Last week, Year 6 were evacuated to the Carmarthenshire countryside as part of our World War Two topic. We have been learning what life was like for children growing up during 1939 -1945 and this trip really gave us a sense of how it must have felt for children to leave behind their homes and families.
We arrived at school dressed as evacuees. At 9.10am we left school and waved goodbye to classes and teachers who had come out to see us off. It was quite emotional leaving everyone behind and imagining we wouldn’t be back for 4 years!
We walked to Laleston and found our coach waiting to take us onwards to the Gwili Railway. An hour or so later, we arrived on the platform and waited anxiously for the steam train. We soon boarded and were packed into carriages, similar to the ones on the Hogwarts Express! As the train set off, Tony, the air raid warden came round to introduce himself to us and gave us a letter to read from our ‘mums’. Again, we were reminded how frightening and upsetting it must have been for children leaving their parents behind.
After disembarking the steam train, we were sent to see the nurse who looked closely at our hair to check for head lice and inspected our hands to see how clean they were! We were lucky to all pass and not get thrown in the river! We sat down to eat our rations - spam or jam sandwiches and water or milk. We were starving!
After we’d finished, we enjoyed some of the activities and talks by volunteers of the Gwili Railway. Tony, the Air Raid Warden, talked to us about the importance of blacking out all the lights at night during World War Two. He showed us how the air raid siren was sounded and how they would put out a fire using a stirrup pump to pump water through a hose, which we were all lucky enough to have a go at using. We were also shown the travelling Post Office and we had a go at sorting some of the letters sent back home during the war. And to finish we all had a ride on the miniature railway, a favourite part of the day for many!
Another favourite moment for some was when Mrs Evelyn and Mr Evans gave each child a small square of chocolate. Being evacuees on rations, had really made us appreciate food, our families and our homes. We came back to school realising how lucky we were to be returning home to our loved ones and to a place where we feel safe. We hope you enjoy looking at our gallery of photographs below.
We arrived at school dressed as evacuees. At 9.10am we left school and waved goodbye to classes and teachers who had come out to see us off. It was quite emotional leaving everyone behind and imagining we wouldn’t be back for 4 years!
We walked to Laleston and found our coach waiting to take us onwards to the Gwili Railway. An hour or so later, we arrived on the platform and waited anxiously for the steam train. We soon boarded and were packed into carriages, similar to the ones on the Hogwarts Express! As the train set off, Tony, the air raid warden came round to introduce himself to us and gave us a letter to read from our ‘mums’. Again, we were reminded how frightening and upsetting it must have been for children leaving their parents behind.
After disembarking the steam train, we were sent to see the nurse who looked closely at our hair to check for head lice and inspected our hands to see how clean they were! We were lucky to all pass and not get thrown in the river! We sat down to eat our rations - spam or jam sandwiches and water or milk. We were starving!
After we’d finished, we enjoyed some of the activities and talks by volunteers of the Gwili Railway. Tony, the Air Raid Warden, talked to us about the importance of blacking out all the lights at night during World War Two. He showed us how the air raid siren was sounded and how they would put out a fire using a stirrup pump to pump water through a hose, which we were all lucky enough to have a go at using. We were also shown the travelling Post Office and we had a go at sorting some of the letters sent back home during the war. And to finish we all had a ride on the miniature railway, a favourite part of the day for many!
Another favourite moment for some was when Mrs Evelyn and Mr Evans gave each child a small square of chocolate. Being evacuees on rations, had really made us appreciate food, our families and our homes. We came back to school realising how lucky we were to be returning home to our loved ones and to a place where we feel safe. We hope you enjoy looking at our gallery of photographs below.
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