What a memorable day! Year 6 set off on Monday morning (dressed as evacuees from WW2) with their rationed lunches tucked away in their hand-made gas mask boxes. They really did look the part! On arrival at the museum, the children were immediately engaged in a historical role-play day where the students stepped back into Wartime Britain. They were soon to be billeted.
Greeted by the staff, they were confused at our arrival as they were expecting evacuees from The Channel Islands, not Boarshaw Primary school. The children soon learnt, in role, how to be ‘good evacuees’.
The women were confused by some of the children’s names due to them being modern names and not names common during WW2. Year 6 were given new names to respond to which the children found hilarious. Becoming Dennis, Margaret and Shirley made the experience all the more authentic.
After splitting in to two groups, the children were engaged in handling WW2 artefacts and learning about jobs on the home front. The children enjoyed the hands-on experience of being able to look up close at the unfamiliar sources.
After eating their rationed lunch, the children were able to play with war time games. They enjoyed playing with wooden noughts and crosses, ring toss and wooden building blocks. Soon after, it was time to walk to the shelter.
Inside, the children were amazed by the size of the shelter. They explored the shelter and witnessed where the public would sleep (in metal bunkbeds) . To keep up moral, the children sang wartime songs and danced to the hokey cokey. The children also experienced what it would be like when the lights went out in parts of the shelter-pitch black!
The day ended with the children being convinced that they were off to be evacuated to their new home. Overall, the children had a truly informative and thought provoking day.
What a unique experience being able to step back in time to war time Britain, identifying what it would be like to be a child at war!
Year 6 Air raid shelter trip Feb 2016
