Shot at dawn - A free activity for Remembrance Day

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Image: Tinelot Wittermans

Many schools will be doing something special this year for Remembrance day - are you? This free activity is designed to honour the men who fought and died for our country, while also engaging students in a deep moral, historical and political debate.

In 2006, the British Defence Secretary, Des Browne, pardoned the soldiers who were executed for cowardice during World War I. The service of these men is now free to be honoured on Remembrance Day along with the many others who died during the fighting.

There are arguments for and against pardoning these men, and the complex and thorny issues surrounding the topic provide a useful opportunity for students to develop their debating skills and to practice writing to persuade/argue.

In this free activity, students use the text provided and their own research to write an argument either for or against pardoning the men who were executed for cowardice during WW1. The activity could also function as a letter-writing exercise, a class debate or a philosophical enquiry using the included text as a stimulus.

Older pupils may well be the same age as some of the executed soldiers, who, at only 15 or 16, lied about their age to join the army. This, along with wide-spread media focus on Remembrance Day, will make for a relevant and thought-provoking discussion.

You can download the activity resource pack for free here. It includes instructions for implementation and also the stimulus text.

This free activity is taken from our cross-curricular project plan, The Great War. You can purchase the rest of this project for £36.

Activities include:

• Plotting the path to war, examining each country's motives for joining in detail
• Identifying the purpose of propaganda and creating a propaganda poster
• Writing a poem about a gas attack in the trenches
• Investigating the impact of the armistice on Germany and the rest of Europe

...And much more!

See here for a full description of the project and its included activities and resources.

'Never again' - Helping the next generation to understand the Holocaust

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It's been 100 years since the war 'to end all wars', and just over 70 since the systematic murder of 6 million Jewish men, women and children shocked the world into declaring 'never again'. 

Guest blogger David Lawson describes how he does his bit to support the next generation in keeping that promise, using the story of a young Jewish girl who survived the Holocaust.

Eva Erben was born in 1930 in Czechoslovakia and now lives in Ashkelon, Israel.  Her life as a young girl from 8 to 14 years old was spent in Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, Christianstadt, and on a death march. I have written her life story – with her help and encouragement - and it has been published.

It is quite a short book, written very simply as if told by Eva as a young girl as she experienced events. It has been read by adults and children, literally from age 8 to 80. They all comment that the text is very under-stated but has a very powerful emotional impact.  It is easy to read and hard to forget.  I say this not because I am a brilliant writer but because Eva’s story, as she tells it, is powerful and under-stated.  The story more or less wrote itself.

I have spoken to many groups, from Rotarians and Church groups to schools, about Eva’s life and my involvement in it but it is the school groups that I wish to write about and to explain how some of my hidden preconceptions were, happily, shattered.

Never too young
My first talk was to Year 8 in a Jewish school and I was not surprised that the students could relate to the story and its implications and that we had a very lively discussion terminated only by the end of the school day.  But then I was invited to talk to Year 5-6 in a North of England primary school.  I refused, firm in my view that the children were too young to appreciate the story.  However, the class teacher insisted and explained that the school had successfully studied World War I and II and the Holocaust for many years and that my talk would be welcomed.  The school was about one mile from where I was born and that more than anything persuaded me to accept the invitation.

So I arrived at the inner-city school, in quite a deprived area, ready to talk to about 40 children. Some of them were recent immigrants and were not fluent in English.  One was statemented and had a carer with her. And all of them appeared to me to be too young for what I was about to tell them.  My talk was due to start at 1 o'clock and I expected to be well on my way home within half an hour.  Two hours later, with no break, the class teacher called a halt as I had to leave to catch my train!  The interest and involvement were intense and the discussion lively with all the children taking part, asking quite searching questions both about Eva and the Holocaust and about how I came to write the story.

I spoke at a school in Bradford, with a large majority of Muslim children (all of whom spoke with a broad Yorkshire accent) and a school in Cornwall and in each case, the interest in, and the emotional response to, the story was remarkable. One school invited me back to talk about the problems I experienced in writing the story!

What is clear is that children are much more receptive and mature in their reaction than I had imagined. They can and do easily relate to Eva’s story because she was their age when it happened and her story is written and told as if she was there as a young girl telling it. Although it is not a direct first-hand telling as Eva is not there herself, it is as close to that as is possible. It is easier for the children to relate to someone who is present, talking directly to them, and who knows and has spoken to Eva than it would be to a third party or even a teacher.

Why do children need to know about the Holocaust?
There is, of course, more to the talk than simply describing the events, horrifying though they are. The conclusion of the talk is to explain why I spend my time talking to schools (I am not paid!) and why Eva herself still goes to talk to schools in Israel, the Czech Republic and Germany, despite being now 83 years old.  

