WW2 activity 1: Create an interactive bomb map of Folkestone

WW2 Resources WW2 bomb map of Folkestone

Overview

Children investigate the bombing of Folkestone using the WW2 Kent Herald bomb map. They research a few of the bomb sites, then use this material to create an interactive bomb map of Folkestone.

Learning objectives - Curriculum links

Introduction

Children investigate the WW2 bombing of Folkestone using the Kent Herald bomb map. See Learn with Objects WW2 1: bomb map.

They research a few of the bomb sites.

For Folkestone schools this might focus on bombs that fell close to your school or in streets children live today.

For non-Folkestone schools you may want to focus on areas children may know from a recent visit to the town, such as the High Street or Harbour.

Children can use this information and images, to create an interactive bomb map of Folkestone, highlighting a few stories they have researched.

Creative Activity: Create an interactive bomb map of Folkestone.

This could be created digitally as part of an ICT project, or physically as a piece of art or as an accurately plotted scale map.

It might include WW2 and modern-day photos, including ‘then and now’ images of bombsites and the modern buildings that occupy the sites today, film footage, photos of WW2 objects, recorded sounds and memories.

As part of the project, children could research the different kinds of bombs and shells that fell on the town.

Target Folkestone by Roy Humphreys (Meresborough Books, 1990, ISBN0948193514) includes details of every bomb, shell, parachute mine and V1 rocket attack on Folkestone in WW2. It is the best book to use when researching Folkestone bomb sites, street by street. It also includes lots of photos of bomb damage in the town. It is out of print, but copies should be available on line from suppliers such as Abe Books.

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/

Kent at War by Bob Ogley (Froglets Publications, 1994, ISBN 1 872337 82 1) is also a very useful book with much information about Folkestone and district as well as the rest of the county. Again, it is out of print, but copies should be available online.

The following websites also include much useful information.

Here are some great memories, including bomb and V1 rocket attacks on Folkestone, on the WW2 People’s War website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/92/a4003192.shtml

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/80/a2904680.shtml

There are thousands of other WW2 memories on the WW2 People’s War website, including other Folkestone stories.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/categories/index.shtml