The Big Guns

A trip to the Imperial War Museum was highly recommended by school Mums, so we ventured off yesterday – the first day of school holidays.

The big guns from a warshipAfter seeing the huge guns at the entrance we headed inside to see war planes mounted from the ceiling and a room fulll of army tanks. Quite a sight!

Planes aboveWe looked inside tanks and missiles and I had to quickly read information plaques to answer all the questions from Ella and Jasper. The Museum had a half hour show every hour with a very entertaining lady pretending to transport us back in time to the early 1940s. She described life during the London Blitz, and showed us many items; gas masks, helmets, siren machine, etc. The kids were entranced as she tailored the show to appeal to kids.

Looking at a baby’s gas maskAnother section of the museum focussed on Children at War, and how one quarter of London kids were sent away from their homes to the countryside. We saw letters from them writing to their Mums, kids toys, and most amazing was a life sized 1940s house you could walk through, with the Morrison shelter (type of bomb shelter) set up in the dining room. We saw how much a person was given for food rations, and some of the posters of the time encouraging kids to attend holiday farm camps where they could help grow food. Jasper also tried on some kids clothes from that time.

Please sir, can I have some more?Finally we took the kids through a display set in a war time trench, complete with the foul smells and all! They were quite scared and I had to carry Jasper through. A trip to the playground was needed to help them forget the trauma.

On top of the rope frameThe surrounding gardens were mostly lawn, but there was an abundance of daffodils and crocuses poking up through the grass. Very pretty and a relief to think Spring is almost here.

Daffodils and Crocuses