Arms and the Child

This is one of those peaceful images of war from the National Army museum in Chelsea where Huttonian gave a Lunchtime Talk today. I thought it would be full of old folks refighting the Somme-there were some at my talk but the average visitor was about 12 years old, more girls than boys and part of school groups. One lot of primary school kids were given a presentation on weapons of the First World War and life in the trenches. All very hands on -how to strip and clean a Lee Enfield .303, aim a mortar, and arm a hand grenade-so relevant to modern inner city life. Some of the grenades were being tossed around like confetti at a Mafia wedding. I said (jokingly)to a teacher-I hope those are dummies and not live. Health and Safety worries flashed across her features. Gosh.. So do I. I better go and find out from someone She withdrew under heavy fire.

Some one must have panicked slightly as the exercise was cut short and the child soldiers retreated to the next demo-dressing up in combat gear and putting camoflage paint on each others faces. I asked another teacher what part of the school curriculum this represented.

' Appropriate Civics' apparently  ¶ 3:45 PM