The Perse School

A day in the life of World War II evacuees experienced by Pelican pupils at Stibbington

26 Mar 2018

From Spam sandwiches to gas masks, Year 2 Pelican pupils were given a flavour of life as a World War II evacuee during their visit to Stibbington.

Dressed in clothing of the era, the children began their trip back in time at Nene Valley Railway’s Wansford station, where they saw the kind of steam train London youngsters would have travelled to the countryside on during their wartime evacuations.

However being a school day, the Pelican pupils did not get out of lessons!

They went into a typical classroom of the 1940s, where they learned how to use old-fashioned ink pens and sing popular tunes such as “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” as well as listening to a speech from Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II).

Just as importantly, the children were shown how to use gas masks in preparing for the worst, and when the air raid siren was raised, pupils headed quickly to the shelter until the coast was clear.

Pupils also had the chance to have fun by playing games such as hoop and stick and pretending to be soldiers in the playground before sitting down to a regular wartime lunch of Spam sandwiches.

Year 2 teacher Louisa Clements felt the pupils had gained much from their trip to Stibbington.

She said: “It was a great experience for them to see what life was like for children their age who were evacuated far away from home during World War II. The day at Stibbington gave them valuable insight.”

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