PUPILS at a Tameside primary school have stepped into the shoes of children who were evacuated during the Second World War.
The Year Five class at Micklehurst Primary spent a day learning about and experiencing what being an evacuee would have felt like during the 1939-1945 conflict.
As part of their project, the youngsters sang wartime songs such as ‘Run Rabbit Run’ and had a ‘nit and nail check’ in a similar way to a 1940s classroom during the war.
In their Second World War outfits, they then made their way to Mossley Heritage Centre on foot, carrying their most precious possessions in homemade bags and sacks.
Volunteers at the centre shared their experiences of being a child during the war, which fascinated the pupils, who were then given the opportunity to explore the centre’s wartime artefacts and handed a badge as a souvenir.
When they returned to school on The Rowans, they had a wartime packed lunch – made up of meat paste sandwiches, cheese, plums, a pork pie and a rock cake – all wrapped up in brown paper and in their evacuee lunch bags complete with an evacuation label.
An action-packed afternoon was in store, as the children practised their handwriting, spelling and maths – in Second World War style. They also played outside, skipping and hoops, before they were sent off on their evacuation journey as they said goodbye to teachers, families and friends.
A spokesperson for Micklehurst Primary said: “All the children and staff would like to thank Shirley and Dyllis at Mossley Heritage Centre for making the day so special and memorable for them.”