The Caravan in War
The 1930s was a time when the caravan holiday became increasingly popular
with British motorists searching for freedom and adventure. Yet following the
outbreak of World War Two in 1939, the caravan took on a vital new role for
the duration of the conflict. Here we reveal the little known story of how the
touring caravan protected the lives of thousands.
As the war broke out in September 1939, a warning swept through Britain of
imminent attack from the air. Evacuation of cities and large towns began
almost immediately, removing millions from the immense threat of enemy
bombing.
The vast majority of evacuees were children who were separated from their
parents and sent to safety in the UK and abroad.
Figure 1: A member of the Home Guard and a young recruit are pictured here with evacuees
and their trailer caravans, 1940s.
Once evacuation was in full force touring caravan owners, particularly those
with children, found they had a great advantage over many. They simply
loaded belongings into their car, hitched up and towed to the safety of the
countryside. The caravan enabled families to remain together while other
caravan owners not automatically evacuated were able to escape danger.
The touring caravans which had been the means of many happy holidays
became home, and nobody could have known for quite how long.
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The obvious benefits of escaping threatened towns and cities in a caravan
soon made them appealing to non caravan owners. At a time when holidaying
was far from peoples mind, the demand for touring caravans reached a peak.
Manufacturers and traders, unsure of what the future held, were keen to sell
off their caravan stocks. A month after the outbreak of war The Caravan
Magazine, a publication produced for caravan enthusiasts, was loaded with
adverts and articles promoting the advantages of owning a caravan in
dangerous times.
Established caravan sites were also keen to gain from the influx of evacuees
to the countryside. Numerous sites advertised themselves as safe havens
from the cities. Even the Cheltenham caravan company exclaimed “Visit North
Wales – live safely and comfortably during the war period” in a 1939 advert.
Figure 2: An advertisement used by The Caravan Club in December 1940.
In the years leading up to the war The Caravan Club had developed a strong
community spirit with Rallies and social gatherings being central to Club life.
Yet during the war The Club took the decision to suspend the majority of
social events. The introduction of petrol rationing meant that travel could only
be taken for reasons of necessity rather than pleasure unless motorists were
incredibly frugal with their fuel.
Some caravanners who carefully saved their rations continued to venture out
on the occasional leisure caravan break. Long distance and foreign tours
which had been increasingly popular before the conflict were however
impossible. A few took the ingenious step of converting their trailer caravans
to be towed by horses, harking back to the early days of the hobby. Yet by
summer 1940 leisure caravanning became even more restricted when a ban
was placed on camping within a ten mile deep belt along the whole east coast
of England and on the south coast as far as Bournemouth.
Caravan dwellers and the few remaining holidaymakers were also met with a
great deal of scepticism in a time when people were keen to protect their
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country. Scare stories were published in British newspapers that caravans
were being used by enemy spies preparing for parachute landings. Editor of
The Caravan magazine Bill Whiteman recalls having a fifteen minute
discussion with a policeman who supposed that the mast flying his Caravan
Club pennant was a transmitting aerial. As a result caravanners were
forbidden to have radio receivers, keeping them isolated from official
announcements.
Caravanning for pleasure however, was far from the minds of many. As the
war continued an increasing number of Caravan Club members and notable
personalities in the caravan trade left to serve in the forces. Every month The
Caravan magazine reported lists of those who had been called up to duty.
Gradually, these lists turned into the sad details of casualties and deaths from
the caravanning fraternity. Members at home were keen to support those
serving abroad and for this reason The Club set up a Comforts Committee.
Donations of money or articles such as boiled sweets, notepaper and
handkerchiefs were sent to the members serving abroad.
Figure 3: A caravan modified to avoid the restrictions of petrol rationing.
Despite widespread evacuation, many believed that the conflict would be over
in no time, particularly when bombing did not start as quickly as warned.
Some who had been evacuated became impatient and moved back home. It
wasn‟t until a year into the war that the Blitz finally began in Britain. As enemy
bombing devastated the Capital and other towns and cities across the UK the
demand for touring caravans became even greater. By this time many of the
better quality caravans had already been snapped up and few remained for
the desperate homeless. Many bomb victims were housed in quickly built
ʼvans of an inferior standard at great concern to those who had long
established the good name of the caravan trade.
