This week, Class 13 and Class 14 were transported back to the 1900’s to experience trench warfare through the eyes of a stretcher-bearer in WW1. Mr. B, who was dressed in full WW1 uniform, told us many interesting, anecdotal facts about his grandfather, who served during WW1 as a stretcher-bearer. As well as learning about the endless list of supplies that soldiers had to carry (including: barbed wire cutters, tooth powder, sewing kit and canned food), we also tried our hand at some essential first-aid bandaging and repair, which would have taken place in the front line trenches. Some children were even selected to mimic an injured soldier, and experienced being carried through the narrow, winding trenches.
We also had the opportunity to experience life in the army ranks: following Sergeant Major’s orders, we marched in sync around the school hall with batons to represent the rifles that soldiers would have carried. It was also interesting to hear how significant events and people impacted on the war. For instance, we acted out the Christmas Truce and learnt about how Vesta Tilley encouraged young men to sign up for war through her songs.
Overall, we had a fantastic day – we learnt lots of interesting facts and got to see some primary sources of evidence up close! We’re now wondering how we can cram all of this information into our World War One reports!