Evacuation of the Gibraltarian civilian population during World War II
The British Government's decision to enforce a mass evacuation of the civilian population during the
Casablanca
History of Gibraltar |
---|
Timeline |
Gibraltar portal |
In early June 1940, about 13,500 evacuees were shipped to
Back to Gibraltar
When the evacuees arrived at Gibraltar, the Governor, Sir Clive Liddell, would not allow them to land, fearing that once they were back on the Rock, it would be virtually impossible to evacuate them a second time.[4] Crowds gathered in John Mackintosh Square and demanded that the evacuees be allowed to land.[5] After receiving instructions from London, a landing was allowed as long as the evacuees returned when other ships arrived to take them away from The Rock, and by 13 July the re-evacuation back to Gibraltar had been completed.[5]
London
British
Madeira
On the 28 May 1944 the first repatriation party left Madeira for Gibraltar and by the end of 1944 only 520 non-priority evacuees remained on the island.[5]
In 2008, a monument was made in Gibraltar and shipped to Madeira, where it has been erected next to a small chapel at Santa Catarina Park, Funchal. The monument is a gift and symbol of ever-lasting thanks given by the people of Gibraltar to the island of Madeira and its inhabitants.[8]
The city of Funchal and Gibraltar were twinned on 13 May 2009 by their then mayors, the Mayor of Funchal Miguel Albuquerque and Solomon Levy, the Mayor of Gibraltar, who himself had been an evacuee from Gibraltar to Madeira. Levy then had a meeting with the then President of Madeira, 'Alberto João Jardim.'
Jamaica
In September rumours were already circulating among the evacuees, and in Gibraltar, that the possibility of re-evacuating the Gibraltarians once more was being discussed, this time the destination being Jamaica, in the West Indies.[9] After much contention, it was decided to send a party directly from Gibraltar to the island, and 1,093 evacuees left for Jamaica direct, on 9 October, with more following later on.[9]
Petitions followed and the demands were met, partly for strategic reasons and the lack of available shipping.[9] The situation at the end of 1940, therefore, was that approximately 2,000 evacuees were in Jamaica and a lesser number in Madeira, with the bulk of around 10,000 housed in the London area.[10] The camp that they were in was only designed to take 7,000, but the population of Malta had refused to be moved to Jamaica and the authorities wanted to use the unused capacity as a prisoner of war camp or as barracks for the local militia.[11] Discipline in the camp was quite strict, with residents only being allowed out on the local trams between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m., and local Jamaicans could be fined if they entered the camp. However, the camp enjoyed social events and gardening, but there was heated discussion with Gibraltarians who wished to not eat communally.[11]
Repatriation
The surrender of Italy in September 1943 lifted any possible objections to the return of the evacuees to The Rock.[5] As a result, a Resettlement Board was established in November, and at a meeting of the Board on 8 February 1944 repatriation priorities were finally agreed.[5] On 6 April 1944 the first group of 1,367 repatriates arrived on The Rock directly from the United Kingdom and on 28 May, the first repatriation party left Madeira, and by the end of 1944 only 520 non-priority evacuees remained on the island.[5]
In London, home-comers were making claims on the evacuees' wartime accommodation and 500 Gibraltarians were re-evacuated to Scotland and 3,000 to camps in
Legacy
Gibraltarians today remember the evacuation with a statue on one of the main roundabouts by Jill Cowie Sanders. In 2009, Gibraltar Members of Parliament thanked the Church of Our Lady of Dolours in Fulham for the support it had given to evacuees.[13] Over 100 babies were born in Jamaica and the camp that they occupied was converted into part of the University of the West Indies after the war.[11]
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Bond 2003, p. 97.
- ^ Mers-el-Kebir: A Battle Between Friends
- ^ "World War II: Attack on Mers el Kebir". Archived from the original on 2017-02-08. Retrieved 2014-11-20.
- ^ a b Bond 2003, p. 98.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Garcia 1994, pp. 15, 20.
- ^ GGA, Evacuation 1940: General JeffKing of
- ^ Yitzchak Kerem (2015). "Portuguese Crypto Jews". jewishwebsight.com. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
- ^ www.love-madeira.com (accessed 13 December 2010) Archived 17 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Garcia 1994, p. 16.
- ^ Garcia 1994, pp. 16–17.
- ^ ISBN 9789766401597.
- ^ a b c d Bond 2003, p. 100.
- ^ "Gibraltar Day 2009 - special Mass - Church of our Lady of Dolours". Archived from the original on 2014-02-03.
References
- Bond, Peter (2003). 300 Years of British Gibraltar: 1704–2004. Gibraltar: Peter-Tan Ltd for Government of Gibraltar. OCLC 1005205264.
- ISBN 094846612X.
- OCLC 53420513.
Gingell, Joe (2011). We Thank God and England. A collection of memorabilia about the evacuation of the Gibraltar civilian population 1940-1951.Gibraltar National Archives. Gingell, Joe (2018). Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. A collection of memorabilia about the evacuation of the Gibraltar civilian population 1940-1951.Gibraltar National Archives.
External links
- Media related to Evacuation of Gibraltar during World War II at Wikimedia Commons