c.1940 Operation Pied Piper U.K. Ministry of Health London Blitz Evacuation WWII

Date: c.1940
Artist: Unknown
Size (in): 15” x 10”
Size (cm): 38.1 x 25.4
Condition: B
Linen backed: Yes

This vintage original poster was issued in the early days of WWII in Great Britain when British authorities were attempting to move children and other non-essential and vulnerable citizens out of London and other cities threatened by German aerial bombardment. With war imminent, Operation Pied Piper began almost immediately after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939.

When The Blitz began in earnest in May 1940 the effort was expanded and additional evacuations were made of costal areas thought vulnerable to seaborn invasion. This poster was issued as part of that Operation Pied Piper evacuation plan in an effort to find lodging for wartime evacuees. Many thousands of British children were sent to the relative safety of the countryside and elsewhere out of harms away and also to other nations within the British Empire including Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

This vintage original poster is on an older linen backing which is cropped rather closely to the edges of the poster. The poster itself is in very good condition with just moderate handling wear. The linen backing shows a bit of light soiling on the verso. Overall condition is very good.