HURSLEY children were treated to a unique history day when they learned about village life in the years leading to World War One.

Dressed as Mary Poppins, Parish chairman Eleanor Bell brought in old penny coins and photos from the village to John Keble Primary School for a day with the Year 6 students last week.

Cllr Bell said: “The children imagined themselves at a time when they were mostly quite poor with large families of brothers and sisters, spending any holidays from school working in the fields or in the home. Their job prospects would have included farm work and domestic service or, for the boys, maybe joining up and being sent to the far corners of the Empire.

“We look forward to another event in the autumn term when the children can explore the arrival of the soldiers in the village and the camp and imagine the dreadful winter of 1914 – the record that this year’s floods broke!”

Anyone with further artefacts or photos is urged to contact Cllr Bell in time for the next history lesson.