Operation Pillow Case

Friday 14th to Saturday 15th June 2019

Welcome to Operation Pillow Case; experiential learning with an overnight dimension!

A 'brief' overview of Op Pillowcase 2019:

Individual photos taken for ID card to go with Ration Book;

Quiz about WW2 foods in Britain

Cooking (preparing sandwiches for lunch and vegetables for dinner)

Morse Code (decoding and writing secret messages)

Writing letters 'home' as evacuee children

Playtime with 'old-fashioned' games (skittles, quoits, noughts and crosses etc)

Jam or Spam sandwiches for lunch plus carrot & cucumber sticks

Jive dancing (with 'Boston Jive')

First Aid 

Orienteering problem-solving activity

Camo cream face-painting and 'drill' practice (with Army Cadet instructors)

Sausages, mash, veg for dinner plus apple crumble and ice cream (and Theo's amazing birthday cake!)

Campfire sing-song with hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows

Bedtime DVD ('Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang')

Sleeping in classrooms (*NB actual sleeping time varied considerably!!!)

Cereals/toast for breakfast

Den-building on the field

How DID we manage to fit it all in?!

Notes from HQ 2017: 

The children arrived at school on Friday morning  in full evacuee spirit and quickly began the task of checking the site for German spies. Satisfied the coast was clear, morning activity has commenced. Despite the rain, morale was high; as time wore on, however, the skies began to clear...

In case any spies arrived later, we worked in code, gas mask to hand of course.

Tricky stuff, this Morse...

Good job the Home Guard was on hand to  help out!

   Hey! Who let that Spiv in the back row?

Guess what's for lunch...

Yum! (Don't worry, there was jam as well!)

But there wasn't much left by the end!

Someone has to wash up... 

A good old-fashioned play time...

Skittles and 9 Pins

Hoop-la on target!

You can't beat an old tyre for a playtime diversion. Hold on tight, girls!

Many hands make light work - with nearly fifty for tea, that's a lot of spuds for war-time cheese and potato dumplings with vegetable stew , home-made bread followed by apple crumble (and 2017 ice cream)                                                                                                                                

And a fair amount of cheese needed too!

It all  went down well with the diners.

Dinner prep over, Sister Moss turns her hand to first-aid drills. Bandages, slings and resuscitation, we'll be safe in the event of an air raid!

Now that does look funny!

Hmmm, are you all right down there?                                               

Think he's a gonner mate...

"Excuse me nurse, this isn't very comfortable".

"Chin up Mrs Webster, there's a war on, you know!"

 "Cor Blimey Nurse, this really hurts, I think it's broken".                                                                              

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"Lets hope she's this keen to sleep tonight!"

A picture speaks a thousand words! Are we having a good time?

             Chocolate Rations, mmmm.

Seargent Sewell puts the troops through their paces...

"Stand at Ease!"

 xxxxxx "At -- teeen - shun!"

"Left Right, quick march!"

Must run in the family!

Now for the cam cream - they won't see us coming!

Putting out the beds!

We said put them out! Not get in them yet, lads!

Well done, girls !

Just checking out the bag for size...

Campfire and hot chocolate (don't worry, the cam cream washes off - but might need a bit more attention at home than we could give it tonight...)

Team Coyle sort out the marshmallows!

Night Night ! Lie Down...

We said.... "Lie down!"

 Shhhhhhhh,

They're asleep,

see you in the morning.

Sometimes the teachers get to work and it feels like they never went home; then one day they woke up and it was true...

Morning campers!

Wakey, Wakey Rise and Shine!

The sun began to rise - and so did the children, from about 5am onwards!

By 6.30, we were well and truly ready to start again!

You put your bag in, you put your bag out, in out , in out , and shake it all about!

The morning after the night before...  

 All packed - now I am hungry!

Breakfast!

Never has so much jam, prepared for so many...been eaten by so few! Not looking at all tired either, are they?

I'll be mother!

And then it was over! Show me the way to go home....

Can you spot the difference?

11pm

xxxxxxxxxxx11am...Then they were gone...  Was it a dream?

For one pillowcase, the homeward journey was just as it might have been during the war, when petrol was scarce and only the well-off could afford a car. Way to go, Rosie Mai!

What a great end to our adventure.