The IBCC Teacher’s Pack

The IBCC provides a world-class facility acknowledging the efforts, sacrifices and commitment of the men and women, from 62 different nations, who came together in Command during WWII.

The project also covers the stories of those who suffered as a result of the bombing campaigns and those whose survival was guaranteed by the humanitarian operations of Bomber Command.

During WWII over a million men and women served or supported Bomber Command. They came from 62 nations across the world and were united in their efforts to protect the freedom we enjoy today. The service included Aircrew, Ground Crew, Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, Auxiliary Air Transport, Auxiliary Transport Services, NAAFI and many others.

Bomber Command suffered the highest losses of any unit during WWII but have struggled for recognition.

The site itself At the heart of the International Bomber Command Centre are the Memorial Spire and Walls of Names. The Spire commands stunning views across Lincoln, with a focus on the City’s ancient Cathedral, which served as a sighting point for crews flying from Lincolnshire. For many of the men named on the accompanying walls, the Cathedral provided their last sight of Britain. The Walls of Names surround the Memorial Spire in a series of circles framing the view of the City and the Cathedral. There are 270 individual panels and, as every life lost in Bomber Command was equal in sacrifice, the walls do not recognise rank or medals awarded.

The IBCC also features two peace gardens set across 10 acres of landscaped grounds. Each offer quiet, contemplative space and are free to access.

Our visitors centre is named in honour of Roy Chadwick, designer of the Lancaster bomber.

The Chadwick Centre uses state-of-the-art technology and interactive displays to tell the story of Bomber Command, through the eyes of those who witnessed events first-hand. Interviews with veterans of both Air and Ground Crew, and support staff from around the world, come together to create an Orchestra of Voices. There are accounts from survivors of the Allied bombing campaign, members of the Resistance Movement, and people affected by the influx of thousands of service personnel into their communities. In the 21st century, it is possible to commemorate the bravery of those who served, while recognising the complexity of the issues surrounding the targeting of civilian populations.

In the centre you will also find toilets, a gift shop selling a variety of pocket money priced items and The Hub Café, serving a daily menu of hot and cold drinks and meals. The Hub also offers special ration packs for our younger visitors, with a range of wholesome options.

Why Bring your School to the IBCC? The IBCC provides an engaging, flexible and effective learning experience by utilising a wide range of cross-curricular resources and subject areas specifically targeting Key Stages two and three. However, we also offer a range of activities for Key Stage one groups, available on request.

At the heart of what we deliver are strong human stories, from different points of view, that help young people to develop empathy with those who lived through these events and aid understanding of historical periods and events.

We offer Inclusive resources that reflect the diversity of those involved in events – local residents in ‘Bomber County’, ground crew, women volunteers, overseas airmen, children, victims of ‘area bombing’, intergenerational groups, relatives of those affected and cover the involvement of 60 nations in the fight for freedom.

Please contact the Learning Officer, Emily Robins ([email protected]) for further information about the Workshops on offer currently.

FAQS What do you offer?

Facilitated Visit:

Your class will receive a guided tour of both the exhibition and Memorial, this can be punctuated with a session in the learning room. These sessions can be mix and match of a STEM and SMSC activities.

Children are welcome to bring packed lunches to eat on the premises, but this needs to be highlighted in the booking process, so the space is kept available.

For a fully facilitated visit the cost is £5 per head, this includes a tour of the exhibition.

Self-Guided Visit:

Self-guided visits to IBCC are welcomed.

If you would like book a space to eat lunches this needs to be made clear in booking from.

Resources for Self-guided visits are currently being developed, however we are happy to provide clipboards, paper and pencils for your class to make notes as they explore the exhibition and Memorial.

Self-guided visits, including a visit to the exhibition, are priced at £2.50 per head

Self-guided visits which do not include the exhibition are free, but booking is required.

What are the costs?

£5 per head facilitated visit

£2.50 self-guided visit, including the exhibition

Pre- ordered ration packs, which will be individually named and kept chilled, are available including 5 items from our healthy menu. The packs also contain activities and a free gift. These are priced at £5.00 each

Access to memorial and peace gardens is free, but booking is still necessary

How do I book?

