Worth saving : disabled children during the Second World War / Sue Wheatcroft.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wheatcroft, Sue, author.

Series:

Disability history.

Disability history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Children with disabilities--Services for--Great Britain.

Children with disabilities.

Children with disabilities--Care--History--20th century.

World War, 1939-1945--Evacuation of civilians.

World War, 1939-1945.

World War, 1939-1945--Children--England.

Children with disabilities--Education.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 203 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2013.

Summary:

This book aims to bring attention to the group of disabled children and highlights their experiences during the Second World War, thereby correcting the current imbalance in the historical record. In doing this, the book discusses the policies and procedures that shaped the children's wartime experiences, and the personnel and institutions that were responsible for their welfare. It examines how the children coped on a day-to-day basis. The book first examines the five official categories of disability as defined in the 1921 Education Act. It examines the arrangements made for the evacuation of disabled children, beginning with the 'Munich Crisis' of September 1938 and including the 'main' evacuation one year later. The book then examines the experiences of those disabled children who spent their war years in a residential special school. Case studies of two residential special schools allow a comparison to be made between those established and maintained by the evacuation authorities and those run privately. The attitudes of government officials towards disabled people, including children, were ambiguous throughout the war years. The book discusses special day schools, hospital schools and training colleges, and it appears that it was with regard to the latter that negative perceptions were most evident. The postwar expansion of special schools and the position of teachers within special education are also discussed, as is the changing role of the voluntary sector in caring for disabled children.

Contents:

Introduction

Pre-war developments

Residential special schools during wartime

Special day schools, hospital schools and the role of charities

Hostels and institutions

Post-war change

Conclusion.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 10 Jul 2026).

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-199) and index.

ISBN:

9781526103369

1526103362

9781526103352

1526103354

OCLC:

980741800