The WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust together with YES Young Flyers completed their18-month journey visiting 60+ Primary Schools in Essex with the WW1AHT Simulator in July 2024 – thanks to a grant from the CAA’s Reach For the Sky Initiative. One hundred and thirty-seven schools applied for the day visit so we hope this will become an enduring feature. We have applied for a further grant from the CAA for 2025 and 70 schools have applied for a visit. The Programme is to encourage and inform Years 5 and 6 about careers in aviation. It is important that they understand the origins of the flying machine and it how it surged into the front pages over a hundred years ago in World War 1. It is equally important that they are made aware of the sacrifice in the Great War as the subject disappears from the syllabus in English schools.
This is exactly what the Trust is doing by visiting the Schools with their WW1 Flight Simulator. The Pupils are all motivated by the prospect of a flight in a simulator designed in 1915 based on WW1 SE5a fighter with a VR game that includes all the missions available to a Scout pilot as they were known back in the day. While not in the Sim, they take part in a quiz about the life and times of the simulator’s designer, Major Lanoe Hawker VC DSO RFC, and take part in poetry writing workshop based on the Great War which culminates in each of them writing a poem on seeded paper as a part of another of WW1AHT’s initiatives – The Poetry Plane. This is a collaborative effort with the Poetry Postie, ArtConnexion, Hautmont College, Somme Tourism, Le Quesnoy Kiwi Association and the Sir John Monash Museum.
Over 3500 poems were dropped from our Plane over the commemorations for the Battle of the Somme, Wilfred Owen and the Kiwi Division of Le Quesnoy on 1 Jul 2024 where they were collected and planted by those attending as an act of remembrance and reconciliation. The British, French and German Memorial Flowers (Poppy, Cornflower, and Forget-me-Not) are the seeds in the paper. French and German children also wrote poems as part of a wider initiative to expand the Poetry Plane concept around the world. We have much bigger plans to include Australian, Canadian and US children in writing poems in 2025. The children in any country can join in. WW1AHT provide lesson plans, videos and links to the seeded paper as part of the concept. Watch out for updates on the plans for 2025 coming before Christmas .
We plan to return to the Somme and Le Quesnoy on 1 Jul 2025 and hope also to deliver poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum in November 2025.
Sam Dunne, the Headteacher at Colne Engaine Primary School, wrote after our visit:
I would just like to say another big thank you for the wonderful opportunity the children had today. The whole session was so very well organised, and the children have been talking about it all afternoon. They thoroughly enjoyed learning the history in class and then experiencing the simulator. We are full swing with some wonderful poetry too.
Opportunities like today are those golden moments, moments that make children aspirational about their futures and know more about the endless opportunities there are out there for the taking. Who knows we may have another aviation enthusiast joining you or seeking out a new interest!
Thank you for bringing your knowledge and enthusiasm to our little school and of course being part of such a brilliant STEM opportunity.
The poetry-writing was not restricted to Great Britain and N Ireland but children from France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand were invited to participate. We hope to expand it further in 2025. A small team of 8 WW1 AHT & YES volunteers are giving freely of their time. Each visit involves 3 members of the Team for 6 hours on site – 1500 hours of volunteering. The Programme would not be possible without the Twins, Ant and Ed, who drive the Simulator to each location and ensure its safe operation during each visit.
If you want to know more, please contact dick.forsythe@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk