A visit from Ms Lotte Moore
We were privileged to welcome a visitor to St Augustine’s Priory this week, someone who had lived through World War II and was committed to sharing her experiences with those for whom it is the distant past! Mrs Tomlinson reports:
‘On Wednesday 11th October, Upper II were visited by Ms Lotte Moore, who gave them a first person account of life as an evacuee in World War II. The girls were also able to buy signed copies of Lotte’s book, Lotte’s War!’
Here is what some of the girls thought about the talk:
Mollie Thomas said, ‘I thought Lotte Moore’s visit was very exciting and interesting. I loved learning about the rationing; tapioca was disgusting! I can’t believe how sad and frustrating it was to be evacuated, and from a real evacuee herself! Seeing a real gas mask and flask was awesome. It was amazing to hear how Lotte’s grandfather was saved from a bullet by a flask! I loved being able to take home a signed copy of Lotte’s War.
Coroico Bottomley added, ‘It was fascinating to hear from someone whose early life was so different from ours. I couldn’t believe how long the V2 bombs (doodlebugs) would have been. Lotte Moore had been evacuated to Herefordshire at the age of five and had to get used to being away from home, with a strict, unsympathetic matron supervising her boarding school. It amused us to hear that Lotte’s brother had nearly jumped on Winston Churchill in a swimming pool, without even knowing he was Prime Minister! We even held the flask that had saved Lotte’s grandfather’s life by taking a bullet in the middle. We saw what a ration book, gas mask and tail fin of a VI bomb looked like. We also saw what average rations looked like. The wobbly tapioca (frog spawn) looked disgusting!’
Mona Jabir continues, ‘Lotte Moore is a very creative person and she has a very interesting past in World War II. She told us all about how she was evacuated to Herefordshire. She explained how she loved it in the countryside, swimming (with no clothes on) and running free! But they had a matron who, if they didn’t sleep or were crying for their parents, would punish them by making them stay in bed while the others ran around. She told us how, when everyone heard a siren they grabbed their gas masks and rushed to a cave (which had no toilets!). After the talk we sang a lovely song she wrote called What is War?’
Thanuja Jeganathan, concludes, ‘Lotte Moore visited our school today. She had experienced a life of war, which really amazed me. My favourite part was when she explained about the evacuees going to Herefordshire. I found it really sad when she shared her feelings about leaving her family at only five years old. However, it was really funny when she told us about the matron at her boarding school. At the end we were very lucky to get our books signed and learn her song’.
