On a wet and windy January day, a bus load of ‘evacuees’ went on a day trip to the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. They were there to experience first-hand about what living during World War two might have been like on the home front and to see some of the aircraft and weaponry used to defend the country.
We first went into our civil defence training where Agnes, the ARP Warden told us how to keep ourselves and our homes safe from Nazi attack. First we learned about the three types of bomb which might be dropped by the Nazi bombers, then, more importantly how to tape up our glass windows so they didn’t shatter in the event of a bomb attack. We also learned why blackout curtains were important and why we should put them up.
Some of our evacuees were trained as home guards, munitions workers, nurses and in various other useful war work. Some learned how to pick up incendiary bombs safely and how to use a stirrup pump to put out any flames. We also practiced how to quickly and effectively put on our gas masks in the event of a gas attack and how we could collect scrap metal to help the war effort.
Here are some of D6s thoughts on the day:
Charlotte (D6)
My favourite part of the day was seeing Agnes in our war training. We tried on our gas masks and she showed us the rattle, we heard an air raid siren and we tried on different helmets. She got some people to demonstrate using a strip pump and showed us how to pick up a bomb. She told us there were three types of bombs used in WW2, HE bomb (highly explosive, incendiary bomb and a gas bomb).
Niahm (D6)
From my point of view, the best part was looking at the planes and tanks from World War Two. I really enjoyed the land war section because some of the tanks were huge – they really impressed me. One of the planes was called the Blackbird it is the fastest plane in the world.
Sophie (D6)
We were all told to dress like evacuees. Most girls had their hair in plaits, as well as wearing skirts and dresses. The boys wore flat caps with shorts and black socks.
Conor (D6)
We all dressed as evacuees from World War Two. We wore old clothes like the evacuees would have done, things like ties and waistcoats and smart flat caps
Heidi (D6)
I really enjoyed going inside Concorde. My Granddad designed Concorde planes as his job so I was really excited to see what his designs were turned into by looking at a real one. I might tell him that I went into one so hopefully he will show me some of his drawings and tell me all about them.
Oliver (D6)
My favourite part was going inside Concorde (a supersonic plane that flew faster than the speed of sound)…and looking at the cockpit and all the instruments and its super sleek design. …It was brilliant.
