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Evacuees of the Second World War | Operation Pied Piper

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Evacuees of the Second World War | Operation Pied Piper

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Evacuees of the Second World War | Operation Pied Piper

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The Evacuated Children Of The Second World War

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The Evacuated Children Of The Second World War

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Interviewer: "How much were you used to looking after your sister?"

Ronald McGill: "Um, I hated the sight of her; she hated the sight of me, so we always were in conflict. Uh, of course that died very quickly with the outbreak of war and then she hung on to me and I hung onto her really. I became the older boy, I was nine, she was seven and a half and so it changed the relationship completely. Suddenly I became almost like a mum and dad, and it became very close for children, very close."

On the same day that Germany invaded Poland large-scale evacuation procedures were taking place across Britain. The threat of German bombing of British towns and cities was imminent, and Britain was prepared. Ronald McGill, heard in this recording, was sent away from his home in Vauxhall in 1939 aged nine, holding the hand of his younger seven-year-old sister with little more than a toothbrush and a spare pair of shorts. His parents said they'd see him back by Christmas, but his teachers told the children to prepare for at least a year away from home. Many children didn't know what town they would end up in, who they would live with, or when they would see their parents again.

The choice facing parents to send their children on a train into the unknown did not come easily, but the option to keep them at home was even worse. How and why did these parents make this choice?

Evacuation on this scale had never been attempted by the government before but it was their task to safely transport millions across the country. So, how was this mammoth task accomplished?

Alan Jeffreys: "It was the first time the government had organised an evacuation scheme. There had been aerial bombardment in 1917 with the Gotha raids and people had evacuated from the cities then but there'd be no government scheme in place. School-age children were evacuated, pregnant women, mothers with young children, and the disabled and also their carers and helpers, and teachers as well. The evacuation between 1939 and 1945 amounts to the biggest mass migration of British history."

A few days after the announcement of war Ronald McGill boarded his own train along with 500 other pupils from his school headed for Reading. The school had been preparing for evacuation for a few weeks and some schools had already started leaving the cities.

Ronald McGill: "Now only that morning were we told it was Reading. So, we marched in there we waved goodbye and the parents stayed on one side of the road and they all cried our eyes out, it was terrible. Although we were all happy and joking by then, we'd had our apple, we said our goodbyes, banged our gas masks on and we were off."

Within the next three days, 1.5 million evacuees were sent from cities and towns into rural areas considered safe, and over the course of the war around 4 million people left their homes. It was a huge logistical exercise that required tens of thousands of volunteer helpers.

Alan Jeffreys: "The initial organisation is administratively quite thorough, but then it definitely deteriorates after that and it just depends on where they were going. So, a billeting officer in a town or small city would quite often be a local government official but then in smaller towns and villages they were usually volunteers and they just had to do what they could. And obviously people volunteered to take evacuees in, so the people who took in evacuees were compensated they got 10 shillings and six pence for the first child and then eight shillings and six pence for further children that they took in to look after."

Mary Whiteman: "Mostly the school children went straight to the training college and then were taken, met by billeting officers who offered to find them homes, and it does credit to the town to say that that first night everybody had somewhere to go. And they just counted up the rooms that was the idea you've in the old days, you count how many rooms and how many people."

As well as the huge logistical challenge for the government, towns, families, and volunteers, evacuation was an emotional upheaval, distressing for both children and parents. Evacuation was also entirely voluntary, so why did so many thousands so readily sign up before the war had even started?

Alan Jeffreys: "In the interwar period, especially in the 1930s, the great fear was of aerial bombardment. The MP Stanley Baldwin said in 1932 and the bomber will always get through and so this was one of the great fears across the nation in the interwar period."

The fear of bombing, the closure of many urban schools, and the organised transportation of school groups helped persuade families to send their children away to live with strangers. There was also a propaganda campaign encouraging citizens to take part.

Ronald McGill: "My parents were worried, they all thought that our part of London would be devastated by bombs the first moment the war was declared. They had a very real fear - my mother had seen the zeppelins come down over Elstree in the First World War and she thought that was going to happen again. And I actually heard her telling another lady that if Germany did attack, she would rather kill her own children than let them be taken."

Interviewer: "What did you think of that?"

Ronald McGill: "I just couldn't believe it! I just couldn't imagine the Germans in my house, it didn't make sense."

Across the country throughout the war and particularly in three separate waves of 1939, 1940 and 1944, children, mothers and vulnerable citizens left their homes, not knowing where they would end up, who with, or for how long. Luggage had to be limited. Parents were issued with a list detailing what their children should take with them when evacuated. Though the list was short for such a journey, in fact many families struggled even to provide their children with all the items listed.

