down the country,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24people had huge parties to celebrate the end of the war.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Cathy and other evacuee children
0:11:26 > 0:11:29went home to be with their families again.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31- Hip hip, hooray! - ALL:- Hooray!
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Hip hip, hooray!
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Everyone cheered, waved flags and danced.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36BIG BAND MUSIC
0:11:54 > 0:11:58Erica, did you enjoy finding out about Cathy and the evacuees
0:11:58 > 0:12:01- and what it was like a long, long time ago?- Yeah.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04- And do you remember all the things that we did?- Yeah.
0:12:04 > 0:12:09'We went to a museum and looked at an old house like Cathy's.
0:12:10 > 0:12:15'We listened to the radio and then we covered up the windows.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21- 'We heard a siren.' - Quick, the siren's gone off!
0:12:21 > 0:12:25'And we went into the air-raid shelter.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29'The billeting officer took us to the farmhouse.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35'The bedroom was tiny and nothing like mine.'
0:12:35 > 0:12:38There's only a wee bed!
0:12:39 > 0:12:41'Everyone helped in the farm.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47'We played games like Cathy would have done.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51'The man on the radio told us the war was over.'
0:12:51 > 0:12:53- ALL:- Y-a-a-y!
0:12:55 > 0:12:59'We celebrated victory with a big party
0:12:59 > 0:13:03'and danced just like the olden days.'
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- What was you favourite thing? - Going on the tram.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09- And what did you do on the tram? - Sing.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13# Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run... #
0:13:13 > 0:13:15What was you favourite thing, Mummy?
0:13:15 > 0:13:19My favourite thing was dressing up in the old-fashioned clothes
0:13:19 > 0:13:21and spending time with you.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Will we get changed into our normal clothes?
0:13:24 > 0:13:30I'll get changed and you stay like that, cos you look funny.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33I look funny?! You look funny.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38What a fabulous heap of fun.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41That was Erica and Mummy Michelle's tiny tale
0:13:41 > 0:13:46about being a child during World War II, over 70 years ago.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Now Mummy Michelle has shared this story with Erica,
0:13:49 > 0:13:52it's time for Erica to start her very own story.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Do you know someone with a story to share?