Cannock Chase Museum
– World War II Exhibit

A 4C Visit supporting our
History: Children in WW2 Project

Monday 14th January 2008

A welcome to the museum, the health and safety talk and a bit of information and knowledge shared between our guide Alison and the children. We already seem to have picked up a lot of information in a short period of time!

An opportunity for some of the more able readers to share with the class typical correspondence between a mother and son soon after the son had been evacuated. With no mobile phone or email, communication could have taken more than a week!

Mrs Jennings marshalled her group. And they produced a role play piece, the children in her group had to give reasons why the children should be evacuated and after a lot of convinving by Dad and a near miss, Mum agrees to send her children into the country.

Miss Condley helped to organise her group. The task – to produce a role play depicting the scene at the billeting office where adults chose children to live with them. Every adult had an agenda… would it be a strong boy to work on the farm, or a polite girl to work in the family shop. It wasn’t always the nicest of things that would be said at this time. The adults didn’t care who they upset!

Our guide, Alison produced with her group of children, a scene showing that some children managed to remain happy, despite living away from their parents. And that some households were very supportive, warm and caring. Unfortunately, not all homes were like this.

Gas mask practice. All children were drilled in how to put on and take off their gas masks. As well as being shown the different types of masks. Children will be able to design their own gas masks in class with the aim being to make a mask that is appealing to children of eight and nine years of age to wear.

4C’s very own Air Raid Warden, prepared and ready for duty.

Our little family from left to right we have: Mum, responsible for bringing the flask containing hot drinks down to the Anderson Shelter, we have daughter who would need to remember the ration books and identity cards, as well as the lantern so everyone could see what was going on. Grandpa who needed to remember the ‘potty’ and would probably have taken the paper underground too… and lastly, the young man of the house who would need to remember his playing cards and warm clothing.

Where is father? Why is he not on the photograph?

Children were encouraged to see just how heavy the Gas Mask was that was used for children up to the age of five. Air needed to be pumped into the mask by the person carrying the small child. This was a very difficult job to do, especially if other jobs needed doing at the same time!

Children were encouraged to see just how heavy the Gas Mask was that was used for children up to the age of five. Air needed to be pumped into the mask by the person carrying the small child. This was a very difficult job to do, especially if other jobs needed doing at the same time!

Children had the opportunity to handle different artefacts as well as looking at the different rations of various foods! Even though some of our children were surprised at how little there was, we were told how these small amounts are bigger than some people’s entitlements, in other countries, even today!

How well did we listen? It’s quiz time!!

“Yes sir!” children were extremely keen to dress up
and get into role throughout the day

The last couple of activities….

Inside a 1940s house, children were encouraged to spot the differences between our homes today and those in the 1940s. Three objects that were in the house that children recognised as being ‘wrong’ were a CD player, a clock and a modern day plastic, electric iron!

The feely box… children had to give each other clues to try and work out what the different objects were and how they were related to WW2. Some interesting creative language and excellent adjectives were used to describe items including coal, laundry tongs, bricks, buttons, gas masks and toys!

A huge thank you to the guides at Cannock Chase Museum for a very informative, fun and practical day. The children have learnt many new and wonderful things and I am sure the experiences they have gained today will have a most positive impact on their learning during the remainder of the World War two project.

R Hughes
4C Class Teacher