Kites Class at Pebsham excel with WWII interviews

By John DowlingREPORTERS get some delightful but utterly impossible assignments at times.

It is always a pleasure to go to Pebsham Community Primary School and meet the children so accepting an invitation to judge some "news" stories they had written seemed to offer no problems.

Wrong!

Kites Class have been learning about World War Two. At the end of two weeks' study by the class two people with differing experiences of the war came to speak to them.

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Judging by the entries, both Mrs Corlett and Mr Gibbs were also questioned with Pebsham School's customary zeal!

So that is how I came to be confronted by 16 carefully printed news stories. Each bore both the photographs of both visitors plus a brief introductory explanation of their visit.

Each included some pertinent facts and, like all good news reports, some exceedingly "quotable quotes."

But such was their uniformly well-presented news copy that there was the greatest difficulty in choosing an overall winner.

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Eventually, and after much deliberation, the accolade had to go to Daniel for he obtained a quote from Mr Gibbs which neatly encapsulated the reason why the world was plunged into the second ghastly global conflict of the 20th Century.

Daniel wrote of the interview session: "Then Mr Gibbs, a former Home Guard and sailor, said: 'Oh! Hitler, yes Hitler wanted to take over the world but he got stopped because Hitler promised that he wouldn't invade Poland but he did so England declared war.'"

Most of the youngsters told how Mrs Corlett had been evacuated to Wales but returned so she could spend Christmas at home.

Most also reported her graphic account of a Doodlebug flying bomb.

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Jess reported: "Mrs Corlett was standing on her doorstep one evening with her family. A plane came over their heads. Mrs Corlett was very scared and she said 'Please don't let it fall on me, please don't let it fall on me.'

"But the bomb suddenly landed on someone else's home and killed them all."

Kites Class managed to cover many aspects of life during the Second World War, from war-time food to clothes rationing, from the American 155mm gun to the tiny suitcases in which evacuees like Mrs Corlett took their few clothes.

Daniel concluded: "It was a really good day for Kites. Hopefully Mr Gibbs and Mrs Corlett are coming back next year."

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Thank you, Kites Class. It was a joy to read your news stories. I am only sorry that there could be just one overall winner.

However, I think that Mrs Corlett and Mr Gibbs having given their time to come and speak to you and answer your questions you are all "winners" for clearly you have learned a great deal.