They started to evacuate in 1939 and only woman and children were able to evacuate by land. I think the author was trying to make the story more interesting because the kids were evacuated on a British plane and the plane was shot down. The plane that was shot down with the kids might had been shot down by the other enemy country's army because they might have thought that that plane had British soldiers on it. I cant believe that 61 country's were involved at the war. Majority of the country's that were involved should have been involved because of all the bombs that the Germany thru.