Evacuee Girl

The idea for the Evacuee Girl project was developed when my daughter Nina Cantarino, age 9, arrived from a two-day residential trip to Lincolnsfields Centre, in Bushey, North of London, in England. There she took part in the Children at War Evacuee Experience with her primary school class. She travelled by coach dressed up in a World War II evacuee girl costume - with dress, hat and bag - bought in a local shop. She also used an old suitcase that was stored in our garage. Bailey, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, joined the photo session as our special guest. For this project I used only natural light coming through the patio doors into our living room. No additional artificial light was used. A photography background was set up to cover the living room furniture. For me, what made this project very special was the way my daughter interpreted the character of an evacuee child with no stage direction from me. All I did was to position her in the shot. Her trip really made her think about how children must have felt during the war. The evacuation plan was put into action in the United Kingdom in September 1939. The British government tried at the start of the World War II to 'empty the cities' of children and mothers to protect them from air raids. About 800,000 children left their homes and were separated from their parents. However, many returned home after a few weeks. Others stayed in the countryside for the rest of the war.