To book please complete our booking form (downloadable here) and email back to us, we will then be able to check availability and confirm your booking. Please do not book your transport until your booking has been confirmed.

How do I pay?

We will invoice you after your visit

Where do we go when we arrive?

Please report to reception desk on arrival.

Is there a designated lunch area?

We have a bookable lunch space in our learning suite which can be booked alongside your visit.

Can we leave coats and bags?

You are welcome to leave your coats and bags in the learning room, which will remain locked.

We suggest that you avoid bringing any large or bulky items, unless they are necessary.

Are all parts of the Centre accessible to wheelchair users?

The site is suitable for wheelchair users and the centre has disabled toilets and lifts. For those needing additional assistance we do have a number of assistive technology items available for use.

Risk Assessment?

Teachers and group leaders are advised to carry out a preliminary visit in advance of their school trip. However, we do have our own risk assessment which has been included in this pack.

PRE-VISIT

Before you bring your class to the IBCC, you may want to prepare your pupils using some of these activity/discussion ideas. More information about Bomber Command in WW2 can be found on our web site and in our IBCC fact sheet, included in this pack.

Introduction: What is an Interpretation Centre?

Has anyone been to one before?

Why are we visiting the IBCC?

What are we going to see at the IBCC? How can we find out?

How should we behave in a Memorial site?

Key Vocabulary that might be useful for your visit:

Blitz

Second World War

Air raid

Bomber Command

Aircraft

Remembrance

Reconciliation

Duty

Courage

Bravery

Innocence

Fear

Morale

Volunteers

Nations

Mascots

Class Activities: Investigative Journalists

Explain to the class that they have been commissioned to write an article about Bomber Command during the Second World War for a local magazine. They can begin researching in the classroom and continue it during their visit to the centre. See writing prompts below.

Writing prompts:

What was Bomber Command?

What was their role during the Second World War?

How many people served in Bomber Command and what were the different roles for women and men?

Who was in charge of Bomber Command?

Why did people from different countries serve in Bomber Command?

Why was the reputation of Bomber Command different after the War?

Lancaster Crew

Bomber Command was unique in allowing their men to pick their own crews. For a Lancaster Bomber, a 7 Man crew was needed with each man having their own special role. (Descriptions of the roles can be found on the IBCC fact sheet)

These roles included:

Pilot

Navigator

Wireless Operator

Bomb Aimer

Flight Engineer

Rear Gunner

Upper/Mid Gunner

Each member of the crew wore a badge on their uniform which highlighted their role within the crew. These badges were called Brevets.

Ask the class to get into groups of seven, in groups allow them to assign roles and design their own team brevets which they can make into badges to wear.

You can photocopy our Brevet Templates for your class to cut out and colour or ask them to design their own from scratch. These can then be glued onto card and made into badges, attached with a safety pin and a bit of tape on the back of the card.

Brevet Templates can be found in this pack.

Ask your class to imagine what it would have been like to fly on a bomber operation, how would they feel? Would they be scared or excited? What would the plane smell like? What can they hear going on around them?

Other aircraft had different sized crews, which can be used if the class can’t make up full sets of seven for the Lancaster crew

Wellington Bomber (crew of six)

Pilot

Radio operator

Navigator/bomb aimer

Observer

Tail gunner

Waist gunner

Halifax (crew of eight )

Pilot

Navigator

Radio Operator

Flight Engineer

Bomb Aimer

Air Gunner

Mid Upper Gunner

Rear Gunner

Mosquito (crew of two)

Pilot

Navigator/bomb aimer

Post Visit Activity Ideas

Bomber Command

Bomber Boys will have had the opportunity to write and send letters home. How do think the content of these letters would have compared according to the nationality of the boys themselves? Use your own imagination to write a letter back to your family in a different country.

Using current regional and national newspapers, cut and paste words and phrases to make possible newspaper headlines to describe bomber Command at that time.

Find out what you can about the Bomber. Why do you think the Spire reflects the wing-span of the bomber? Design a poster that highlights the magnificence of the Spire and the Avro Lancaster Bomber.

Home Front

Have your whole class work together to create a wartime newspaper- articles about influx of airmen to Lincolnshire, evacuees, rationing, etc.

