Cambridge, 1939: The Evacuated LSE Student and Conscription
On 3 September 1939, Britain declares war on Germany. The London School of Economics, whose Houghton Street buildings are requisitioned by the Ministry of Economic Warfare, is evacuated to Peterhouse, in Cambridge, where the Michaelmas term resumes in October.
The "Phoney War" sets in: little fighting, but a mobilisation taking shape. The National Service (Armed Forces) Act of 3 September makes men aged 18 to 41 liable for service.
An LSE student settled in Cambridge weighs his options: pre-empt the call-up and enlist, continue his studies for as long as he can, or move into work deemed useful to the war effort.
Evacuated to Cambridge when war breaks out, which path does the student take?
There is no single answer: British students in 1939 split between enlisting, continuing their studies, and war work. But the dominant framework is conscription: the National Service Act of 3 September 1939 made military service compulsory, and the vast majority of young men of eligible age were mobilised over the course of the war, with certain fields (medicine, sciences, engineering) granted deferments or reserved postings. The LSE, for its part, continued its courses at Peterhouse until its return to London in 1945. The episode illustrates the militarisation of British students' lives.
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