Hundreds of school pupils will discover what it was like to be a World
War II evacuee during a week of events at the Isle of Wight Steam
Railway in Havenstreet between June 22 - 26.
Organised by Isle of Wight Council's Heritage Education Service,
students and staff from more than a dozen schools will arrive in World
War II clothes, each carrying a gas mask box ahead of a ride on the
steam railway.
During each day, there will also be a wartime school lesson. As was the
norm between 1939 - 1945, these may be susceptible to being interupted
by air raid sirens. If this happens, the students will be ushered into a
recreated air raid shelter.
The event is designed to provide a glimpse into the journeys made by
thousands of children across Britain during the war. The Steam Railway
will also be transformed to look like a wartime station.
There will be many activities for the children to do during the day,
including sampling WWII recipes, learning about rationing and playing
with toys from the era.
The activities form part of the Key Stage 2 history programme.