LOCAL school children from Barry had fun learning about history when the Glamorgan Wartime Heritage Centre held a special evening event for them last month.

Six and seven year old Beaver Scouts from the Fifth Barry Scout Group visited the wartime museum located at Barry Island Railway Station, where a living historian Air Raid Warden entertained and educated the children by showing them the drills that school children had to learn during the dark days of the Second World War.

The children got to learn how to use a stirrup pump to put out fires, and sat in the museum’s real wartime ‘Anderson’ bomb shelter. The kids were also shown a wartime gas mask, and learned about the children evacuated to Barry during the Second World War.

To conclude the visit, the Beavers visited the museum’s Great War trench, and got to handle real equipment from the period. Many were moved when they saw their family names on the ‘Barry Roll of Honour’ on one of the trench walls.

The visit was organised by Barry at War volunteer Paul Tracy, who said: "The Glamorgan Wartime Heritage Centre is very hands on, which makes it ideal for helping to build an enthusiasm for learning history in the kids. When the parents came to collect them afterwards they were literally dragged into the tiny museum and shown around.

As a volunteer, it was great to see that after just a short time in the museum the kids had learned so much, including being able to quote when the Great War started.

Scout Leaders present were also impressed, and we hope to bring more young people’s organisations down to visit the museum throughout the summer. We hope also to be able to lay on a special ‘Evacuee Train’ for local kids as part of this year’s Barry Wartime Weekend event in August."

The Glamorgan Wartime Heritage Centre is open every Wednesday afternoon, from 2pm to 4pm and will be open on Easter Sunday, when the Barry Tourist Railway will also be running its heritage trains.

To find out more about the Glamorgan Wartime Heritage Centre or to book a visit for your organisation either see the website at www.wartimeglamorgan.co.uk or call Ade Pitman on 07930 874161.