Jannette Tucker: "Oh, we weren't allowed to take too much you know, just sort of a change of clothing mainly, just a few clothes. And we had to wear a mac, strong shoes, that sort of thing but we didn't take a lot of toys or anything, there wouldn't have been room."

Interviewer: "You know you were 12 and your younger sister was eight?"

Jannette Tucker: "Yes, yes."

Interviewer: "Did she take anything?"

Jannette Tucker: "Oh yes, she took some toys you know, sort of dolls and that I think, you know. I can't remember which ones but sure she did."

For many evacuees from poorer inner city areas, it was their first experience of the countryside.

Interviewer: "There must have been some little children who hadn't even been to the country as much as you had?"

Ronald McGill: "Never, some had never been. Literally some had never seen cattle."

Jannette Tucker: "As I say we were quite excited and looking forward to it really because it sounded interesting to go and live in the country."

Interviewer: "What did you imagine that meant to go to the country?"

Jannette Tucker: "Oh well I don't know, I suppose see all the animals and trees you know. It seemed nice to us, living in London."

Alan Jeffreys: "For some people it was the happiest days of their lives their evacuation experience. Whereas for others they missed their family and their home and especially if they were ill-treated by their foster carers. The experiences of the evacuees could really vary to a considerable level."

In some instances, a child's upbringing in urban poverty was misinterpreted as parental neglect. On the other hand, some city dwellers were bored in the countryside or even used for tiring agricultural work.

John Wheeler: "But I honestly don't remember whether head nits, head lice was more than an initial problem. It certainly was a problem when they arrived because most of them were infected based. Cat and Bill Milcoy in the first weeks they were with us spent more time in the bath almost than they did in bed."

Alan Jeffreys: "One of the quite important legacies of evacuation and definitely goes on to affect government legislation even during the war but certainly in the Labour government after 1945 was that evacuation drew attention to the economic and social deprivation that really existed in inner cities in the 1930s, and this really came to the fore through evacuation."

Interviewer: "I was going to ask if you had ever thought whether had you children they would be evacuated? You've seen it as a child, what would it be like as a parent?"

Ronald McGill: "I wouldn't send them. I wouldn't send them unless it was to somebody I knew, or I'd go there first and try and find people. I wouldn't like to do that, too vulnerable, yeah too vulnerable. It did transform my life it really did I can't say it enough. Scarred you in many ways because you lost so many friends and relatives, but I wouldn't have been without it. I think in many respects I was lucky to survive but also lucky to have been there which I'm only realising that in later life."

For some children the end of the war brought an end to a prolonged period of fear confusion and separation. For others it brought considerable upheaval as they returned to cities and families they barely remembered or homes that were no longer there. Despite the huge undertaking that evacuation was and the emotional distress to the citizens, by 1945 the impact of the air raids on cities across the country had been devastating.

Evacuation had allowed for the protection of millions of children from the worst of these aerial attacks.

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The Evacuated Children Of The Second World War

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Evacuation took place in several waves. The first came on 1 September 1939 - the day Germany invaded Poland and two days before the British declaration of war. Over the course of three days 1.5 million evacuees were sent to rural locations considered to be safe.

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About the Book

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"Stories that steal your imagination."

Patti's Story

Short Intro Bio

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Globe and Mail, and USA Today bestselling author of seventeen novels, including her newest, The Secret Book of Flora Lea. She's also a podcast host of original content for her novels, Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis.

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She is the recipient of The Christy Award "Book of the Year"; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast. Patti also was a contributor to the monthly life lesson essay column for Parade Magazine. She's published in numerous anthologies, articles, and short story collections, including an Audible Original about Florence Nightingale, titled Wild Swan narrated by the Tony Award winner, Cynthia Erivo.

​

A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband, Pat Henry.

Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea , is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey and was released May 2, 2023, with Simon & Schuster Atria and is available now.

Expanded Bio

Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of sixteen novels and podcast host. She is the recipient of The Christy Award-A 2019 Winner "Book of the Year"; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year for 2020 and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for 2019.

"With a belief that the power of story changes us and moves us, Patti's historical fiction, SURVIVING SAVANNAH, WILD SWAN, and BECOMING MRS. LEWIS explores the untold stories of the past that affect us now." (writing as Patti Callahan)

SURVIVING SAVANNAH, a new historical fiction, based on the true story of the Steamship Pulaski wreck, known as "The Titanic of the South" was released March 9, 2021.

