Eight children from some of the UK’s biggest cities are set to be part of a new series called Evacuees: Children of War. The series will see them travel back in time and experienced what it was like to live as an evacuee at the beginning of the Second World War in a rural, Welsh-speaking community.
Titled Efaciwîs: Plant y Rhyfel (Evacuees: Children of the War), the series begins on January 30, 2022, on BBC iPlayer and Welsh channel S4C.
The eight young people, aged between eight and 14, left their families for a couple of weeks to live in Llanuwchllyn – a remote village in the north of Wales which hosted evacuees during the Second World War.
They get involved with activities that evacuees would have been expected to do back in the 1940s. This includes helping out with cooking, housework, farm work and school – all through the medium of Welsh.
None of the eight had any experience of speaking Welsh – but as with the original evacuees, all eight picked up the language as they lived and socialised with local people.
Gael McGivern, aged nine from Belfast, is half Northern Irish and half Peruvian. Gael grew up in South Belfast, where his mother is from, but recently moved to London, to attend a Spanish language school.
Gael’s favourite hobby is cooking, especially food which has lots of spice and flavour. He’d love to have his own cooking show when he’s older called ‘South American Chef’.
Speaking about the show, Gael said: “It was a really fun experience, but it was also very challenging at times, especially having to leave my mum and brother for such a long period. I can’t imagine what it was like for evacuees having to be away from their families for years, it must have been devastating.
“One of the best things about being an evacuee was getting to meet lots of other children from different parts of the UK and making so many new friends… I tried my hardest to learn Welsh, so I could communicate with my new Welsh friends as much as possible.
"Something else that was new to me was getting to spend time with lots of the animals in the countryside and I loved it. There were chickens, sheep, horses, and I fell in love with a Welsh Sheepdog called Jess when we were filming and I really hope she makes an appearance in the series.
“I think people will enjoy this series because it’s lots of fun and it’s an interesting way to learn about the history of World War Two… and see what life was like for the children of the War.”
