Perse Pelican pupils experience life for wartime evacuees at Stibbington

6 Mar 2020

Year 2 Perse Pelican pupils took a trip into the past as they experienced what life was like for World War II evacuees during a visit to Stibbington.

The youngsters dressed up in outfits from the period and started their journey back to the wartime era at Nene Valley Railway’s Wansford station, where they were shown the same kind of steam train that children from London would have arrived on to begin their new life in the countryside.

A walk through the village of Stibbington followed with the pupils discovering more about rural life in World War II before arriving at their ‘school’ for the day.

They were greeted by a message from Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) before getting down to lessons in a period classroom. As well as learning to write with period ink pens, the children were shown how to use gas marks and took part in an air raid drill, hiding in a shelter until being given the all-clear.

There was still time to play though, as the Pelicans tried out different games such as ‘hoop and stick’ and pretended to be soldiers before settling down to a traditional lunch featuring Spam sandwiches and cake made with powdered egg.