The new podcast series, "The Untold Story Behind Surviving Savannah" is an in-depth exploration into the fascinating stories explored in her novel, Surviving Savannah. The podcast series (03/21) includes interviews with some of the foremost experts on the myth and lore of Savannah, shipwreck treasure hunting, the hidden stories in museums, and the astounding real-life family story that inspired the novel. Trailer and Episodes One-Six, available now.

WILD SWAN, a novella following the fiery life of one of history's greatest heroines and the mother of modern nursing: Florence Nightingale by Patti Callahan was released December 2020, as an Audible Original performed by the award-winning narrator, Cynthia Erivo.

BECOMING MRS. LEWIS-The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis was released in an expanded edition, March 2020. The author is also the host of the popular seven-part original "Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis Podcast Series" -the podcast audiobook collection including bonus material was released in January 2020.

ONCE UPON A WARDROBE is another tenderly imagined and enchanting story that pulls back the curtain on the early life of C. S. Lewis from Callahan- October 19, 2021, and available now-published by Harper Collins' new imprint -Harper Muse as their debut novel.

REUNION BEACH, Stories Inspired by Dorothea Benton Frank, a collaboration and tribute was released April 27, 2021. Patti joins a group of bestselling authors to present a moving anthology to pay tribute to the legendary NYT bestselling author and her literary legacy.

Patti Callahan is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online ast, featuring New York Times bestselling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Kristin Harmel. With endless stories and special guests, they are LIVE every Wednesday at 7 pm ET on the Friends and Fiction Facebook group page, their YouTube Channel, and Parade Magazine Facebook page. You can follow them on Instagram and, for weekly updates, subscribe to their newsletter. Friends and Fiction live web show and podc

A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama, with her husband, Pat Henry.

​

THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA: Her newest novel, The Secret Book of Flora Lea , is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey and was released May 2, 2023, with Simon & Schuster Atria and is available now.

She's spent countless hours, and yet not nearly enough hours, wondering and reading and talking about C. S. Lewis, Joy Davidman, and their life together.

Longer Expanded Bio

​

​

SURVIVING SAVANNAH-(3/21) a new historical fiction novel based on the true story of the Steamship Pulaski wreck, known as "The Titanic of the South" was released. ONCE UPON A WARDROBE is another tenderly imagined and enchanting story that pulls back the curtain on the early life of C. S. Lewis from Callahan- (10/21) -published by Harper Collins' new imprint debut novel-Harper Muse.

​

​

Patti Callahan is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast, featuring the New York Times bestselling authors Mary Kay Andrews, Kristy Woodson Harvey, and Kristin Harmel. (3/20). With endless stories and special guests, live every Wednesday at 7 pm ET on the Friends and Fiction Facebook group page, their YouTube Channel, and Parade Magazine Facebook page. You can follow them on Instagram and, for weekly updates, subscribe to their newsletter.

A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband, Pat Henry.

​

THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA: Her newest novel, The Secret Boo k of Flora Lea , is set outside Oxford in the hamlet of Binsey and was released May 2, 2023, with Simon & Schuster Atria and is available now.

She's spent countless hours, and yet not nearly enough hours, wondering and reading and talking about C. S. Lewis, Joy Davidman, and their life together.

​

For More Information, view Patti's S PEAKING PAGE.

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About | Patti Callahan Henry | New York Times Bestselling Author

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Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Globe and Mail, and USA Today bestselling author of seventeen novels, including her newest, The Secret Book of Flora Lea. She is a podcast host and co-creator of the Friends and Fiction popular weekly show.

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Patti Callahan Henry discusses THE SECERT BOOK OF FLORA LEA

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Child Evacuees in the Second World War: Operation Pied Piper at 80

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Child Evacuees in the Second World War: Operation Pied Piper at 80

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"the evacuation of over 1.5 million people from urban 'target' areas, of whom 800,000 were children. Contrary to popular memory, these evacuees did not just come from London or England, but from cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow, too."

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Photographs of the evacuation of British children in 1939, excitedly waving from packed trains or with name tags round their necks, have become some of the most emblematic images of the Second World War. The children's forced move represented the nature of total war, a conflict that involved even the youngest members of British society.
But the origins of childhood evacuation in fact lie much further back. It was in the early twentieth century that governments and populations across Europe first began to speculate on the dangers of aerial bombardment. H.G. Wells' 1907 novel 'War in the Air' predicted the growing threat of attack from the air and governments worried how cities and urban crowds in particular would respond. The First World War saw some of these fears realised: although often forgotten in popular memory, British cities were bombed by zeppelins throughout the 1914-1918 conflict, resulting in the deaths of 1,239 civilians, half of whom were women and children.

