"How do you get an army across the English Channel and into France when your enemy is well armed, well trained and expecting you?"* The story of D-Day is told through the personal accounts of people who were there and is brought to life through stunning audio-visual presentations and artefacts from the museum’s collection (see photo 'Primary sources' below of Year 6 pupils investigating original and replica artefacts and documents in the workshop after visiting the museum) at The D-Day Story on Clarence Esplanade, Southsea, Hampshire PO3 3NT.
In November, I was lucky enough to accompany a class of pupils from the Isle of Wight to The D-Day Story. The weather was awful: wet, windy and cold! We took the hover across the Solent and walked, braving the elements, along Clarence Esplanade to the museum. We paused at the Naval Memorial on Southsea Common to read the inscriptions and to shelter a little!
We arrived at the museum just as it opened and split the class into groups. The story is told in three parts: Preparation, D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, Legacy and the Overlord Embroidery so we sent groups off, each pupil with a worksheet which had been prepared by the school staff on a pre-visit, to a different part of the museum. The pupils were engaged right from the start. I particularly enjoyed an audio-visual presentation which featured a range of nationalities and languages. There were English subtitles but I enjoyed discussing the French and German languages with my group!
The Overlord Embroidery tells the story of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy in hand-stitched panels. I love it! I got my group to choose a panel and to sit on the floor and sketch an area of their chosen panel. They chose one with a large number of aircraft! Whilst they were sketching, a war veteran came over to speak to us and was able to answer questions from the pupils. What an opportunity?!
Pupils and staff ate their packed lunches in a room set aside for this (staff were able to grab a quick coffee too from The D-Day Story Café, resisting the lovely homemade cakes!) and then had a few minutes in Gift Shop before the workshop.
The workshop was excellent. Pupils learnt about the everyday life of families in Britain during the Second World War. They sat on mats in groups and handled, discussed and compared original and replica artefacts and documents including gas masks, items used by Air Raid Wardens, clothing, toys and household objects. Then they explored the different roles that people played on the home front and learnt about both rationing and evacuation. Finally, used role play to simulate an air raid and to find out how people prepared for them. Very interesting and thought-provoking. This workshop is suitable for Key Stages 1 and 2 and can be adapted to suit children with a range of additional needs.
Finally, we walked very quickly back along the esplanade in what was now quite a storm to get the hover back to Ryde.
