The Railway Children

In 1944, the Watts children are evacuated from Manchester to the quiet village of Oakworth as World War II rages on. They are welcomed by Bobbie Waterbury, her daughter Annie, and her son Thomas, and the siblings are kept together as a unit. Bobbie offers them shelter in her home, and the trio slowly begins to form a bond with Thomas.

The presence of the Watts children unsettles the town, especially with a nearby US Army base. On their first evening, locals react with curiosity and suspicion while the children explore their surroundings. Thomas invites them to his secret hideout—a brake van beside the railway station—where they trade stories and plot a way forward.

Annie learns grim news about her husband, who is away fighting. Bobbie reflects on the sacrifices already etched into her life, including the deaths of her husband and brother in the First World War. The children give the adults space to cope as they settle in.

During a game of hide and seek at the station, the children stumble upon Abe McCarthy, an African-American soldier with an injured leg who says he is on a secret mission and must stay hidden. His presence unsettles Lily and the others, who sense a larger story beneath his disguise. Abe's claim of secrecy sets the stage for later moral dilemmas.

That evening, a lone enemy aircraft bombs the town cemetery. Lily volunteers to bring a first-aid kit and supplies to Abe, who saves her and reveals his motivation to avenge his brother. His past hints raise Lily's suspicions about the injustices Black soldiers face, muddling loyalties in the evacuee group.

The next day, white US Military Police arrive at the school looking for Abe. Abe explains that he is the same age as Lily and is trying to return home after witnessing mistreatment of Black soldiers, and he condemns a system that tolerates such injustices. Lily is moved by his humanity and agrees to help him escape.

Lily challenges the sheltered views held by the evacuee children and argues for helping Abe. Thomas relents and allows Abe to stay in the large storeroom next to his bedroom. The decision cements a fragile, solidarity-based bond between the children and Abe.

Walter, the widowed husband of Bobbie’s sister Phyllis, visits the house, adding another layer of wartime worry. His presence underscores the personal losses that the war inflicts on families left behind. The evacuees and adults alike try to maintain a sense of routine amid the danger and uncertainty.

Lily escorts Abe to the station to catch a train to Liverpool, while Thomas stays behind to create a distraction so they can slip away unseen. The plan is thwarted when they are stopped and searched by local police who alert the US MPs. Abe and Lily are handcuffed and taken to the base, loaded onto a US Army supply train carrying senior officers.

Confronted by Thomas, Annie explains that his father’s plane was shot down but is alive in a prisoner-of-war camp. Thomas shares what he learned with Walter and realizes the train poses a real threat. He gathers Pattie, Ted, and the other evacuee children to craft banners warning the train to halt, echoing a protest their family carried out forty years earlier.

The banners and the children's protest succeed, and the train is stopped just in time. The most senior African-American general on base listens to Abe’s truth and acknowledges the injustice. He reveals that he too enlisted underage and orders Abe to be released.

Abe remains with the Watts family for a few days before returning home, promising to write to Lily. The evacuees feel a cautious sense of relief as the war's pressures recede, and they begin to rebuild some sense of normal life. The Watts home becomes a symbol of fragile resilience amid ongoing conflict.

Three months later, the Watts children reunite with their mother. Thomas’s father returns home after VE Day, signaling fragile reconciliation and a glimmer of peace amid the war's aftermath. The family holds on to hope as they navigate a hopeful but uncertain future.