The return
It was to be another four years before peace returned. It came just in time for the school, which by that time had only 64 children on the roll.
On 23rd June 1945 the faithful Mr Hawes brought the children of the school back to London, and made a report to the trustees:
“In the period 1939-45 well over 600 children have been in my care in Aylesbury, and I never left the town for one night. I am happy to report that no child came into any serious harm during the whole period”.
By 1948 there were 453 children in the school, with Arthur Hawes still in charge. We don’t know whether he ever visited Aylesbury again.