We had a very interesting visit from Sylvia and Alex from the Museum of Flight, who told us about East Lothian RAF pilots during the Second World War. East Fortune airfield played a very important role in protecting the East Coast and ports along the River Forth from German bombers. The children were able to try on various pilot outfits and uniforms and to learn more about the equipment they used. Pupils are encouraged to visit The Museum of Flight to see the WWII aircraft and to find out more about the stories and facts from the war.
Visit from Museum of Flight – P6/7 join the WWII Airforce on PhotoPeach

The class have been finding out from grandparents and great grandparents wonderful stories about experiences during the two World Wars. A few have brought in personal photographs, documents and memorabilia for us to look at and discuss.   Jessica showed us a booklet with information on her ancestors who had fought in the wars and what had happened to them. There were interesting records with details on when the soldiers had enlisted, the regiments they belonged to and the countries they were sent to. 

  Aimee brought in an amazing collection of WWI and WWII medals and documents and told us all she had learned from her gran about these wonderful artefacts. The medals were exactly the same as the ones photographed in Jessica’s family history booklet! The medals from WWI were 100 years old and showed King George V. The WWII medals showed King George VI. 

  Hayley brought in cutlery that was issued to soldiers in WWII. She demonstrated how the fork and spoon folded up small enough to be kept in a small container in a soldier’s kitbag. 

 Leon showed us several old family photos and told us stories about his Italian family relatives. One was a Prisoner of War. The class enjoyed looking at and discussing the photos. Leon explained about the bombs that fell and had photos to show the damage done. The bombs destroyed the family home and a church in the village. All that remained was a religious statue.  Latisha’s family members were sent to a special home for children who were orphaned during the War. Many children from the slums of cities were able to enjoy the beautiful and healthy surroundings of this village home where they were well looked after.     Erin visited her grandparents to find out about their memories of the Second World War. They had kept an enormous amount of memorabilia, and Erin chose to bring in a small box from her Gran and Grandpa’s very large cupboard! Erin showed us a wonderful collection of letter, postcards that were sent during the war. They were very special and personal. She had ration books, identity cards, soldiers’ documents. She kept old money (pennies and sixpences)  and a large collection of medals belonging to her great great grandfather together with photos. There were also photos of her great great grandmother’s wedding, wearing a typical 1940’s skirt, jacket and hat. It was a fascinating collection and the class took a long time to look through the whole collection.  Thank you to parents and grandparents for allowing the children to bring in the memorabilia. It has been incredibly interesting hearing all the personal stories.