Evacuation of Salford’s children, Second World War Plaque

Were these cobblestones here then, beneath the feet of frightened children? Here we stand before the Evacuation of Salford’s children, Second World War Plaque. It’s a simple brass rectangle, affixed to the wall of a Sainsbury’s supermarket. Yet, it speaks volumes of a time of immense upheaval and heartbreaking goodbyes. The Evacuation of Salford’s children, Second World War Plaque commemorates a mass exodus, a preemptive strike against the looming threat of German bombs. On September 1st, 1939, two days before war officially broke out, thousands of children were ushered onto trains, leaving Salford behind. Imagine them, small faces pressed against the windows of steam trains chugging away from Ordsall Lane station, which once stood near this very spot. The plaque’s inscription reminds us: “Their parents said goodbye not knowing if they would see them again.” Twenty thousand children. That’s almost the entire school-aged population of Salford, dispersed to rural Lancashire, away from the factories and docks that made Manchester and Salford prime targets for the Luftwaffe. One of those children was four-year-old Eric Youd. He left from Ordsall Lane, the station commemorated by this plaque. He later recounted the trauma, not just of leaving, but also of returning five years later, a stranger in his own home. He loved his parents, he said, but five years of separation had created an unbridgeable gap. It was Eric Youd who campaigned for this plaque, a tangible reminder of the sacrifice and disruption endured by so many. Salford was one of the best-prepared cities. Over 75% of the school population was evacuated, a testament to the city’s foresight. While some children saw the evacuation as an adventure, for many it was a terrifying experience. They carried their gas masks and pillowcases filled with belongings, clutching their parents’ hands until the last possible moment. The Evacuation of Salford’s children, Second World War Plaque serves not just as a memorial to a specific event, but as a symbol of the resilience of a community, the heartbreak of families separated by war, and the enduring power of memory.