written by Lilith Ross (Y5) and Molly Avery (Y6):
During our history topic, we looked at old admissions registers that told us who came to this very school during World War 2. Some of them are evacuees. The folder was a primary source (something that was there at the time; the secondary source is something written about but it wasn’t there at the time).
We learned about lots of people that had to be taken from their cities to the countryside to live out World War Two. We also learned that some children enjoyed living in Minchinhampton yet others hated it and missed home. We thought this lesson was very enjoyable but here are some of the thoughts from other children in the class:
Ava Beck: I thought it was very interesting about how the children who traveled in minchinhampton.
Cody Cooper: It was enjoyable. Also it was interesting looking through the admissions register because it was full of history.
Damian miro: The lesson was interesting but the reading was a bit boring. Jacob wood; I like seeing who was there at the time. I like that we have a history to the school.
In our next history lesson, we next went for a walk Around Minchinhampton. We learned about what the buildings were in 1939. For example The Kitchen was the village garage where you could get bikes or fix your car. The White Room was a chemist where you could buy olive oil!
There were five pubs, two butchers and there were two grocers where you could get your rations (certain amounts of food).
We looked at 4 pilot graves at Holy Trinity church. They were training at Aston Down to join the airforce but they ended up dying in training because it was so dangerous just in training, let alone in the actual War. There was one time when a German bomber plane flew over Minchinhampton after bombing a big city. All of the Aston Down pilots who were learning how to fly over the past three months jumped into their aeroplanes and flew over Michinhampton trying to catch the German bomber. One collided with the German bomber and the pilot who drove the British plane died. There were four people in the German plane: three of them escaped but one of them died. For years and years people have been finding scrap metal from that German plane that crashed in Oakridge.
Here is what the pupils thought:
Isla Lord :The walk around Minchinhampton was really fun and I like looking at all the buildings.
Nathan Atkins: I enjoyed the walk as it was very interesting. I like learning about World War 2.
Raife Worboys : I found it really interesting with all the cool buildings that were from the past and saw what they are now .
Freya Simpson:It was really cool learning all about the buildings from a long time ago in World War 2 where people had to ration everything.
