The Machine Gunners

Product Information

The Robert Westall Box Set: The Machine Gunners; The Cats of Seroster; The Watch House; A Time of Fire; Blitzcat; Stormsearch; Fathom Five (BOX SET WITH SLIPCASE)

The Machine Gunners (Literature) - TV Tropes The Machine Gunners (Literature) - TV Tropes

No Communities Were Harmed: Garmouth is a fairly obvious version of real North Eastern town, Tynemouth, where Westall was born and raised. At least, to anyone familiar with the area. chas is my favorite character because he is outgoing and he has a gun collection the second best in his school. Consider how young people lived in the 1940s and how this compares to the lives of young people today. I have finished reading The Machine gunners finally! it was a really good book, it was very interesting, especially when they found the machine gun. I mean if you found a machine gun you would go mental, haha. Overall this book was a great read, i read it in 3 days of the holidays. i would definitly read another book from Robert Westall, War Adventures [ Box Set. ] There's No Escape. What About Me? Great Escape Stories. The Machine-Gunners. FireweedThe novel treats this rather cynically, however, by the sheer fact that Chas was outnumbered by a gang of bigger boys who would have beaten Chas to a pulp had Chas not used his weapon, and the self-righteousness of the adults is undercut with an element of hypocrisy in that there are rather a lot of British boys fighting a war with guns (i.e. weapons) at that very moment. It's the middle of the night when three church bells ring; the Germans are raiding Garmouth on foot. Chas, Audrey, and Cem, much to their parents worry, run out of the bomb shelter to fort Caparetto.

The Machine Gunners - Wikipedia

The book is set in the North East of England near to where I grew up so it was nice to read about places I've been to. Westall paints a very realistic picture as to what life was like during the blitz; the food shortages, the constant stress of being bombed, the fear of being invaded. Allow time to explore the historical context of the story, and explore the comparison between the different motives of the nations who took part in World War Two. Supporting resources are available from the National Archives. It Works Better with Bullets: After surrendering to what he thinks is a group of soldiers armed with a machine gun, Rudi is annoyed to find it's a bunch of kids whose machine gun doesn't work. Westall won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's outstanding children's book by a British subject, [2] and Machine Gunners was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works for the 70th anniversary celebration in 2007, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite. [3] Plot summary [ edit ] A group of school aged children in a small coastal Northeast English town join the fight against the Germans in WWII. Their adventure begins when Chas, the main characters, finds a downed German plan with its machine gun intact. With the help of some friends, they remove, transport and hid this still operational weapon.And this one by Rachel Anderson will keep you glued to your seat. Set in the future, rather than the past, but don't let that put you off: My favourite part of the book is when Chas McGill, the main character is being chased by Chas' enemy, Boddser Brown, through the makeshift marshes in Garmouth. I found this passage very thrilling and it encouraged me to read on. Rudi spends another week or so crawling around and scavenging, then eventually, when trying to seek a home in the bushes, finds the children. Machine-Gun Squadron : The 20th Machine Gunners from British Yeomanry Regiments in the Middle East Cammpaign of the First World War

English KS2: The Machine Gunners - BBC Teach English KS2: The Machine Gunners - BBC Teach

The Bully: Boddser Brown, the Garmouth Grammar School bully and Chas' most avid rival in the great game of collecting war souvenirs. Dumb Muscle: Played somewhat literally in the form of John Barrowlee, a disabled adult with the mental age of a young child. Chas and friends recruit John to help them build their fort because he's so much stronger than any of them. He's not actually mute, but the only thing he's able to say coherently is "Where you going now?" The Machine Gunners, published in 1975, was the first novel written by English childrens and Young Adult author, Robert Westall. Based on his own experiences as a child in Tynemouth during The Blitz, the book is the story of Charles "Chas" McGill, a young schoolboy who collects 'war souvenirs'; pieces of fallen bomb, shrapnel from Anti-Aircraft fire, and other detritus of the bombings. Oop North: Aye lad, we're gannin' oop North for this ane. Justified, since it's set in the North East of England and based on the writer's own childhood there.My dad brought me this book when I was 11 and studying war books at school. He'd read it when he was studying and had enjoyed it so much that he thought I'd love it. I'm not too sure why but I put it off for so long but after 10 years, I finally decided to read it and I'm so glad I did! Whilst it wasn't 100% what to expect, I really enjoyed it. Like much of Westall's work, this book is set in WW2 England, where boys' idea of fun is to collect assorted debris from the carnage of the Blitz (bits of planes and bombs, with the nose-cone of a Messerschmitt the ultimate prize). But when some boys find something rather larger, and more dangerous, they decide that they can play a real role in the war effort. The Machine-Gunners also reminds me of this one by by Bernard Ashley, because it is a story about a young boy shouldering the burdens of war. So naturally I went from remembering it to owning it within the hour. And then it was but a short year or so before I rose to the top of my ever-growing To Read list.