Evacuees and Refugees in Cambridgeshire

Evacuees and refugees brought wartime disruption into everyday life in Cambridgeshire. From 1939, children arrived under Operation Pied Piper, while Jewish refugees came through the Kindertransport.

Cambridgeshire played a significant role as a place of refuge during the upheavals of the Second World War. Its villages, market towns, and the city of Cambridge became destinations for those fleeing danger—most visibly children evacuated from London, but also refugees escaping persecution across Europe. Together, these movements reshaped communities, bringing new people, stories, and challenges into everyday life.

In September 1939, at the outbreak of war, thousands of children were evacuated from London and other major cities under the government’s evacuation scheme, known as Operation Pied Piper. Cambridgeshire, considered relatively safe from bombing, received many of these young evacuees. Children arrived by train, often wearing identity labels and carrying small suitcases and gas masks, before being billeted with local families. For many, this was their first experience of rural life—open fields, farm work, and village routines replaced the dense urban environment of London.

Experiences varied widely. Some children formed strong, lasting bonds with their host families and adapted quickly to village schools and agricultural rhythms. Others struggled with homesickness, differences in diet and discipline, or suspicion from locals unused to city ways. Schools in places like Histon, Chesterton, and villages around Ely and Wisbech had to expand rapidly, sometimes running double shifts to accommodate the influx. Oral histories from the region recall both kindness and tension, revealing how evacuation tested and reshaped community relationships.

Alongside British evacuees, Cambridgeshire also became home to refugees fleeing Nazi persecution in continental Europe. Among them were Jewish children and families, some arriving through organised rescue efforts such as the Kindertransport. These refugees often faced the trauma of displacement and separation from family members, many of whom would never be seen again.

In Cambridge itself, links with the university and academic networks helped some refugee scholars and professionals find support and employment. Others were settled more quietly in towns and villages, where they relied on local sponsorship, charitable organisations, and the goodwill of host families. Their presence added a further layer of cultural diversity to wartime Cambridgeshire, introducing new languages, traditions, and perspectives, even amid the hardships of war.

The legacy of evacuees and refugees in Cambridgeshire is still traceable today in personal memories, school records, and local archives. These stories reveal not only the disruption caused by war, but also the capacity of communities to absorb and support newcomers. They form an important part of the county’s wartime history, linking local experience to wider national and international events.