Imperial War Museum

On Thursday November 8, the Bucknell in London group toured the Imperial War Museum. Even before I walked into the building I knew it was going to be an interesting place; this was signaled by the huge gun/cannon and bomb shells situated directly in front of the entrance.

While walking through this enormous building and viewing the many exhibitions and artifacts concerning WWI and WWII, I found myself particularly interested in The Children's War exhibit. This fascinating area of the museum described in detail the second World War through the eyes of the children in Britain. It was absolutely amazing and extremely moving at the same time to listen to people's (now in old age) first-hand accounts of what it was like to live through WWII, and to also learn fascinating information on every aspect of life during this time.

Two things moved me deeply within The Children's War. The first was the sight of mannequins, resembling small children and infants, in gas masks. Every person in Britain owned a gas mask and was required to wear it during WWII; what touched me was seeing the little babies and small children with this huge apparatus on their head. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be required to wear gas masks everywhere I went for fear of an air raid preventing my ability to breath. This must have been incredibly frightening for small children, especially since they lacked the capacity and maturity to fully understand the situation surrounding them. It was just so incredibly sad to walk through the exhibit, see the mannequins and experience what they had to endure.

The second was reading an original letter a couple sent to their daughter whom they sent to Canada to live with her aunt during the war and the accompanying newspaper article which described a fatal train wreck in which the daughter died while on her way to Canada. What upset me the most was reading the letter and realizing that the daughter would never get the chance to read it. The letter included details about how the couple missed her and couldn't wait to see her and also stated that they were sending care-packages soon full of her favorite things. To read the letter and then the article moved me to tears; imagine the shock and extreme sadness the couple had to endure when they received a letter that said there had been a fatal train wreck which was on its way to Canada and their child could not be accounted for. How horrible. What's even sadder is that these parents were not the only ones to receive such a letter by any stretch of the imagination; thousands of small, innocent children lost their lives during WWII and just as many depressing letters were sent to anxious parents.

Besides the aforementioned artifacts, I was also very interested in learning about the work the children did during WWII. This subject was not only fascinating but also ties in with the economics theme of our common course, as what the children did during this time greatly affected the British Economy. During the war, nearly 80% of boys and 70% of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 were in full-time employment. They worked in agriculture, in offices and the major industries such as engineering, aircraft production, shipbuilding and vehicle manufacture. From 1941 all those aged between 16 and 18 were required to register for some form of national service, even if they had a full-time job. At 18, boys received their call-up papers for the armed forces. By 1944, one in ten of them was required to work in coal mines as 'Bevin Boys.' Girls were also conscripted when they turned 18, and either joined one of the women's auxiliary services or undertook other essential war work. Younger children were expected to do their bit by salvaging scrap metal, paper, glass and waste food for recycling. They also raised money for munitions, knitted 'comforts' for the troops, and were encouraged to 'Dig for Victory' in gardens and allotments. As dangerous as it was, children of Britain were greatly involved in the war and offered their services wherever needed. Their work not only supported their troops but also helped to maintain the already severly damaged economy.

Another piece of sad information I must share was the youngest victim of the air raids, who happened to be only 11 hours old. Thousands upon thousands of children were killed or injured during these attacks; its such a shame that their young and promising lives had to be ended in such a cruel and unncessary way.

All of the other exhibitions within the Imperial War Museum were fascinating and/or moving in their own respects, but I was especially drawn to The Children's War exhibit. Overall I must say that I learned a great amount of valuable information about the twentieth century's wars. I can't wait to share this information with my grandfather who served in the American Army and was on duty in England and France (Storming of Normandy) during WWII.