Remembrance Day commemorations made real for Talbot Heath pupils

Thanks to the military style organisation of Talbot Heath’s History Faculty, expertly led by historian Francesca Saunders, the school marked the centenary of the end of the First World War, with two major commemorative events: a senior school service of remembrance and a morning of related activities where pupils experienced an immersive living history event.

Pupils were given the opportunity to handle WWI artefacts such as uniforms and bullets; explore a trench, which had been deftly created by the art department and the grounds team; and learn about scientific and medical advances in a reconstructed field hospital. Sixth Form pupils who are intending to pursue a career in medicine staffed the field hospital, gaining insight into the challenges of treatment at the front. The girls also learned about the recruitment process and watched moving drama performances showing how the lives of different classes of women were affected by the war.

Edgar Avins won the Military Cross at the Battle of Vraucourt in 1918, and originally joined the Royal Hampshire Regiment but was later transferred to the First Tank Regiment, where he became a 2nd Lieutenant. He was the great-great-great-uncle of Maddy Cohen in Lower 4, and formed one of the many family histories from the school community who were remembered in the commemorations through a ‘First World War Family Stories’ display.

Mrs Holloway thanked the staff involved in bringing history to life for its pupils in ‘a dynamic and innovative way’, adding, ‘It was an incredibly vibrant and engaging event that will have made a lasting impression on the pupils, inspiring them and enhancing their learning in a unique way.'

The school has a unique historical heritage; the archives contain school magazines from the past 133 years, offering a wonderful insight into historical events. At the school’s 133rd birthday celebrations this year, extracts were read from letters from the front near Ypres, written by a former pupil serving as a nurse, to the then headmistress Miss Broad. Talbot Heath’s World War II air raid shelter, which accommodated 125 pupils during bombing raids and was part of a network of four extensive underground shelters, was open to the public as part of the Dorset Heritage Weekend. Pupils regularly experience ‘living history’ by learning within this authentic structure and studying the artwork and accounts of pupils who studied and slept underground during WW2. Baroness Shirley Williams sheltered here as a pupil while the bombs dropped overhead. TH welcomes pupils and visitors from across Dorset who would like to use the amazing shelter as a teaching or learning resource.