Summer Learning Journey

A period of Change (1870 - 1950)

Day 4 - Another World War (1939 - 1945)

At the end of the 1930s, the world has been shaken once more by the start of another World War (WWII). World War Two started on the 1st of September, 1939 when an army from Germany invaded a country called Poland. Two days later, England and France declared war on Germany and WWII began.

Activity 1 | An Eventful Experience 

WWII was made up of many battles and events. Follow this link to read more about the timeline of WWII.

Choose two key events and find out some more information about what happened on those days. On your blog, write a short summary of two events, including the names of people involved and where the event happened.

Timeline of WWII | Summary

> New Zealand declares war on Germany | 3 September 1939

Alongside Britain and Australia, New Zealand was one of the first countries to declare war on Germany after their attack in Poland.

> Evacuation at Dunkirk begins | 26 May 1940

The Dunkirk evacuation moved about 340,000 British, French and Belgian (allied) soldiers from Dunkirk to England.

Activity 2 | A Call to arms

Over the course of WWII, approximately 140,000 New Zealanders were sent overseas to serve in the war. Many were sent to fight in huge battles, including the Battle of the Atlantic that lasted for 2064 days (over 5 years)! The Battle of the Atlantic came to an end in 1943, in large part due to the heroic efforts of people like Lloyd Trigg, a pilot from New Zealand. He was awarded a special medal from the New Zealand Government for his bravery. It is called a Victoria Cross (‘VC’ for short). A total of 22 New Zealanders have been awarded VCs.

Click on this link to find a list of VC winners. Choose one from the Second World War, and read about him. On your blog tell us about him. Who was he? What did he do to earn a Victoria Cross medal?

Te Moananui-a-Kiwa Ngarimu

Te Moananui was the first Maori soldier to win a VC. His job was to knock out machine gun posts and to capture the crest. He was shot in the arm and leg but didn't leave his position. He died the next morning and his VC was given to his parents on 06 October 1943.

Bonus Activity | Women at Work

Both men and women served in World War II. Many women chose to enlist as nurses and be stationed overseas caring for wounded soldiers. My nana was one of those nurses. She (Dorothy) spent much of World War II working on a large Red Cross ship that was stationed off the coast of Cairo, Egypt.   

For this activity, you are going to imagine that you are just like Dorothy and that you are working as a nurse on a large medical ship.

One day you are walking along the deck of the ship when you hear a loud bang. You start to run as you see smoke coming from the far end of the ship. You run towards the room where your patients are waiting to receive treatment from the doctor. Just as you arrive at the door to their room you hear another loud bang and you…

Complete the story provided above. To earn full points you must write, at least, 8-10 sentences. What happens next?

Just as you arrive at the door to their room you hear another loud bang and you start running to all the patients in the room "Bang!" I start to help wounded soldiers walk out of the room, they are limping so I put their arm over me and walk with them outside the room. "Bang!" I start to panic, will everyone get to safety? Where are the doctors? "Hey! What's going on?" "Bang!"

"Doctor!" I shout. He straight away knows what's happening and quickly grabs anyone who is still inside the room. "Bang!" Everyone around me are trembling with fear and breathing heavily. We wait till the next noise. Nothing. Everyone gets up. No one's hurt.

Everyone's Okay, what a relief.