Students could act out a meeting between country children and evacuees (townies), with other roles for local adults such as host-parent, farmer and so on. Use the situation to explore children's reactions. What do the country children think of the new arrivals - and vice versa? There are many anecdotes in sources about kids from inner-city areas being surprised to see carrots growing in 'dirt', cows squirting milk, chickens laying eggs and so on.

Arrange a cookery class in school where students can make some genuine wartime food. Recipes can be found at the end of this pack. Where can you get the recipes?

Remembrance

The IBCC is the only place in the world where all these losses are commemorated. What message do you think this gives to families and friends associated with Bomber Command and how does it make them feel? Write a short poem about this.

There are almost 58,000 men and women named on this monument. They were of various ranks but only names are listed. Why do you think this is the case? Explore other lists of names on memorials and compare these to the ones at the IBCC. Are there any names that stand out to you? Why? The CWGC website is a good starting point for this: https://www.cwgc.org/

You could design your own war memorial to reflect your thoughts on Remembrance and its relevance today. Who will you commemorate and where will your memorial be located, and why?

What do you think of the poppy as symbol of remembrance? If you could design your own symbol of remembrance what would you choose and why?

Diversity

Consider how trees in the International Peace Garden have been planted to represent each of the 62 nations who served or supported Bomber Command. Explore some language associated with each country and compose a short ‘Multilanguage’ poster to illustrate this.

Over 45 nations are represented on the memorial. Create a collage using colours and shapes from the flags of these nations.

Right or Wrong?

Split the class in two and have one side come up with reasons why the bombing of the dams/area bombing (cities) was right and have the other side argue why it was wrong and have a debate. Discuss the moral implications and impact.

Bomber Command Fact sheet

 Bomber Command was formed in 1936, as part of the Royal Air Force.

 From 1940 it had an attacking role, targeting German industry and later- civilian populations in cities such as Dresden, and Cologne.

 This was known as a policy of ‘De-housing’, as it was thought that destroying homes and houses would lower the morale of the German people and help bring about the end of the war.

 Arthur Harris became Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command in 1942. He was in charge of the bombing campaigns against German civilians, which leaves him as a controversial figure in military history, despite the decision having been a political one.

 Although this strategic bombing of cities helped to end the war, it remains controversial as it caused the deaths of an estimated 600,000 German civilians and over 55,000 British, Commonwealth and Allied airmen.

 A Bomber Command Aircrew worked as a team, all had their individual roles but were reliant on each other to make sure the mission ran as a smoothly as possible. In a Lancaster Bomber there was a crew of seven.

o The Pilot- he flies the aircraft

o The Navigator- he is responsible for directing the pilot to the right location, as well as getting them back home again

o The Wireless Operator- he sends and receives messages to and from the base.

o The Bomb Aimer- He takes control of the plane during the bombing run, directing the pilot until the bombs had been released the bombing photograph was taken.

o The Flight Engineer- he helps the pilot with take-off and landing, as well as maintaining the planes systems.

o The Gunners- The gunners stay in their turrets for the whole flight, they warn the pilot of enemy planes approaching and return fire when needed.

 Operational flying was dangerous, and chances of survival varied widely. During the war 44% of aircrew were killed on operations, 12% were killed or wounded in non-operational accidents and 13% became prisoners of war.

 All aircrew were volunteers.

 Women were not allowed to be part of a Bomber Crew. However, they contributed to the war effort in different ways… For example, Women in the Women’s Auxiliary Airforce packed parachutes for the crews, as well as working as drivers, code breakers and wireless operators.

Brevet Templates

Carrot Biscuits Recipe

During the war carrots were used to sweeten cakes and biscuits when sugar was strictly rationed. Have a go at making your own carrot biscuits here!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon margarine

2 tablespoons sugar + a little extra

A few drops vanilla flavouring

4 tablespoons grated raw carrot

6 tablespoons Self Raising flour (or plain flour + a half teaspoon of baking powder).

Method:

Cream the fat and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in the flavouring and carrot.

Fold in the flour.

Form mixture into about 12 or 15 small balls.

Place each ball on a baking tray and flatten.

Sprinkle with sugar and bake in a brisk oven for 20 minutes.