Figure 1.--Here we see a posed image of chidren playing. They are proably siblings done up by their parents. Actually they have mixed two scenes here. The boy in the helmet is depictung an Air Raid Warden. His job is to montorpreparations such as black out curtains. The nurse of course is to help save the wounded.

City children enjoyed street games. Those in the countryside had plenty of space to play while those in the town found bomb-sites good places to play. Many of the boys played war. Girls rarely participated in this. However there were dangers from objects found while playing. Some of these were exploded devices killed the children who picked up the object. There were dangers at the seaside from mines, which children found. This was a danger came when beaches were opened again for bathing after the War had finished. Many boys collected debris from downed aircraft or looked for shrapnel and other war-time artifacts. Much of the play was done on their own by the children, in supervised. Children at the time were not as closely monitored as is the case with modern children. We note photographs with the children were costumed. This of course could only be done with parents participating. We suspect this was the parents idea, but the children happily cooperating. Not only do the costumes show that the parents were involved, but this also explains that why a boy and girl were involved. Play at the time was generally a single gender activity. Girls in particular had no interest for the most part in playing war.

Created: 1:13 AM 4/27/2023
Last updated: 1:14 AM 4/27/2023