Pupils at ST Joseph’s Primary School took a step back in time when the school organised an Evacuee Day on Thursday, 15th November. During the day, the pupils learnt about the Second World War with talks and different activities and games. All of the children dressed up as evacuees and had their own name tags detailing things like their date of birth and their address. The teachers joined in too, with war-time hairstyles and clothing.

Harry Smith, who came from Portals to the Past, spoke to the pupils about World War Two. He detailed how it started, and discussed a timeline over the six years. He talked about artifacts, weapons, what the soldiers did, and D-Day. Pupil, Titas Abromavicius, said: “It was interesting to hear all about the war from Harry.”

Portals from the Past typically visit more than 1,700 UK schools a year to deliver hands-on workshops that aim to leave both the pupils and the teachers excited about the history topic.

Pupils participated in a range of activities, and they had the chance to explore genuine World War Two artifacts and try on real period clothing. Harry helped them to discover the true meaning of community spirit and gain a memorable insight into what life was like for people in Britain during World War Two, particularly children.

In the afternoon the children listened to a talk about civilian occupations. This was followed by Air Raid Precaution training with sirens and shelters, discussing what was inside an evacuee’s suitcase and how fun was still able to be had during the war. They learnt about clothing rationing and utility clothing. Afterwards, pupils were able to participate in dancing and a sing-along.

Everyone painted shoeboxes brown and kept them with them as their gas mask boxes. Many used them to store information and the different things they learned that day.

All of the year groups at St Joseph’s Primary School were mixed together so that the older students could work with and help the younger students. Mixed together, the children were then split into three groups which took it in turns to take part in different games and activities in three different classrooms which focused on various aspects of World War Two. In one room, the children worked on codebreaking activitiy. One pupil, Archie Fletcher, told the Ross Gazette: “My favourite thing to do was working on the codebreaking. We had to work out different words and sentences to help try and save the country.” In one room, the children enjoyed a quiz which taught them about the war. In another, the theme was all about the Home Front, discussing things like how women helped during the war.

Grace Williams told the Ross Gazette: “I found it really interesting to hear about the rationing that went on during World War Two.”See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.