Suggested words
Photographs on table One shows a young man in military uniform.

Support Our Troops – WWI Role Play
1.5 hours, KS2
Preston Manor & Gardens 

It is the year 1915. Ellen Thomas-Stanford (a very, very rich lady and the owner of Preston Manor) is asking local schoolchildren to help her and her servants look after injured soldiers and people who had to leave their homes because of the war.

Lady Ellen’s grandson, Vere, is fighting in France, and her family are doing everything they can to help.

Photographs on table One shows a young man in military uniform.

You are invited to join in too! Come wearing your best school uniform and help by:

  • Sorting out clothes
  • Getting ready for a fundraising sale
  • Making colourful bunting (decorations)
  • Knitting and sewing
  • Writing letters to Indian soldiers staying at the Royal Pavilion Hospital
  • Practising songs for a charity show

Your town and the soldiers really need your help!

Good to Know

The session lasts 90 minutes at Preston Manor

Available Tuesday to Thursday.


Aims of the session

  1. To enjoy your time with us
  2. To bring the past to life
  3. To take part in some of the daily activity taking place in Brighton to support troops in the town and in Europe
  4. To find out more about how people lived in the past
  5. To find out more about Ellen Stanford’s role in WWI

Decolonising

  • Focus on the whole life of colonial soldiers not just their war experience
  • Question how these soldiers from colonies felt about fighting on behalf of a coloniser nation

Links to School Subjects

  • History
    • KS1 & 2 Significant historical events, people and places in their own locality
    • KS2 A local history study, a significant turning point in British history
Image of a poster at Hove saying "Have fun but please don't run."

School Online Resources

Our learning team have developed downloadable resources that might support your teaching in class or onsite.
Image of a poster at Hove saying "Have fun but please don't run."