Harry: An Evacuee's Story

WW2 evacuees
ISBN 1-903953-02-2
New Edition
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by Harry Collins
The experiences of an 11-year-old wartime evacuee from Lancashire who spent 4 years in Canada

Harry Collins was just one of thousands of British children evacuated to Canada during World War II. The programme was intended to ensure their safety, but for many of the children, being separated from their families and sent thousands of miles from home to live on the charity of strangers proved a traumatic experience.

In this book, Harry looks back on his own experiences in Canada, remembering good and bad times and the effect they were to have on his later life.

In 1940, 11-year-old Harry travelled 4,000 miles from his home in Stockport, Lancashire to Manitoba Canada, where he spent the rest of the war. He did not return to England until he was 16.

Harry had a tough time fitting in to his new Canadian surroundings. He became something of a teenage tearaway, was often in trouble and spent much of his time at Knowles School for Boys in East Kildonan, Manitoba, having outstayed his welcome at a succession of foster homes.

Knowles was a tough institution for orphan boys, where Harry had to fight for survival -- a fight he was determined not to lose. 

Overcoming adversity, Harry eventually found friendship and love in Canada and learnt to respect himself and others in the process. His story will be an education and an inspiration to all who read it.