In the field of living history HB talked to lots of World War II soldiers. They discovered how heavy a rifle is, and learnt the difference between a pistol and a revolver.
HB looked at some telecommunications equipment, and listened to some music.
Next they watched some shooting practice in a mock WW2 training range, and saw inside army vehicles.
This soldier was dressed in enemy uniform and explained tank vulnerabilities and how to use the enemy's weapons against them when in enemy territory. The kids then went on a mission to blow up an enemy tank.
We then listened to an entertaining talk by the home guard - also telling us how to blow up a tank. By this point the rain was getting very heavy!
We listened to an entertaining actor pretending to be a women going through training as an SOE agent. The talk was based on the lives of Anne Marie Walters, Odette Sansom, Yvonne Baseden and Nancy Wake. She ended the talk as she parachuted out of an aeroplane into enemy occupied France. HeB commented that it was a real cliff hanger, so we had to go back for the next part of the story after lunch.
HB saw some of the tools used in resistance sabotage, including kit used to blow up railway track and trains.
In the kitchens we watched as meals were prepared with rations.
We listened to a talk describing D-Day in 30 minutes. (The children got to throw plastic balls at the speaker, so they enjoyed it despite the heavy rain.)
Finally we listened to the final, fascinating installment about the fictional female SOE agent. Her tales (based on true stories told by the agents Anne Marie Walters, Yvonne Cormeau and Odette Sansom). The nail biting heroics included being invited into a railway carriage full of Nazi officers, and convincing a Nazi that the radio equipment they discovered was in fact an X-ray machine.
