Research - part 2

We have been doing more research about people involved in World War 1. We found out where our person trained and when and where he embarked from. We noticed that all our soldiers left from Wellington. 

Researching

Aaron drew a great diagram of the Gallipoli battle scene (1915). On the left side he drew the hills where the Turkish trenches were. The low ground is where the ANZACs were based. He is going to add some labels to his picture. 

The majority of today's Stepping Up session focused on learning how to understand information on soldier's records which we found on the Auckland War Memorial Museum's online cenotaph. We are each studying a person who was involved in WW1, for most of us it is a relative. Our teacher gave us some printouts from our person's military record. We were surprised at how many pages of information there is about our relative!

We had to look through the cenotaph record and find our person's full name, which of the armed forces he was in, his rank, DOB (date of birth) and DOD (date of death). Some of us found out what our person's occupation was prior to going to the War, and what their marital status was. 

Next week we will continue to learn more about our person. 

Museum trip

We went to the Auckland War Memorial Museum today! We had an awesome time learning about World War 1 and 2.

Posing in front of a WW1 canon.

Another big canon.

The War Memorial Museum is very special because it remembers the soldiers that died in all the wars. The museum is 86 years old this year. The design of the building is special because it looks like a Greek temple. An Auckland company won a competition to design the museum. It is one of the most famous historical buildings in New Zealand, and is protected.

The Auckland Museum is an important War Memorial.

Aaron really enjoyed learning about the animals that went to the war. He learned that pigeons and dogs carried little messages in small containers around their necks and legs. Donkeys helped carry sick soldiers to the nurses at the tent hospitals. Animals were very important in the war time. The most important animals in the war were horses. They carried soldiers to the battle. The other interesting thing Aaron saw was Uncle Norman's name engraved on the World War 1 Wall of Honour.

Pigeons carried messages for soldiers during the war.

The WW1 Trooper display.

Lorin liked the Gallipoli Minecraft game because it had battleships, huts and trenches from Anzac Cove. He was surprised that there was a lot of greenery around before the battle. There were even poppies on the pennisula! Lorin found it a bit hard to learn how to manage the controls but if he practices again he knows that will get better.

Trying to figure out the controls to play Minecraft.

Bella also loved playing Minecraft at the Museum. She found it fun to wear special 3D goggles and experience life in the trenches. Seeing warships was interesting for Bella too because she could go inside them. She was surprised to see that soldiers slept in beds and hammocks! Something else that Bella enjoyed was seeing the trench where a soldier was waiting in his dugout. She was surprised at how dirty it was to be in a trench.

Playing the 3D version of Minecraft.

A soldier in his dugout ready for attack.

Joe liked going to the Museum because he learnt about the weapons that were used. They used rifles and machine guns. The army officers had swords on the rifles called a bayonette. He thinks they are interesting because they are really long. They would be quite heavy to carry and soldiers would have to be very careful not to hurt themselves with the knife!

Mr Limbrick tells us about the importance of wearing body armour.

Playing Gallipoli Minecraft.

Rafa enjoyed everything! He said, "When I saw the German gunner above the trench I was trying to duck, so he couldn't shoot me!" Rafa explained that soldiers need protective vests to protect them from being shot. He learnt that the helmets in World War 1 were not very good because they were made of leather. This meant that bullets could go right through them! Rafa was also interested in the guns that could move around because they were attached to the top of a tripod.

Checking out the Japanese Zero from WW2.

Fascination with the workings of a Spitfire.

When the students saw all the names on the wall of honour they went very quiet, because they were surprised by the number of people who died in World War 1. They were also interested to learn that some nurses names are also listed there.

The names of some of the New Zealand nurses who lost their lives during WW1.

Going to the museum was a memorable and rewarding experience. Thank you Mrs Edwards, Mr Limbrick and Doug for accompanying us on the trip!

Bombs were shot from the wings of the Spitfire during WW2.

Mr Limbrick enjoyed a game of Minecraft too!

Finding things on our scavenger hunt.

Flight Lieutenant Nick's visit

We had an amazing time this morning learning about the Defence Forces with Nick, a Flight Lieutenant with the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Nick asked us what we knew about the Air Force. 

• Ivo - To be in the Air Force you need to have your eyes tested. 
• Lorin - The Air Force fights in the air. 
• Rafa – I’ve been learning about the Red Baron. He was the best fighter until he died.
• Aaron - They fix planes.

Nick told us that the Air Force also help a lot of people who suffer during natural disasters, such as earthquakes. For example, after the earthquakes in Christchurch, the Air Force loaded up planes with food, and took people there to help. Sometimes the Air Force go and help people in other countries like the Pacific Islands after a natural disaster. Lorin was interested to know if the New Zealand Air Force helped after the earthquakes in Nepal. Nick explained that the Defence Forces of other countries closer to Nepal were sent in to help, but this time, the New Zealanders were not needed.

Nick told us that another important role of the Defence Forces is their work to prevent other wars from happening. He said that they also do a lot of training so that they are ready in case a war begins.

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We watched an interesting video about all aspects of the Defence Forces. We especially enjoyed learning about how the Hercules is loaded, and how supplies can be dispached from the plane with a parachute attached. Another fascinating thing for us was seeing some special forces soldiers practicing a surprise attack from a moving helicopter. One other point of interest was finding out that the Defence Forces get involved in search and rescue missions at sea. 

We learnt today that the Air Force uses several different types of aircraft, the Hercules (to transport equipment and people), the Orions (for surveillance) and the Boeing 757s (to transport soldiers). There is a kiwi symbol on all New Zealand Air Force aircraft.

Nick is an aircraft engineer. He fixes the components of the aeroplanes, such as the wheels, tyres, and seats. His job is to make sure that the plane is ready to take off for its mission. 

All those working in the Defence Forces have a rank. Nick showed us the bands on the sleeve of his uniform and explained that they signify his rank as a Flight Lieutenant. If he doesn't wear his jacket, people can still tell his rank from his epaulets. Nick told us that it has taken him six years to earn his current rank.

We looked at Nick's medal. It is engraved with his name, rank and service number. It is called a Defence Service Medal. The symbols on it are the New Zealand Coat of Arms, and also a silver fern with the symbol of the Defence Force.

The special badge on the cap is the Royal New Zealand Air Force badge. 

Nick made this paper plane. It is a model of the hercules aircraft that the Air Force uses to transport equipment and some people. We are going to make a model at home too!

At the end of the session Nick surprised us by giving each of us a cap, drink bottle and stickers. 

We were so surprised and excited to receive gifts from Nick today!

Here are our highlights of our session with Nick:

Ivo – I liked watching the video. It was interesting.

Bella – I learnt what the army does.

Rafa – I liked seeing the pictures and the model plane.

Lorin – I learnt that tanks are big and can go in shallow water. Five people can fit inside them.

Joe – I learnt about the ranks in the Air Force.

Aaron – I learnt about the plane with the camera which is used for looking for people lost in the water.

Thank you Nick, for coming to talk with us today. We had a great time!

Lorin showed us his World War 2 model aeroplane. We think it is pretty cool!