The Ambiguities of Aid and Agency : Representing Refugee Children in England, 1937-8

This article explores media representations of refugee children in 1930s Britain, and assesses their significance on the reception and settlement of children. Emphasizing the innocence, vulnerability and close national associations between the Basques and the British, it is argued that these media representations conditioned a humanitarian response to the children. As a result, a broad spectrum of religious, political and welfare agencies temporarily provided aid and support for the children. However, the most sustained aid for the children came from those groups who demonstrated a critical and informed response to media representations.