Funder: Heritage Lottery
Today it is cars and digital devices getting in the way of children’s play. But in 1914 it was DORA (aka the Defence of the Realm Act), a far-reaching piece of legislation that took effect within days of Britain entering the First World War and prevented kite flying, whistling and feeding the birds.
In 2016 this fascinating Heritage Lottery Funded project saw London Play working in primary schools across London, exploring how the draconian restrictions affected children’s play. Watch the film below, check out the teachers’ resources here or dip into the blog posts (further) below.
Children performed theatrical sketches to show audiences what they have learned about World War One and its impact on children's lives at that time. The performances covered everything from the Girl Guides' role in the war and young boys working in factories, to children’s parks being taken over by the military.
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Children in White City and Bethnal Green have embarked on an exciting exploration together to travel 100 years into the past to experience life during World War One. We have become…. DORA Explorers! (No, not the small Spanish kind... Explorers of World War One and the Defence of the Realm Act, aka DORA.)
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19 OCTOBER: Well yesterday was the project finale and what an event it was! Deep beneath the corridors of power in Churchill's wartime nerve centre, the Cabinet War Rooms provided a suitably atmospheric setting for the premiere of the film and celebration event to mark the end of the project.
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17 July: It's been confirmed that the end of project event will be on Friday 18 October at the Churchill War Rooms! What a fitting venue - Churchill’s wartime bunker is a fascinating piece of living history; an underground maze of rooms that once buzzed with round-the-clock planning and plotting, strategies and secrets.
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First month and launch of London Play’s Evacuee Play Trove project! Tomorrow I’m meeting with our partners, Museum of London and the Half Moon theatre. I’m very excited about the prospect of interviewing 30 former evacuees. Listening to their fascinating stories bring to life their experiences during the evacuation and their war time play experience.
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