As a result of enemy attack some pre-war caravanners who had initially
declined evacuation, now found themselves living in their ʼvans nonetheless.
Ralph Lee, a Surrey based dentist, was one Caravan Club member who
moved into his touring caravan after his Surbiton home was destroyed by a
bomb. Despite spending the duration of the war in a ʼvan with his wife and
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young daughter, he later continued the hobby eventually being the first
caravanner to reach as far afield as the Arctic Circle and Russia.
As a result of the influx of new caravanners created by evacuation and
bombing, Caravan Club membership numbers continued to rise in the war
period. Although there was a decline in advice being sought on holiday
touring, The Club was fully occupied offering support to the growing number
of first-time caravan dwellers. Even experienced caravanners were facing
challenges they had never met before and both The Club and The Caravan
magazine played a vital role in advising on how best to prepare for a time of
great danger. The Caravan was awash with practical advice on how to make
caravans safe from the enemy. It reported simple ways to customise caravans
including the effective blacking out of windows to block light. Tips were also
provided on how to camouflage caravans to protect them from attack.
Suggestions ranged from painting a ʼvan green to covering it in netting and
branches. The subject of camouflage brought much disagreement among
wartime caravan dwellers, with some believing that a caravan would draw
more attention to itself if disguised badly.
Figure 4: Evacuees in an air raid drill at a caravan site in Elstree, London, 1940.
As well as modifying caravans to safeguard them from the enemy, wartime
caravan dwellers also had the challenge of preparing them to stand up to
severe winter weather. In a time before effective insulation had been
developed, caravans were really only designed for holidaying comfortably in
the spring and summer. A few hardened caravanners braved the cold before
the war to attend Caravan Club Christmas Rallies. However, these short
breaks would prove to be nothing compared to the harsh wartime winters.
Caravan owners set to work modifying wall linings to better insulate their ʼvans
and installed stoves to improve the heating. Not only was this important to
avoid freezing temperatures but also to reduce condensation which could
cause severe damp inside the ʼvan. Bill Whiteman reported that he woke one
morning to find his hair stuck to the caravan wall by frozen condensation. The
condensation problem was often guilty of making mattresses and bedding
wringing wet and causing clothes to go mouldy as they hung in the wardrobe.
Yet experiments with insulation during this time did much to reduce
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condensation in touring caravans after the war enabling caravanners to enjoy
longer holiday seasons.
In addition to improvements inside the ʼvan focus was also placed outside to
create a practical living space. Wooden boards were used to build tracks
leading to the lavatory and other outbuildings. Many wartime caravan dwellers
erected a complex of sheds and tents for use as additional storage or living
space to make the touring caravan a functional long-term home.
Despite the hard winters, caravanners found that living in their ʼvans offered
better safety and good health than the towns and cities from where they
came. After the first „war winter‟ in the countryside many former city dwellers
commented that they had never been healthier or freer from the flu and colds.
For those caravanners unlucky enough to get a near miss from an enemy
bomb, the caravan turned out to be much safer than buildings. It was
discovered that the fact they were not rooted to the ground gave them a great
advantage due to the caravans ability to bounce on near impact. One caravan
dweller Mrs Murray of Middlesex reported in a letter to The Caravan magazine
that when a bomb fell right outside her ʼvan it “rose in the air... she creaked
and strained, everything inside flew in all directions… I was shot the whole
length of the van and landed on the mattress” yet incredibly the effect on the
caravan was “not even a broken window”.
As the war ended evacuated caravan dwellers gradually returned to their
homes. For those whose homes were completely destroyed however, they
continued to live in their ʼvans for some years while houses were rebuilt.
By the end of the 1940s the caravan holiday returned to popularity once
again. By the 1950s, as fuel rationing was lifted, caravanning entered a
golden age in a Britain determined to enjoy its freedom.
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Extract first published in Discover Touring magazine Spring/Summer
2012, please contact [email protected] for further
information.
Author: Angela Cox, Curator of The Caravan Club Collection.
Further Reading:
ELLIS, C. 2006. A History of The Caravan Club. East
Grinstead: The Caravan Club.
WHITEMAN, W.M. 1973. The History of the Caravan. London:
Blandford Press Limited.
Last Updated: 19 March 2013
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