On Friday the 1st of September 1939, the British government-initiated Operation Pied Piper with the blunt message: 'Evacuate forthwith'.
More than 1.5 million people from urban 'target' areas, of whom 800,000 were children, were evacuated over 3 days to put them out of the way of the Luftwaffe.
My new 3D Photobook tells the story of Imogen evacuated from Wandsworth, South London where she went to school at Magdalene School (now Beatrix Potter School) to School in Wonersh & Shamley Green, Surrey. Much of the story is based on research and fact.
Any profits will be shared with the Rural Life Museum in Tilford, Surrey.
The book will be in 3-D with simple glasses included with the purchase, this hopefully will appeal to younger audiences.
As of the 25th of September 2024 most of the photography has been completed and the plan is to publish the book before Christmas 2024.
I urgently need help with three things:
1. Support to cover the design costs otherwise I am going to have to postpone or shelve the project. It is intended to raise money for the Rural Life Museum in Tilford. All I need is a few people to pre-order copies and make a small donation for which they will receive a Credit in the book and a signed First Edition of the book(s).
2. I am looking for toys, magazines et cetera that would have been sent to a child evacuee as a present and also momenta’s from WW2 such as ration books, bus tickets etc. which might be suitable for scanning and including in the book. I would need to borrow these for a few days for one of the final photographs in the book.
3. Do you know anyone who was an evacuate and who lives locally in Surrey? I would like to add dedications in the book to acknowledge their experiences.
This is a really worthwhile project and will support a great local museum, please help me if you can. Below are some draft pages from the book.
Below is the radio announcement that Imogen and her mother are listening to on the radio
Imogen and her mother are sheltering in an Anderson shelter whilst Wandsworth is bombed