Year 5 Deep Dive into World War 1
Year 5 took part in a special lesson on Friday 24th November, building upon their already substantial knowledge of the First World War.
We all got together in the Fitzjames hub and learnt about the range of people who were involved in the armed forces, looking at the areas around the globe which provided men to the Commonwealth, the range of religions who were involved and the attitudes towards people who might normally never have met. We identified Sikh soldiers amongst Hindu and Muslim soldiers, looking for clues which told us about their uniforms and religious beliefs, and analysed primary sources from a Belgian Christian and an Indian Muslim, which gave an insight into the experiences of many. We recognised the respect and trust which the soldiers felt for each other, and saw how this was reflected in their insistence that cemeteries be made mixed, so that brothers in arms would lie together regardless of religion. This equality was, unfortunately, not reflected in the British Army’s regulations, and we learnt about Britain’s first black officer, Walter Tull, who was promoted despite regulations stating otherwise. A range of First World War artefacts were available for examination, from a silver trench watch to shrapnel balls from Flanders Fields, an aeroplane instrument panel watch from 1915 to a silver sweetheart brooch worn by the wife or fiancée of a member of the Royal Engineers. A range of shell casings, some of which had been decorated with trench art, were available to handle, and the Year 5 teachers got involved also, putting together an original trench bed for a captain stationed on the Western Front in the war. It was a wonderful opportunity to work together as a year group and to reflect upon the diverse range of people who made it, truly, a world war.
Miss P. Gillow
