Amesbury School, in Hindhead, has commemorated the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings and its close connection to Field Marshall Montgomery with a visit to Portsmouth.

Field Marshal 'Monty' Montgomery's son, David, was a pupil at Amesbury during the Second World War - and to honour the connection, the school's year four pupils visited the south coast harbour where many of Monty's ground forces departed for France on June 6, 1944.

The pupils and teachers all dressed up in 1940s costumes for the day, in which they took part in a Home Front workshop to examine artefacts from the 1940s and decide what they would have been used for.  Harriet Gillum-Webb thought the gas mask for a baby was "pretty horrible", while Annabel Kingston and Lucy Griffiths agreed that they would pack more for a one night sleepover than an evacuee was allowed to take for several months!

The simulated air raid attack involved a team of fire-watchers (those with the loudest voices led by Bryn Bennet and Josh Cant), fire officers with William Shirley manning a stirrup pump to extinguish the flames, nurses and medics who attended to the wounded and members of the pubic who rushed to the air-raid shelter.

In the D-Day Museum, pupils worked in groups to research themes, such as children and home, clothes and uniforms; and recorded their information using the latest technology.

"This is so cool", said Natasha Gerrard and Isabelle Sambles, as they recorded "Music While You Work" from the exhibit, showing a woman working in a munitions factory.

"A fantastic day was enjoyed by all," added a spokesman for the school.

Haslemere Herald
10th July 2009