WWII Day

4th November 2025

We were lucky and privileged to have The Sampford Peverell Society come into our school to talk about life in the village during World War II. It was great to have such expert knowledge about the period delivered by Clive, Heather, and Peter.

 

Cedar Class learnt about the different types of games children in the village would have played during the period. They had a go at playing with marbles, coins, and conkers, as well as traditional games such as hopscotch and skipping.

 

In Beech Class, the children discovered what the village itself would have been like during World War II. They discovered that American troops were based in the village—on what is now Fairfield—which meant that the children of that period would have witnessed a dramatic change in the vehicles travelling through and over the village. They looked at the different silhouettes of aircraft and tried to identify them. After the visit, the children used the knowledge gained about The Blitz to inspire their poems.

 

Meanwhile, Ash Class found out about individuals from the village who fought and died during the conflict. We used the Sampford Peverell Society - Home website as well as the prepared presentation to investigate further. We were also very lucky to have Heather bring in some artefacts which her father had with him when he was a paratrooper—including a silk map of both France and Germany and a compass disguised as a button. We also looked through Peter's dad's scrapbook, which contained a lot of newspaper clippings and photographs, and Clive showed us a cigarette card collection.

 

Many thanks again to the Sampford Peverell Society for giving up their time to impart their knowledge to our children; it is very much appreciated, and we love creating links to our village community as well as becoming spiritually connected to what our village and its residents were like in the past.