Children in the Great War By Jessica & Esme Contents

Pg.3Pg.3-Jobs Pg.4Pg.4-Jobs at home Pg.5Pg.5-School Pg.6Pg.6-School subjects Pg.7Pg.7-In the classroom Pg.8Pg.8-School punishments Pg.9Pg.9-School menu Pg.10Pg.10-Fun & Games Pg.11Pg.11-Entertainment Pg.12Pg.12-Child’s bedroom Pg.13Pg.13-Toys Pg.14Pg.14-Clothes Pg.15Pg.15-Pocket money Pg.16Pg.16-Pets Pg.17Pg.17-Family Pg.18Pg.18-Books, comics and annuals Pg.19Pg.19-Music Pg.20Pg.20-Your Views

Jobs Children were forced to work, here’s some of the jobs they had to do: Some children went to work in ammunition factories, bakeries and/or grocery stores. Most children who were younger went on newspaper rounds. Many children worked for the war effort, most of them repairing clothes for soldiers. Scouts and Guides both helped raise money during the war. They also went to the trenches to deliver secret messages. HomeNext page Go Back

Jobs at home Boys were made “Man of the house.” This was because boys would have been the only fit and healthy male left at home. Donald Overall was made man of the house at the age of 5.Donald Overall All of the families who lived on farms had to help out with the family business. The man of daughters babysat their younger siblings. Home Next page Go Back When you use the Donald Overall link scroll down the page until you see the picture next to this and read on!!!

School Most children couldn’t actually go to school, because they couldn’t afford it. They didn’t have many sports/teams. Didn’t have many books. There was an attendance law during Girls went to school, but left early to do domestic work. In November 1917, school children in two villages in North-East England went on strike to protest that they wouldn’t go to school unless they could have free school meals. HomeNext page Go Back

School Subjects Teachers taught children these subjects: arithmetic, spelling, writing, archery, sometimes swimming and if you to a private academy, basket ball. Children used sand to write with when young, chalk when older and finally a feather quill and ink. HomeNext Page Go Back

In the classroom 60 students per class. The classroom was tiered. The teacher had a very tall desk with a bell and a pot of stationery. The teacher had a chalk board. There was a coal fire in each classroom. Home Gruesome fact: There were eight toilet cubicles,the toilets didn’t get flushed until the caretaker flushed them with a bucket. Next page Go Back

School Punishment Here are some punishments for naughty children: getting lashed with a cane, getting paddled, having to sit on the one legged stool, teacher hits you, having to clean the dirty blackboard with a duster, sat in silence for the rest of the lesson with a dunce hat on their head, if they were caught talking in class they had to stay after school and write out “I must not chatter in lesson time” one hundred times, if they were late in for lessons, they got a rap on the knuckles with a wooden ruler Home Next page Go Back

School Menu Starter Bean soup and bread Mutton stew and suet pudding Main Course Toad in the hole, potatoes and bread Fish and potato pie Dessert Treacle pudding Baked raisin pudding Children ate their school dinner in the classroom, under supervision of their teacher. Home Next page Go Back

Fun & Games Children played: Marbles Pie crust coming Hopscotch Leapfrog Tops Cricket Skipping Please we’ve come to learn the trade Hoops Stilts Hide & seek Knocking down ginger Conkers Bicycle riding You can find the rules to these games by going on the Florence Cole website.Florence Cole website HomeNext page Go Back

Entertainment These are some things children did with their families: Maypole dancing Cinemas became popular during WW1 Reading books Went to plays/theatres Getting on with normal life Professional sports including football were suspended mostly in All of this entertainment had to stop at 10:30pm HomeNext page Go Back

Child’s bedroom This is a diagram of what a child’s bedroom would have looked like: Next page Home Go Back

Toys These are the toys they played with: Popular toys: dolls, teddies, zoo and farm animals, toy soldiers, wind-up toys. War toys: guns and battleships. Wooden toys: pull-along carts Patriotic toys: model ambulances, soldier teddies Blow Football Home Next page Go Back

Clothes These are the clothes children usually wore: Boys: shorts (until old enough to wear long trousers), jackets, collars and ties, heavy lace- up boots or shoes. Girls: long skirts, stockings, hardly ever trousers. Didn’t wear jeans, T-shirts and/or trainers. For games: tennis shoes and plimsolls. Next page Home Go Back

Pocket money Here's what children got for pocket money: Pennies Half pennies Silver sixpences for a treat Next pageHome Go back

Pets A lot of children and their families kept pets, these are some of the popular pets to have: Cats (used to chase away cats and mice) Dogs Canaries/singing birds Pigeons If you lived in the country these are the pets you could have had: Lambs Piglets Chicks If you were part of a rich family you could have had these as pets to pull small wooden carts for children: Ponies Goats Donkeys Next page Home Go Back

Family This is what a typical family was like during WW1: One mother One father One daughter One son One baby Two grandparents One pet (see page before)see page before Home Go back Next Page

Books, comics and annuals Edith Nesbit: The Railway Children Edith Nesbit: The Phoenix and The Carpet Kenneth Grahame: The Wind In The Willows J.M Barrie: Peter Pan Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden Georgie Giraffe: children’s comic/annual, The Rainbow Tiger Tim: children’s 1914 comic/annual Go Back Next Page Home

Music This is the music they listened to: Popular songs could be sung/played at home with piano, banjo, ukulele etc. Families would also listen to music through a gramophone Families would have a get together and have a sing along. HomeNext Page Go Back

Your Views What did you think of our website? Was it helpful? Have you learnt lots? Will you share this information with friends? Will you tell other people about this website? Will you use this website again? HOPE YOU ENJOYED LOOKING AT THIS WEBSITE! Home Go Back Back to the start If you need more information go to BBC HistoryBBC History Many thanks for using this website from Jessica and Esme!!!