LAST week we looked at some of the issues surrounding the thousands of evacuees who were transported out of harm's way in September 1939, at the start of the Second World War.

The expected Nazi blitzkrieg, however, did not materialise, and by January 1940 around three-quarters of the evacuees had drifted back to Glasgow.

As well as the pull of family togetherness, there were also several 'push' factors.

Glaswegians had been evacuated to Perthshire, Kintyre and Rothesay.

Although for some the experience of country or seaside life was positive, even liberating, for others it was disastrous.

Catholics were billeted with Protestants, and vice-versa. Many slum children had scabies, nits or poor hygiene, not to mention an expectation of urban excitement and facilities.

Country people – rich and poor alike – often found it difficult to communicate with city kids.

Some host families wanted only older boys, so they could work on the farm. Siblings were sometimes split up and bedwetting was common.

After Clydeside was heavily bombed for the first time in 1941, some 58,000 schoolchildren were evacuated again, joining the 20,000 who had stayed in the country.

This time, the logistics of the operation were carried out much more smoothly.

Some children were sent to America. One group, having already survived the sinking of their liner, Volendam, were re-shipped on the SS City of Benares, which was promptly torpedoed, killing 76 children.

The incident happened on September 17, 1940, and it was sunk by a German U-boat. Of its 406 passengers and crew, 100 were children being evacuated to Canada and the US.

A mere 19 children survived. Later reports said when the U-boat crew returned to base and discovered chilren were among the casualties, they cried.