Interwar Developments

After the First World War, there was therefore heightened interest in how to defend the 'home front'. In 1924, the influential Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) formed a sub-committee on civil defence, the Committee on Air Raids Precaution, led by Sir John Anderson (whose name was later associated with air-raid shelters). Their task was to consider practical responses that could preserve human life during air attacks, from gas masks to underground shelters. In 1931, the ARP Committee appointed its own sub-committee on evacuation, another possible preventative measure, led by Sir Charles Hipwood. Much of its early attention centred on London, on the timing of a successful evacuation and on how to ensure the effective maintenance of crucial infrastructure if people were evacuated. Committee members also noted that any evacuation should be voluntary rather than enforced, as the latter might cause even more problems and panic in a wartime situation.

As the threat of war in Europe loomed by the late 1930s, the Anderson Committee published a report on evacuation in July 1938, which prioritised schoolchildren and mothers with infants. It was deemed better value for these evacuees to be billeted in private homes in safer, 'reception' areas of the country, rather than building special camps. Hosts in these areas could face a fine if they refused to take an evacuee. Railway staff, local police and teachers all helped to shape these plans, which were largely ready by the summer of 1939.

On the 3 September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany. Two days' earlier, on 1 September, the government had initiated Operation Pied Piper, which would see the evacuation of over 1.5 million people from urban 'target' areas, of whom 800,000 were children. Contrary to popular memory, these evacuees did not just come from London or England, but from cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow too.

'The Louse is Not a Political Creature'

The experiences of children in reception areas, which were mostly rural communities, were varied and have been subject to much debate among historians. For some, living in a rural setting was an unparalleled adventure, which was enjoyed and remembered fondly; they met people with whom they retained contact for the rest of their lives. Others suffered at the hands of cruel or indifferent hosts. For the hosts, some were appalled at the children's health and personal hygiene. Lice and enuresis (bed-wetting) were seen by some as symptoms of neglect, poor mothering and even 'problem families' in working-class communities. But as Richard Titmuss, the official historian of the wartime social services argued, the 'louse is not a political creature' and the apparent infestation of urban children might well have originated in the evacuation taking place during the school holidays and aggravated by travelling conditions, rather than just due to societal factors. Bed wetting also might have originated in the psychological shock of moving. Prejudice might have played a role in the circulation of these stories, which were sometimes exaggerated by the popular press.

Many children did not remain long in reception areas. By January 1940, around 900,000 evacuees had returned to target areas, despite government calls to 'leave the children where they are'.

Subsequent waves of evacuation followed: 1.25 million people left cities during the Blitz in 1940 and another wave left during the 1944 V1 and V2 rocket attacks. Not all evacuations were to protect from aerial bombardment though: the children of working or expectant mothers, whose husbands were away with the Services, were sometimes evacuated too.

Other children travelled far further than rural reception areas. Before 1940 about 11,000 children were privately funded to travel overseas, many to the United States. Between July and September 1940, a further 3000 were sponsored by the government to travel to the Dominions, particularly to Canada, Australia and New Zealand, before the risk from torpedo attack at sea was deemed too great. This comparatively short-lived and voluntary scheme was one of many twentieth-century child migration schemes. Some were voluntary, others enforced, and aimed to give children a 'better life': many are now the subject of ongoing inquiries into cruelty, abuse and neglect.

Did Evacuation lead to the Post-War Welfare State?

On the one hand, the evacuations of the Second World War led to greater state involvement in the lives of families, which led to changes in the administration of social services, the School Medical Service and the provision of nursery schools. It also led to an increased interest in childhood mental health: psychoanalysts such as Anna Freud (daughter of Sigmund) worked with evacuee children and developed theories on the effects of mother-child separation. Many argued that the future stability of the very state itself rested on the growth of well-adjusted children. Evacuation also exposed disparities in wealth and health which encouraged people to look for solutions in a comprehensive welfare system, something that Clement Attlee's Labour Party seemed to promise with its 1945 general election manifesto.

Yet on the other hand, evacuation potentially also deepened class antagonism and prejudices. Others would argue that many of the post-war changes in welfare originated far earlier, in the aftermath of the First World War or even the Liberal Reforms of the 1910s. Some civil servants felt evacuation had exposed the need for greater efforts in universal education, rather than improving welfare, housing and health. The legacy of evacuation thus remains a point of contention.

