Year 6 were visited by representatives from a village in Holland where Victor Rapley, a Greenwich man, was killed in action in 1945 along with two other soldiers serving in the Royal Artillery. They heard the incredible story of how Arie, whose father and grandfather held the post of Mayor of the village, got to meet Vic’s brothers and sisters when they were visiting the graves when he was 11 years old and how as he grew up he discovered that his own aunt had known the soldiers as she had had tea with the soldiers and waved cheerio to them as they went on patrol the night they were killed.
Our Dutch visitors shared the story of how the village will be remembering Vic and his two comrades on the 4th and 5th May as we mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Children from 2 schools in the village also joined us via video link to share the projects they are working on in preparation for the celebrations and certainly got us thinking about stories we can share with them about our families’ experiences of World War 2. As well as sharing our stories, the children in both schools were fascinated to see school children from another country face-to-face. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the schools and the village as we approach the VE Day anniversary in May.
