They evacuated to a country house owned by an old Professor - the exact location is not named.
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little did he know that the Germans were coming to evacuate their children!
This part of the book is set in England in WW II at the time the Germans were bombing many cities, including London (see "The Blitz"). Families in cities frequently sent their children into the country so that the children would be safe from the bombing attacks.
Evacuation of children and other vulnerable people started on 3 September 1939 because immediate bombing of cities was expected.
The children needed to be protected from dying in the bombing blitz. The Ministry of Health came up with a program to evacuate the children, some mothers, disabled and very old people to the countryside. The "evacuees" were sent to farms and other country homes. Many of the children loved seeing farms, farm animals and the countryside for the first time. Some suffered from home sickness. It did work. After the blitz was over they came home to their parents.
The nearest one!