Nor did evacuation stop at the end of the Second World War. In an uncertain post-war world, increasingly caught up in Cold War struggles, British civilians were evacuated across the world: from India in the run-up to independence and in Palestine in 1947 under 'Operation Polly' at the end of the British Mandate. Plans even existed to evacuate British families from the increasingly large military base communities scattered across Germany if the Russians invaded. Today, the British government continues to devise evacuation plans for non-combatants, particularly in the world's most politically volatile regions.

The long history of evacuation still continues.

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Child Evacuees in the Second World War: Operation Pied Piper at 80

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On 1 September 1939, with war imminent, the government had initiated Operation Pied Piper, which would see the evacuation of over 1.5 million people from urban 'target' areas, of whom 800,000 were children. What were the consequences of this massive scheme, both short-term and long-term?

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(This year, we published many inspiring and amazing stories that made us fall in love with the world - and this is one our favourites. Click here for the full list).
Every working morning for the last 26 years, Michael Boyer has slipped into a pair of neon-bright, multi-coloured tights, tied on his lipstick-red cape, grabbed his flute and marched out into the medieval streets of Hamelin, a town of 60,000 residents in Lower Saxony, Germany.

"People sometimes mistake me for a superhero, court jester or Robin Hood," he laughed. He's also increasingly become an Instagram prop for tourists and, maybe in some woke eyes, a gender-fluid statement.

But most people recognise him for what he is, the Pied Piper incarnate, appointed by Hamelin to impersonate its simultaneously favourite (at least commercially) and least favourite adopted son. Responsible for meeting and greeting visiting groups and dignitaries, he leads tours of the city and embodies the enduring hold of the legend that draws most travellers here.

The tale in fact has survived for a very long time. Originating as medieval folklore, the story inspired a Goethe verse, Der Rattenfänger; a Grimm Brothers' legend, The Children of Hamelin; and one of Robert Browning's best-known poems, The Pied Piper of Hamelin. And although each writer tinkered with the story, the basics remained the same: the Piper was hired by Hamelin to rid the town of its plague of rats. Trailing after the hypnotic notes of the rat-catcher's magical flute, the rodents politely filed through the city gates to their presumed doom.

They weren't the only ones lured by his music, though. When the town refused to pay the Piper for his service, the saviour turned into a more satanic seducer and came for Hamelin's children. Entranced by the notes of his flute, the transfixed boys and girls followed the Piper out of town and simply vanished.

While the tale has endured, so has Hamelin itself, which still looks as though it belongs in a fairy tale. Boyer's tour leads visitors past rows of half-timbered houses. There are 16th Century burgher manors encrusted with Gothic gables and scrollwork, and flamboyant wedding cake buildings offering prime examples of the local Weser-Renaissance architecture, all leering gargoyles and brightly coloured polychrome wood carvings.

However, all this is merely background for the town's real cottage industry, which cashes in on all things Piper. The local restaurants plate a "rat tail" signature dish made from thinly sliced pork, and the bakeries do a brisk business in rodent-shaped breads and cakes. The Hameln Museum offers a sound and light Pied Piper re-enactment; local actors put on an open-air Pied Piper play during summer; and the souvenir shops hawk their own rat-inspired memorabilia. You can go home, if you wish, loaded down with Pied Piper T-shirts, fridge magnets, mugs and flutes.

What could pass for mere comic relief, though, masks something deeper, and suggests why the legend lives on not only in Hamelin but in enduring folklore. On some level, the tale stokes a primal fear, with the Piper a version of a universal bogey man that continues to haunt us. Parents everywhere still fear the loss of their babies. Children, popping up on the nightly news, still go missing every day. And then we all ultimately vanish in something like an instant. The Piper, in the end, is one very grim reaper.

But if the tale evokes a universal fear, it still resonates most strongly in Hamelin - and the Piper's tour suggests why. In fact, the real surprise of his tour isn't so much the beautifully preserved townscape but the suggestion that the Pied Piper is much more than just a fairy tale. The Grimm Brothers and Browning may have shaped the legend into art, but the story, it turns out, is likely based on an actual historical incident.

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The proof is etched on Hamelin's face itself. An inscribed plaque on the stone facade of the so-called Pied Piper house, a half-timbered private residence dating to 1602 - similar to an even earlier one etched on the building's window - bears explicit witness to the mystery. The inscription reads:

"A.D. 1284 - on the 26th of June - the day of St John and St Paul - 130 children - born in Hamelin - were led out of the town by a piper wearing multicoloured clothes. After passing the Calvary near the Koppenberg they disappeared forever."

