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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

school talk


trenchwalker

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next monday i have been ask to give a talk at hampstead heath private school

Hoorah :D

at this i get a chance to meet max arthur author of forgotten voices

and am

getting paid for

and have got my work experiance sought if i can find enough schools to fill 2 weeks.

hoorah

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Well done Trenchie, all the best. Just remember the 6 P's

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Well done Trench

Public speaking is a piece of cake, and enjoyable when you know what you are talking about, and you will if you take Roy's advice about the 6 P's. Remember you will probably know more about your subject than anyone else there.

Good luck

Tim

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Good luck with this, Martin. It'll be good for the students to hear about this from another young person instead of us old fogeys.

The others are right about the six Ps. If you are not sure this means, email me off-Forum and I'll tell you (to publsih "on-Forum" probably offends against the rules.

John

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i dont see why that should be offensive they teach us it in school for a level orals :blink:

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You're rght Martin its that old fogieism kicking in again, from someone who was taught that anything stronger than "bally" was a bit risque in mixed company!!

Tim

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Good luck with the talk. What will be your topic?

Always remember that your role is to convince your audience that there is only one way of looking at the topic - your way!

Tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em, tell 'em, and tell 'em what you 've told 'em! Your teachers have probably told you that one as well.

Max Arthur is also the author of "When this bloody war is over" - an excellent record of the words of the songs of the First World War.

Regards,

David

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Hi Martin!

Well done you! :) I hope you enjoy the experience.

In a former life, I’ve talked to adolescents in connection with war literature and always found them very responsive and interested. Start from where they are, not from where you are. I assume you’re meeting a mixed sex group? Perhaps have a think about how girls will respond to what you’re saying; if you want a few clues on this, PM me and I’ll try to help you, having been one once.

I think it’s helpful to have a few artefacts which you can pass round. Not bayonets, I suppose, but ones which are safe to handle. I have a large-ish collection of Second World War uniforms and objects which have been given to me (legitimately) by elderly men and relatives. I used to choose things to take in so that the students could dress up; and even being able to feel the weight and the roughness of uniforms awed them.

Once I asked students to act out a short script from literature as part of what I wanted to do with them. What they didn’t know was that beforehand, I’d secretly given one of them an oral capsule of stage blood, so when the dreadful moment arose that he was dramatically stabbed to death, he crumpled on the floor with blood pouring out of his mouth…

:o

Gwyn

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Well done Trenchie, all the best. Just remember the 6 P's

Good luck with the talk(s), Martin.

Remember that if the 6 P's fail, there's always the 3 B's to fall back on !!!! :P

Dave.

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Whe-hey Trenchie!

good going boy - make us proud eh!

Good point about the Max Arthur book about the songs. It is a great book for teenages, my neices loved it the first time they took a mooch through it.

Perhaps you could get some of the slightly more risque songs printed up on to sheets to hand out (show me a teen who doesn't think that they invented cussing!) to show that the boys at the front weren't too different in thought and deed to the kids of today (damned sight braver though!)

if you need anything to help you materials wise, give me a yell off forum.

Good luck!

Fleur

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I hope you enjoy the experience.

I assume you’re meeting a mixed sex group?

I think it’s helpful to have a few artefacts

i have done this before but only at the royal gunpowder mills with a script and after two week i was nearly a jibbering reck.

i will be going in uniform

the whole talk is about life in the trenches so and the life of a soldier so i will start in full kit with a stif cap and by the end of i will be with a S.B.R and battlebowler.

the school is a all boys if you want have a look at the school ave a butchers at there web site

http://www.ucs.org.uk/Index.htm

they have ask me to take in all i can so

i have a full set of kit

spades for cutting people in two.

trench clubs

grenades

gas masks

rifles pistols

and might be able to get hold of a vickers

i have also ask the teacher to send me a list of the schools role of honour. so i might research one of them to bring the talk closer to home.

and dont worry i will mention the forum

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[and dont worry i will mention the forum

Wow Martin

You're a star!

Your talk sounds great. Maybe you should start giving it at some of the Pals' get togethers?

Tim

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:( at a pal get together no you all probilly know more than me

but still you and play with all the lovely weaponary

any way a date has been set for the opening of our ww1 display at work . the second bank hoilday in may. will soon get the tickets soughted out and all the pals are invited .

will keep you all posted

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Good luck Martin - I really hope you enjoy it and your obvious enthusiasm will no doubt impress them.

The spade for cutting people in two might be useful to keep the group in order... :rolleyes:

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cheers paul that means alot to me.

an my trench club will come in handy too.

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If you are going in uniform with all that equipment you won't have any problem getting and keeping their attention. I've seen Taff Gillingham do his talk on uniform and equipment twice and everybody offered their full attention! If you have your de-activated rifle with you you could perhaps demonstrate the bolt action needed to do 15 rounds a minute - that is always a show-stopper. You'll have them all volunteering to help at the Gunpowder Mills before the end of the day!

Regards,

David

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well i have been told the school has a range so i might be able to get hold of some 22 blanks that will show them.

cheers to everyone

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Simply showing the action of the bolt on your de-activated rifle would be fine! That will give even the shooting club members a good idea of what the British Army marksmen could do.

Regards,

David

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Hi Martin

I don’t want to dampen your amazing enthusiasm, but I honestly think that if you’re planning to fire anything, even blanks, you need to check it out with the school first! I would be especially careful if the boys haven’t opted to be there – in other words, if the talk is compulsory – partly because you never know what’s in someone’s background which might be triggered by a big bang. (Eg. a lot of families have escaped to the UK from countries in war zones.)

I would hate to think of their parents complaining after all your work and energy. Other teachers mightn’t be too rapt by explosions from adjoining rooms either! It might be considered too distracting…

Gwyn

Oh, ps, if you’re planning in cutting anyone in two, make sure you’ve got some paper towels handy.

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ok m8

this has been suggested by the teacher and is waiting to be cleared this will probily be a end of the day thing to tie it all off. i dont do it im not bothered i do it most weekends anyway. :lol:

will let you know how i get on.

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:D well its was brilliant got 5 copies of forgotten voices by max arthur

had a great time , and have been invited back next year!!!!

the school was brilliant it was like steeping back to the time of the tommies.

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