Our new WW1 Battlefield Medicine workshops for schools are designed to support teaching and learning of the Edexcel ‘Medicine Through Time’ historic environment study: The British sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: injuries, treatment and the trenches.

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Sessions are led by myself and Richard Townsley – experienced historical interpreters with years of expertise in WW1 battlefield medicine and working in education – and aim to cover the content of the Edexcel GCSE Historic Environment study. Workshops are supported by hundreds of authentic artefacts, hands-on and role play activities and carefully-chosen period images and film; and – most importantly – they are based entirely upon the actual experiences of those who served Britain during the Great War.

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An authentically-uniformed Regimental Medical Officer and Royal Army Medical Corps Orderly will lead your students through a wide range of important topics including:

• Conditions in the trenches and how they impacted upon the health and wellbeing of soldiers, and how they affected the wounds, recovery and treatment of casualties

• Common trench illnesses including lice infestation, trench foot, PUO

• Wounding and disease agents, and their relative significance

• The introduction and effectiveness of personal protective equipment such as shrapnel helmets and gas masks

• The roles of the different medical staff working on the Western Front

• The Casualty Evacuation Chain from Battlefield to Blighty

• The legacy of Great War battlefield medicine – how experimentation, improvisation and innovation developed medical techniques and technologies leading to better care for Great War casualties and for everyone since

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Because of the high knowledge content of the topic and opportunities for hands on learning, we recommend sessions of 2-hour duration with groups of approximately class size; however, this is an ideal situation and we recognise that there are many constraints facing schools which may mean that this is impossible, so we always aim to be as flexible as possible in fitting in with you. Please feel free to discuss your school’s needs and opportunities with us – we don’t work to a script, so we’re happy to personalise the experience.

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We welcome a larger space for our workshops – a hall or drama studio, perhaps – as it allows students to move around during role-play/hands on activities; we’ll need access to the room for at least one hour before and one hour after the session(s) for set up and break down. We require AV facilities including sound and Internet access, enough chairs for students and some tables for displaying our artefacts.

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Our WW1 Battlefield Medicine package costs just £750 per day plus travel & expenses, great value for two specialist presenters, an extensive artefact collection and the convenience of an in-school experience.

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As previously stated, we aim to be flexible, and can also offer fully resourced workshops on other WW1 topics. Please talk to us by email frontlinelh@btinternet.com or phone 07973 537289 and tell us how we can support teaching and learning about the Great War in your school.