The inscription isn't the only clue. An entry in Hamelin's town records, dating to 1384, laments that, "It is 100 years since our children left." The stained-glass window in the town's St Nicolai church, destroyed in the 17th Century but described in earlier accounts, reportedly illustrated the figure of the Pied Piper leading several ghostly white children. And the 15th Century Luneburg manuscript, an early German account of the event, along with five historical memory verses, some in Latin and others in Middle Low German, all refer to a similar story of 130 children or young people vanishing on the 26 June 1284, following a pied piper to a place called Calvary or Koppen.

The Pied Piper then, more than a fairy tale, becomes the emblem of a profound historical mystery. What happened to the missing children of Hamelin? Still the master seducer, the mesmerising rat-catcher is now leading a whole new trail of entranced followers - this time a conga line of historians each taking their own deep dive into the question of what exactly transpired in Hamelin on 26 June 1284.

The theories are legion, according to Wibke Reimer, project coordinator at the Hameln Museum who has been organising a special exhibit that focuses on the global reach of the Pied Piper legend. One of the leading current theories suggests the town's youth were part of a migration of Germans to Eastern Europe fuelled by an economic depression.

"In this scenario," Reimer said, "the Pied Piper played the role of a so-called locator or recruiter. They were responsible for organising migrations to the east and were said to have worn colourful garments and played an instrument to attract the attention of possible settlers."

While some historians believe that the youth emigrated to Transylvania, the German linguist Jürgen Udolph's theory is most accepted. "He suggests the regions around Berlin as the most probable location, in an area that's now [eastern Germany]," Reimer said, "and he backs up his theory by place name evidence." In fact, Udolph found that the family names common in Hamelin at the time show up with surprising frequency in the areas of Uckermark and Prignitz, near Berlin, that he locates as the centre of the migration. The theory is also reinforced by evidence that the region, newly liberated from the Danes, was ripe for German colonisation.

More fanciful theories abound, too. Some historians suggest the legend reflects a 13th Century children's crusade, part of the wave of medieval crusades aimed at winning back the Holy Land. And some argue the youth were lost to the Black Plague, though the dates don't match up.

More intriguing is a theory that points to the medieval phenomenon of "dancing mania", driven by a succession of pandemics and natural disasters. Known as St Vitus' Dance, the dancing plague is documented surfacing in continental Europe as early as the 11th Century. A form of mass hysteria, the dance could spread from individuals to large groups, all driven by an unshakeable compulsion to dance feverishly, sometimes for weeks, often leaping and singing and sometimes hallucinating to the point of exhaustion and occasionally death, like a top that can't stop spinning.

And, in fact, one 13th Century outbreak - a literal form of dance fever - occurred south of Hamelin, in the town of Erfurt, where a group of youths were documented as wildly gyrating as they travelled out of town, ending up 20km away in a neighbouring town. Some of the children, one chronicle suggests, expired shortly thereafter, having flat-out danced themselves to death, and those who survived were left with chronic tremors. Perhaps, some theorise, Hamelin witnessed a similar plague, dancing to the figurative tune of the Piper.

But all these theories neglect one specific key to the Hamelin mystery. "They don't explain the very particular date cited for the loss of the children, and the local sense of trauma," Reimer noted. "Did something happen that officials had been covering up? Something so traumatic that it was transmitted orally for so long in the town's collective memory, over decades and even centuries?"

In fact, the date chronicled in all the local documentation pinpoint 26 June as the day the children disappeared. This day is also the date of pagan midsummer celebrations. The fact the documentation also emphasises that the youth followed the Piper to the Koppen, commonly translated as "hills", suggest another link. "There were regions in Germany where midsummer was celebrated by lighting fires on the hills," said Reimer. All that leads to one particularly macabre reading of the Pied Piper legend. Perhaps the Piper, emblematic of a pagan shaman, playing his flute, was leading the youth of Hamelin to their midsummer festivities when the local Christian faction, hoping to cement conversion of the region, waylaid and massacred the group. A less bloody theory: maybe the children were spirited away to local monasteries.

If the tale suggests a possible historical tragedy, though, it also offers an artistic redemption as well.

"The Pied Piper story," said Reimer, preparing for the debut of her exhibit on 26 June, "is to our knowledge known in at least 42 countries and 30 languages, maybe more. And it appears in international art, literature and music. The Pied Piper is a shared heritage of many people, and that cultural heritage connects people."

Ultimately, then, the Piper didn't just fracture a community. He also, in the end, brought a larger one together.

