Posted on: October 6th 2017
Form 6 are currently studying World War 1. They have been listening to Private Peaceful, learning about Life in a Trench and men being persuaded to go and fight for their country. The children are asking interesting questions about How, Why and Where did the First World War take place. The topic is ongoing for this term so watch this space for more updates.
Life in a trench
Life in a trench is one word,
Horrific!
All it is is mud, stench and rats.The only attitude that soldiers develop is that everybody is going to die.There were several lines of trenches and the front one is most dangerous because they were constantly under fire. The Germans built dry, safe comfortable trenches unlike the French and the Brits who didn’t think they were going to be there as long as four years.
Ben Craven
Private Peaceful Book Review
The book is set in 1914 at the beginning of the war and is narrated by Thomas ‘Tommo’ Peaceful. He is locked up in a cell and is looking back on his life in the last hour before Charlie (his older brother) is shot by the firing squad. Charlie was shot due to him staying behind when Tommo is injured in no man’s land. No man’s land is the area of ground between the opposing trenches which could have ranged between 200 and 250 metres. Staying behind was thought of as cowardice. 306 real life soldiers were shot for cowardice during WW1. Near the beginning of the story some soldiers parade through the town looking for recruits. Tommo runs away and is shouted after as being a ‘chicken’. Then, when Charlie and Tommo decide not to sign up the landlord threatens to take their house away if they don’t. Tommo signs up whilst still underage - he is nearly 16 at the time but the law was that you had to be 17 to join. Many people did this at the time. Throughout the book Tommo recounts the horrors of the training and fighting in the trenches. One of the main terrors was Sergeant ‘Horrible’ Hanley. He always hated Charlie and Tommo and is the reason Charlie is being shot, this because he is the one who reported them and is the who stood against Charlie in court, whereas some others believed that he was innocent. Overall the book is a really good book and conveys the circumstance that soldiers lived in during WW1.
Max Greenwood
Lord Kitchener
Lord Kitchener was born on June 24, 1850 in Ballylongford, Ireland. Like his father, Lt. Colonel Henry Kitchener, he joined the Royal Military Academy in England in 1868 at the age of 18.
He received his commission as an officer in the Royal Engineers in 1871. However, before he took up his commission, he served in the French Ambulance corp. This did not go down well with some of his fellow countrymen, but all he wanted to do was kick start his military career.
Kitchener was to serve in the Army for 28 years. Most of his career was spent in Africa and Egypt. In 1884 he took up a position in Khartoum, and this later earned him the title of Earl of Khartoum.
Kitchener continued to serve in Africa until 1914 when he was called back to Britain. He took up the position of Secretary of War and this is when he started his campaign “Your Country Needs You”.
During World War I, Kitchener was in charge of making sure the troops had bullets and bombs to fight the enemy, as well as planning battle strategies. However, many of his peers in the government and army were not pleased with his efforts especially when the troops did not have enough ammunition at the front line.
Kitchener actually handed in his resignation, but the great British public did not want him to go. In 1916, Kitchener went on his final mission to Russia. This was to be his last trip, as his boat struck a mine. However, his memory lived on and to this day, his poster is still a reminder of the call to war and is one of the most iconic war posters.
Georgina Chan
