Poet Liz Niven is working with two primary schools in West Dunbartonshire as part of its “Singer Sirens and Silent Heroes” Second World War programme, which is being funded by the Big Lottery under phase two of the UK scheme “Their Past Your Future”.
The P7 pupils at Edinbarnet and Our Holy Redeemer primaries, both in Clydebank, are being given the opportunity to develop the theme into poetry as part of the council’s Weans’ War drama-based project, one of the strands of the wider programme.
Pupils will visit the Second World War exhibition at Clydebank Museum, facilitated by the council’s learning development staff, and take part in a question-and-answer session with a survivor of the Clydebank Blitz. Prior to this, they will watch the council’s film of Blitz memories, Singer, Sirens and Silent Heroes, as stimulus. This specially-commissioned film features the memories of 20 survivors of the Clydebank Blitz, who were children at the time and tell their story through the eyes of a child.
The poetry produced will be featured in a series of banners displayed in local branch libraries and in a series of bookmarks.
West Dunbartonshire Council’s head of culture, Gill Graham, said: “Weans’ War is a fantastic opportunity to ensure that the memories of war are never forgotten, enabling generations within communities to discover personal stories which have affected or involved their local area.”