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(This year, we published many inspiring and amazing stories that made us fall in love with the world - and this is one our favourites. Click here for the full list).

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How Children's Lives Changed During The Second World War

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How Children's Lives Changed During The Second World War

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The Second World War brought many changes to the lives of children in Britain. For some, the war was a time of fear and confusion that meant separation from families, the destruction of a home or even the loss of a parent. However, for others, these years were the most exciting and happiest time of their lives.

Evacuation was the biggest cause of disruption to children's lives. The government's voluntary evacuation scheme saw millions of children in Britain sent to places of safety for fear of German bombing. Many families made their own arrangements to evacuate their children to friends and family in the country or overseas. The short-lived Children's Overseas Reception Board also organised the evacuation of children to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

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How Children's Lives Changed During The Second World War

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The Second World War brought many changes to the lives of children in Britain. For some, the war was a time of fear and confusion that meant separation from families, the destruction of a home or even the loss of a parent. However, for others, these years were the most exciting and happiest time of their lives.

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10 Ways Children Took Part In The First World War

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10 Ways Children Took Part In The First World War

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10 Ways Children Took Part In The First World War

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The First World War affected all of British society. Over 5.7 million men volunteered or were conscripted to fight. Millions of civilians helped the war effort by working in industry, agriculture or in jobs left open when men enlisted. But children also rallied to ‘do their bit’.

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The Children’s Overseas Reception Board (CORB) was a British government sponsored organisation. The CORB evacuated 2,664 British children from England to escape enemy bombing during July and September 1940. The children were sent mainly to the four Dominion countries, Canada 1,532, Australia 577, New Zealand 202 and South Africa 353.

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CORB children to New Zealand, 1940-1, Catalogue ref: DO 131/15

The Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) was a British government sponsored organisation. The CORB evacuated 2,664 British children from England to escape enemy bombing during July and September 1940. The children were sent mainly to the four Dominion countries, Canada 1,532, Australia 577, New Zealand 202 and South Africa 353.

Public support for overseas evacuation grew. At first the government accepted the idea. It was believed that children moved overseas would be safer and that moving children would reduce the numbers to be fed in Britain, an "island fortress" under siege. However the government changed its view as passenger ships were needed to move troops, internees and prisoners. Warships could not be spared for escort duties, as they were required to defend Britain's seas and shores against invasion. The government began to discourage support for overseas evacuation.

A German U-boat torpedoed one ship carrying British children, the SS Volendam, on 30 August 1940; fortunately, all passengers were rescued. When a U-boat sank the 'City of Benares' on 17 September 1940, 77 children and over 200 adults perished, and the government suspended the overseas evacuation scheme but allowed private overseas evacuation to continue. During the war, approximately 3,000 children were officially evacuated overseas. Parents sent some 10,000 other children overseas privately. This is a very small figure when compared to the huge numbers of children evacuated to the countryside within Britain.

Find out more about the Children's Overseas Reception Board set up to evacuate children abroad.

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The Children's Overseas Reception Board - The National Archives

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CORB children to New Zealand, 1940-1, Catalogue ref: DO 131/15 The Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB) was a British government sponsored organisation. The CORB evacuated 2,664 British children from England to escape enemy bombing during July and September 1940. The children were sent mainly to the four Dominion countries, Canada 1,532, Australia 577, New Zealand [...]

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City of Benares = A steam passenger ship built in 1936 on the Clyde in Glasgow for the Liverpool based Ellerman Line. She was the line's flagship - the largest, most modern and attractive vessel in the firm’s fleet..Torpedoed in the North Atlantic, more than 600 miles from land, with 90 evacuee children on board, the City of Benares sank with deplorable loss of life.

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The Second World War saw the loss of many vessels and lives at sea but perhaps none so haunting as the 'Children's Ship' City of Benares. Torpedoed in the North Atlantic, more than 600 miles from land, with 90 evacuee children on board, the City of Benares sank with deplorable loss of life.

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"Goodnight Children, Everywhere" (Vera Lynn, 1940)

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"Goodnight Children, Everywhere" (Vera Lynn, 1940)

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Most London children were evacuated to the countryside after the Second World War began in earnest--Vera Lynn recorded this morale-boosting song early in 1940 for the dispersed kids (and their parents back in the city).

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"Goodnight Children, Everywhere" (Vera Lynn, 1940)

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Hazel and Flora Lea's childhood experience was inspired by Operation Pied Piper—a real life event in British WWII history in which over three million children were evacuated from their homes to live with volunteer families throughout the English countryside. Were you familiar with this piece of history prior to reading the novel?

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Hazel takes great care of the rare books while employed at Hogan's Bookshop, wearing white gloves and logging items meticulously. In passing, the owner, Edwin, has mentioned the enormous value original illustrations can add to a book. What is revealed about Hazel's character in the decision to take the copy of Whisperwood and the River of Stars along with the illustrations? What about when her initial denial of taking them is factored in?

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When Hazel makes the phone call to Peggy Andrews seeking information about the book, she gets an unexpected answer about the origin of Whisperwood and the River of Stars. What does this broadly say about the creation of storytelling and mythmaking? Can someone ever own a story?

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Bridie Aberdeen, as a character, is presented as extremely warm and nurturing yet with some eccentricities. The town gossips about her practices and the "mysterious" disappearance of Henry's father. What was your first impression of Bridie? Did that change at any point during the book?

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Hazel and Flora's mother had several opportunities to take her daughters back to London but ultimately made the decision that they were safer and better served in Binsey with Bridie and Henry. Do you have a positive or negative opinion of their mother? Would you have made a different choice?

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Only through an honest conversation years after the fact do Hazel and Henry discover their shared guilt over what happened to Flora. Would that silence have lasted as long if Hazel and Henry were older when Flora first disappeared?

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Barnaby is supportive of Hazel's desire to reach out to Peggy Andrews and even encourages her to get in touch with Dorothy Bellamy, thinking a reporter may be able to help, yet he eventually struggles with Hazel's never-ending quest and its effect on their relationship. Does Barnaby's ultimatum change your view of the character? Did Hazel take her quest too far?

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How did you feel about the reveal of Dorothy Bellamy's past? Did Dorothy's Aunt Imogene have justification in her decision to remove the child the way she did?

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How do the specific time periods—World War II and 1960—affect the way in which the case of Flora's disappearance was handled? Would the outcome have been different if set in present day?

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At the end of the story, Dorothy (Dot) is coming to terms with two versions of herself. What are the broader implications of childhood memory? Why do we so clearly remember some things and not others, regardless of importance? Can you think of your earliest childhood memory?

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Hazel's character displays many different emotions in the decision making throughout her life—hope, fear, guilt, love. Which one do you think is the dominant driver? Would it be the same if you were in her shoes?

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The Secret Book of Flora Lea weaves an ode to stories and, ultimately, how we carry them with us throughout our lives. Is storytelling a universal way for humans to connect? How has storytelling affected your life?

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Seek out a map of England and chart the train journey of Hazel and Flora from London to the real-life village of Binsey in Oxfordshire.

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Seek out a map of England and chart the train journey of Hazel and Flora from London to the real-life village of Binsey in Oxfordshire.

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This is a link to an interactive map.

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Enjoy a tea service: a selection of English breakfast, Earl Grey, or green tea with sugar and milk options on the side. Add to it some tea biscuits or scones with butter and jam as a food option.

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Enjoy a tea service: a selection of English breakfast, Earl Grey, or green tea with sugar and milk options on the side. Add to it some tea biscuits or scones with butter and jam as a food option.

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As children, Hazel and Flora become enraptured with the story of Whisperwood. In the spirit of the novel, share a memorable book or story from your childhood.

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As children, Hazel and Flora become enraptured with the story of Whisperwood. In the spirit of the novel, share a memorable book or story from your childhood.

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Another book about the child evacuations during WWII

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London is poised on the brink of World War II. Timid, scrawny Willie Beech -- the abused child of a single mother -- is evacuated to the ...

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KNOW-HOW

Adding a squeeze of lemon juice to the milk sours it slightly, mimicking sharp-tasting buttermilk, often used in scones but sometimes tricky to find. The slightly acidic mix gives a

boost to the raising agents in the flour and baking powder.

JANE SAYS...

Scones are so quick to make that my mum would often emerge with a plateful before we'd even noticed she'd gone! I've borrowed her tip of using warm milk, and added a few tricks of

my own for light scones that rise every time

TOWERING TALL

For toweringly tall scones, always pat the dough out a bit thicker than you think you should. I say pat rather than knead because scones are essentially a sweet soda bread and, like other soda breads, will become tough when over-handled. Kick-start the scones' rise with a hot baking tray and don't leave the dough sitting around. If you like your scones with lots of juicy fruit, stir 85g plump sultanas into the mix at the same time as the sugar.

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Make classic scones with this easy recipe, perfect for everyday baking and occasions. Find more baking and cake recipes at BBC Good Food.