We are learning about world history in chronological order however this week we took a detour and learnt about The Second World War.
The boys read books about the war (a reading list is at the end of this post) and looked at old photographs of evacuees. They listened to old radio broadcasts from the early 1940's including Neville Chamberlains September 3rd 1939 broadcast announcing that Great Britain was at war. We pretended to be a family in the time period and discussed our reactions to the broadcast - I tried to help them get a sense of the panic and concern people would have felt. We then went on to learn about Operation Pied Piper - the operation which evacuated around 100,000 children to safety in the country between 1939 and 1940. The boys thought that arriving at school with a few possessions and then being whisked off to a mystery location was an awful prospect especially if the family they ended up with wasn't very nice, which was sadly true for many evacuees.
We made ration books which fascinated Theo. We learnt which foods were rationed and why and everyone was flabbergasted to discover how little food each person was allowed each week. Theo researched rationing in quite a lot of detail finding out that people were actually much healthier in this time period because of the vegetable rich, reduced sugar diet. It was his idea to place us on rations this month so that we could get a true idea of life in 1940's Britain. On trips to the local shops they have taken along their ration books and we have stamped the items we have purchased off in our books. We have substituted sugar with honey, meat with cheese and increased our consumption of vegetables. The children have made scones and honey cakes which were both popular sweet treats under rationing and they have also rationed their sweets. The boys have 12oz of sweets each for the month which they have weighed and placed in brown paper bags. I am incredibly impressed at how seriously they are taking the challenge. Rationing will continue until the end of the month and I will keep you appraised of our progress.
The children also thought about what it would be like to be a child during the war. Theo set about collecting items to play with - marbles, string, aircraft spotter cards, bus tickets and old coins. Tristan found a thousand and one uses for his piece of string from spider-webs to a fishing line proving that the simplest of items can inspire a child's imagination.
On Wednesday we went on a day trip dressed in 1940's attire to a steam railway where the children participated in an evacuees experience day. The preparation for the day itself was a history lesson. They used a net template to make their own gas mask boxes, we wrote the labels to attach to their clothes and we made a packed lunch once again based on rations.
When we arrived at the station the home-educated children (about 30 in total) were given a brief talk by one of the railways staff about what the day would entail and they were then taken to the transport museum to learn a bit more about the war. The children were organised into small groups taking turns at various activities located around the museum. Theo made a new friend immediately which was lovely and Tristan was with one of his best friends as well. They had a go in an Anderson shelter squealing and giggling when the gentleman closed the door and switched the light off. They sat and listened to a gentleman who talked about his experiences of being a child during the war and Theo was delighted to share the contents of his pockets which were almost identical to the selection of childhood memorabilia the man had brought with him to show the children - they got on very well.
After a quick snack we headed to Bury Art Gallery and Museum. In the museum the children had the chance to examine WW2 artifacts. This hands on activity was a huge success sparking off many conversations about the war. Tristan had a great time trying on hats and gas masks - it helped to explain the events to him in a very accessible way.
The most exciting part of the day came next. The children walked to the train station where they boarded the steam train as evacuees would have done and chugged off on a half hour journey to a rural station to be sorted by the billeting officer.
Theo sat in the first class carriage with his new friend on the outbound journey leaving the rest of us in the second class coach. It didn't matter to Tristan as he spent the journey with his best friend in the carriage next to the engine. They had a super exciting time watching the steam pass the window, smelling the coal and listening to the whilste blow - it was a lovely experience.
At the station the children were lined up and sorted by the billeting officer. Several ladies and gentlemen arrived pretending to be members of the town and selected children to take in. It was a very realistic activity so much so that one little girl cried because she thought it was real - she was quickly soothed by her real mum. After all this excitement it was time to get back on the train for the return journey.
We all sat in the first class carriage on the way back and the children commented that they felt like they were on the Hogwarts Express - it was pretty magical.
The evacuees experience day at the East Lancs Railway was absolutly fantastic and we definitely recommend it.
The following day the boys made booklets about their experiences. They used memorabilia to help them write about their day. Tristan worked very hard to write 'I like trains' and 'in my pockets' and Theo wrote his from the perspective of a real evacuee.
Theo wanted to find out what our local area had been like during the '40's so we headed to library where he use the microfilm reader to look at the local newspapers from 1946. Unfortunately the library doesn't have any prior to 1946 so our hunt continues for war time papers. He really enjoyed using the reader and made notes about the differences between historical papers and today's newspapers. The lack of photographs, the formality of the writing and the hand drawn advertisements were of great interest to him.
We have all learnt so much about wartime Britain this week. Some of the books we have used along the way are listed below. If anyone has any other WW2 resource suggestions to share then I would be most grateful.
Horrible Histories - The Blitzed Brits by Terry Dreary
Carries War by Nina Bawden
The Home Front by Liz Gogerly
Britain at War - Air Raids by Martin Parsons
Britain at War - Rationing by Martin Parsons
The Wicked History of the World - by Terry Dreary & Martin Brown
Horrible Histories - Woeful WW2 by Terry Dreary
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