ABSTRACT
With the outbreak of war against Nazi Germany in early September 1939, Britain braced itself for the expected onslaught. The inter-war National governments had been reluctant to introduce education reforms; 1 the reorganisation recommended by the Hadow Report of 1926 had never been fully implemented, especially was this true of the church schools. The raising of the school leaving age campaigned for steadily by the labour movement and many organisations associated with education, promised in 1936 was finally due to be introduced on 1 September 1939. These plans were now abandoned as all national effort and resources were needed for the task of waging war against Germany; a task which would be made all the more difficult when France withdrew from the conflict in June 1940.
