Year 6 participate in WW1 Workshop for Remembrance Day

On the day when the school and nation paused to remember those who have died in conflicts since World War One, Year 6 pupils at the Prep also took part in a workshop run by staff from Cornwall Record Office.

The focus was on packages and parcels sent to the soldiers in the trenches of the First World War. The pupils were fascinated to read the letters sent back and forth and loved trying to work out the mystery smells of typical things that would have been sent to the front line. These care packages were vital to boost morale and keep the soldiers supplied with home treats. Chocolate, soap, Oxo and tea were sniffed out and guessed at by the pupils, with varying degrees of success!

The pupils decided that some things would have been more useful than others, in agreement with one officer who, according to his letter, wasn’t very pleased with what his mother had sent him (including 36 white handkerchiefs and 40 bootlaces!) He wrote of his disappointment at her ‘package of uselessness’!

But on a sombre note, which brought home the tragedy of the war which we remembered the same day, this man was killed in action only a month after sending his letter home. As our pupils said today, ‘we will remember them’.