WORLD War II ended 75 years ago last month - and it was a time in which thousands of south Essex children fled the county in a bid for safety.
With luggage tags bearing their names and important possessions, these photographs show the evacuees leaving their families and Southend.
The children waved goodbye to their home by boarding trains and buses to areas of the country deemed to be safer.
It was the first time that many of the schoolchildren had spent time away from their families and it was years before they returned to Southend.
Scroll down to see more eye-catching photographs of Southend's evacuees.
Photocall - schoolboys line-up for a photograph prior to boarding a train out of Southend
Heading away from home - thousands of children left south Essex as the region came under threat in World War II
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Waving goodbye - parents watch their children leave Southend on buses during the 1940s
On the platform - the World War II evacuation effort was the first time many children had been sent away from home and their families
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