How 1000 evacuees from Gibraltar ended up in Putney

Joe Gingell remembers when eighty years ago, during World War Two, there were 1,000 Gibraltar evacuees living in Roehampton.

Of these, 500 were in Highland Heath and another 500 in the Whitelands Teachers Training College.

Gibraltar refugees playing football at Whitelands.

During World Two, Gibraltar was turned into a fortress that became vulnerable to an attack by Germany with Spain’s assistance, known as Operation Felix.

Under threat, the War Office decided to evacuate the bulk of the civilian population of Gibraltar to French Morocco.

When France capitulated and the French fleet was attacked at Oran, the French authorities ordered the immediate expulsion of the Gibraltar evacuees in French Morocco.

As a result, the War Office had re-evacuated the Gibraltar civilian population to the UK, Madeira and Jamaica.

By August 1940, there were 12,000 Gibraltar evacuees accommodated in different buildings in London turned into evacuation centres.

The Whitelands Teachers Training College and the Highlands Heath block of flats were converted into evacuation centres to accommodate approximately 500 Gibraltar evacuees each.

Joe Gingell sitting on floor, (first from the right) with other evacuees at Whitelands

Twenty years ago, Joe visited the Whitelands College and Highlands Heath with the aim of carrying out research about the evacuation of the Gibraltar civilian population during World War Two.

Based on his research, Joe published books in 2011 and 2018 to raise funds for cancer charities and mental health charities.

Both books contain information, including many photos of the Gibraltar evacuees at the Whiteland’s Teachers Training College and Highland Heath during the Second World War.

The books can be downloaded free from the Gibraltar National Archives available at: https://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/heritage/gibraltar-national-archives