Help me to solve an 85 year old mystery: Who is this South Shields evacuee?

A beaming South Shields girl was pictured ‘on top of the world’ in 1940.

High on a hill in Rydal

The story behind the photo is that the unnamed girl was an evacuee who left her South Tyneside home in the Second World War for the relative safety of the Lake District.

She climbed high at Rydal to see the grandeur of the Lake District and this wonderful reminder of it comes to us courtesy of the Getty Images archives.

Viewing the yachts in Bowness Bay

But we want to know if any Shields Gazette readers recognise her and can tell us more. Perhaps she is a member of your family or is someone you know.

Around 1.5 million people evacuated

As another reminder, here is another Getty Images photo and this one shows evacuees from South Shields in new surroundings.

These children complete with their gas masks were pictured viewing the yachts in Bowness Bay, Windermere.

The British Government evacuated more than 1.5million children from urban areas to more rural locations in the Second World War.

An estimated 206,500 children were evacuated from Newcastle, Gateshead, Tynemouth, Wallsend and North and South Shields.

Get in touch if you can tell us more about the children pictured in these Getty Images photos, by emailing [email protected]