The Archive

Film of a School Shelter in War-time

A still from the film 'Air Raid Practice - Knoll School Hove' (1940)Screen Archive South East has film dating from 1940 showing the children of Knoll School in Hove practicing their air-raid drill. Knoll School had an air raid shelter (known as 'The Trenches') which was very similar to the one still standing at Whitehawk Primary School.

The children at Whitehawk watched the film to learn about what it was like at the school during the war and see what war-time children did when the air raid siren went off.

A still from the film 'Air Raid Practice - Knoll School Hove' (1940)As it is a 'silent' film, this provided an opportunity for the children to write scripts to read as 'commentaries' or 'voice-overs' for the film.

Watch video clips of the children's voice-overs.

Find out more about the original film on the Films from the Home Front website.

 

Films from the Home Front

Visit the companion website 'Films from the Home Front', which brings together a collection of unique moving images illustrating what life was like for ordinary people in Britain during the Second World War, as seen through amateur documentaries, newsreels, government films, and home movies.