Julie Longson
School of Social , Political and Global Studies
When did you last see your Father ?
World War Two was a time of great upheaval in the UK , when up to 3 million children were evacuated away from home , and many more spent the wartime years separated from their fathers because of conscription . Psychologists at the time suggested that these events would have lasting significance for those children . This project is using interviews and focus groups to explore the experiences of children , both during the war and in the post-war period when their fathers came home . It asks questions such as “ what was it like to be a child during the war , and what was it like when you dad came home ?"", in order to explore and interpret what those experiences meant . Few researchers have looked closely at the period immediately following the end of the war , and early interviews have started to shed light on the changes in family relationships brought about by wartime separation and reunion . Common themes have started to appear and I hope that this information will help us in understanding how childhood experiences affect our lives across the whole course of our lives .
Postgraduate Conference 2020 Page 29