“Tell me and I forget, involve me and I learn”

Have you ever wondered what life was really like in the 1940’s?

On Tuesday 24th May, Prep 6 went back in time to learn more about life as an evacuee during WW2. In lessons, we have been following the story of Olive and brother Cliff in our set text, ‘Letters From the Lighthouse’ by author Emma Carroll. The brother and sister duo had to be evacuated from their homes in London to the relative safety of rural Devon where a mystery from the beginning of the story starts to reveal itself! Normally, a trip to Winchcombe Station would serve as a further insight into this period of history, but due to the experience being put on hold, we decided to hold our very own day here at the Castle.

The day started off with the children coming dressed up in 1940s attire, gas mask box and all. They were then sorted into their host family groups by Billeting Officer Mr. Oakden. One of our Prep 6’s great-grandmother kindly gave up some of her time to come into school to talk to us about her extremely interesting life during the war as a bomb plotter, answering all of the children’s questions as well. It was an absolute pleasure welcoming her to the Castle and to hear about her life. Another child’s Grandfather also very kindly recorded some of his memories living in an occupied orphanage in Denmark. It was really thought-provoking to hear some stories from a perspective other than British, but to note similarities as well as differences in these experiences.

Other activities included making a gas mask, working in groups to produce an instructional video about, ‘What to do in an Air Raid’ on their Surface Go devices, and we got a little messy making some WW2 carrot cookies! All in all, it was both an educational and interactive way to explore the lives of the protagonists of our set text. We would like to send a huge heart-felt thank you to Mrs Winchester, Mr Kinch, Mrs Yvonne Kinch and Mr Benny Dahlstrom for all their help in bringing a sense of real-life authenticity to our day.