There are four reasons or key lessons, in increasing importance:

1. To bear witness to what actually happened.
2. To explain that genocides start with small matters, minor discriminations, bullying etc.  Everyone, including the children, can and should resist and prevent such things.
3. At the same time, there is usually propaganda that such and such a group of people are different, not as good as us and are somehow evil or undesirable and should be excluded.  We must all be alert to such pernicious propaganda and counter it.
4. Each life is precious.  Each of us has only one life and we must all make the most of it.

The story is specific and particular to Eva and the Holocaust but the lessons are universal. Given recent events in Syria, Iraq and many other places, the lessons are needed now as much as they ever were.  Humanity has learned nothing, apparently, from history. However, at least in the schools I have spoken to, the lessons seem to be accepted, understood and appreciated.

- David Lawson

Would you like David to visit your school? He's happy to speak to primary and secondary schools free of charge (though he does ask that schools cover his travel expenses). 

If you would like more information, or to book David for a talk, please contact Imaginative Minds by email at enquiries@imaginativeminds.co.uk or by telephone at 0121 224 7599. 

See here for more information on Escape Story. Individual copies cost £8.99 each, but can also be bought in bulk for discounted prices.

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Interested in teaching the Holocaust? Check out this blog post featuring a range of useful websites and resources for teaching about conflict and genocide.

Exciting new project gives kids a bird's eye view of WW1 and 2

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Students at Sir Robert Hitcham’s Primary School
in Suffolk write their secret wartime message.

Do something special for this year's centenary of World War 1 with an innovative interactive session demonstrating the extraordinary role pigeons played in Britain's victory by carrying secret messages home from the battlefields.

Carrier pigeons played a vital role in both World War 1 and 2 as they proved a reliable method of sending and receiving messages from the battlefields - in fact, their delivery success rate was a whopping 95%! 

Just in time for this year's centenary of WW1, a new educational project has been launched to offer schoolchildren across the UK the opportunity to learn about the pigeons' important and dangerous work.

The project, dubbed 'Secret Messages', will teach children how to write a simple coded message and demonstrate how pigeons carried them during the wars.

Pigeons in the war

A student from Sir Robert Hitcham's holds
the homing pigeon before it is released.

During World War II, over a quarter of a million pigeons were donated by British fanciers to help in the war effort. Once the war was over, pigeon racing was resumed, however their contribution to the war effort did not go unnoticed, with 32 of the 62 Dickin medals awarded to date going to carrier pigeons.

The very first pigeon to win the Dickin medal was Royal Blue who won the medal 'for being the first pigeon in this war to deliver a message from a forced landed aircraft on the continent while serving with the RAF in October 1940'. Royal Blue was donated by the King, illustrating the Royal families’ strong connection with pigeon racing since the late 1890s. To this day, there is a loft at Sandringham and Her Majesty the Queen is now a patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association.

British history has seen many patrons who strove to make our country a better and safer place. However, many forget that the humble homing pigeon played an enormous role in emergencies during both the World Wars and still give great benefits to fanciers today.

Donna Beard, who delivers the lessons to the schoolchildren, said: “We have had a really positive response to taking pigeons into schools in the past, which is why we feel that the Secret Messages project will be of great value to children and their teachers alike. Children enjoying handling the birds and learning to write their own secret messages will help to bring the importance of these birds’ contribution. What a great tribute to all involved in WW1 and WW2.”

How the Secret Messages project works

1. Pupils write their secret message on a piece of paper. This could be a simple message using simple Caesar cipher. This could be further developed by generating a message using a virtual Enigma Machine Emulator. 
2. Pupils place their message into a canister attached to the pigeon’s leg.
3. Pupils are taught how to hold the pigeon and then release their bird from an experienced pigeon fancier. Soldiers would have had to learn this skill.
4. The homing pigeon is released and sets off for home carrying the message back to the code breakers at Kingsmead School.
5. When the bird arrives home the message is taken from the canister and the message is decoded as fast as possible by a team of code breakers. 
6. The decoded message along with the original coded message is photographed by a smartphone or iPad/tablet and emailed to the person or school. 
7. Following the experience, pupils can research a range of different investigations and win some fantastic prizes.

Sounds exciting? Get your school involved!
Schools are able to apply to for an experienced handler to visit with a small team of homing pigeons. The Secret Messages project is available to all children of all ages in the UK and is a free service.

For more information or to book a Secret Messages session for your school, visit secretmessages.org.uk.

PLUS! Visit flyingbacktonature.com to view and download a range of teaching resources and lesson plans on pigeons, secret messages and World War 1.

Donna helps students release their bird and send
their secret message on its way!

Secret Messages was launched on July 8th 2014. The project is a collaboration between the Midlands National Flying Club and the Royal Pigeon Racing Association.