St Michaels’ Junior School
Dr Anne Samson, a historian and expert on WW1 and Africa in partnership with Diversity House, presented a day of fun and learning at St Michael’s Primary School to Year 6 pupils on 20th September 2017. The project forms part of the ‘Breaking the Myths: WW1 & Africa,’ programme which has been highlighting the involvement of Africans in the Great War.
The children took part in different activities which reflected the experiences of African soldiers during WW1. The children were also asked to commemorate African soldiers in creative ways and made poppies in the colours of the modern day African flags.
The programme explored themes of music, transport, labour and much more to compare the differences between the European and African war efforts. African music and dance group Bantu Arts were included in the programme as well as poetry writing, singing and letter writing to reflect the activities of the soldiers in WW1. The children even got a chance to taste the food which African Soldiers and Carriers would have eaten during the campaigns.
The artwork from the children was displayed during a workshop on ‘WW1 & Africa; Micro-Nations of War – Family and Personal Stories’ on 27th October 2017 at Kent County Council in Maidstone.