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Aberdeen pupils step back in time as WWII evacuees

L-R- McKenzie Holse, Joel Riach, Mintu Saji, primary 7 pupils at Aberdeen’s Kingsford School
L-R- McKenzie Holse, Joel Riach, Mintu Saji, primary 7 pupils at Aberdeen’s Kingsford School

Poignant images of boys and girls lined up at railway stations waiting for trains to whisk them away from their parents and into the safety of the countryside were commonplace during WWII.

Labelled like luggage and armed with just gas masks and small suitcases, more than a million wartime children were evacuated from Britain’s cities to be safe from the dangers of Hitler’s bombs.

Yesterday a group of Aberdeen schoolchildren re-lived Operation Pied Piper, as it was codenamed back in 1939, as part of a special history lesson.

L-R- McKenzie Holse, Joel Riach, Mintu Saji, primary 7 pupils at Aberdeen’s Kingsford School
L-R- McKenzie Holse, Joel Riach, Mintu Saji, primary 7 pupils at Aberdeen’s Kingsford School

The 49 pupils from Kingsford School, in Mastrick, turned back the clock to become WWII evacuees for the day.

The P7 pupils, dressed up in period clothing and gas masks, set off for Aberdeen railway station in a vintage corporation bus, courtesy of First Bus, which supplied the bus and driver free of charge.

The pupils were then evacuated by train to Stonehaven where they visited Arduthie School, where they continued their history lesson.

Teacher Laura Allan said the aim of the trip was to help the pupils get a feel for what Britain’s youngsters had to go through during the war.

She said: “Learning about people in the past is an extremely important part of the curriculum.

“Things really were different during the war, and the best way for pupils to empathise is to see it through the eyes of an evacuee child, which is what we have tried to recreate.

“One thing that hasn’t changed is children’s need to relax, and have fun, even through the toughest times.

“This is why we included a Lindy-hop style dance and a Vera Lynn inspired sing-along as part of our visit to Arduthie Primary. “

Gary Bain, the school’s depute head, added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to gain an insight into both the excitement and the fear that an evacuee would have experienced.”