PUPILS from Robertswood School who interviewed Second World War veterans about growing up in war-time Britain displayed stories and memorabilia from the era at Bucks County Museum.

The exhibition was part of the school's recent Lottery-funded project "Their Past, Our Future", commemorating the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

In October, pupils visited London's Imperial War Museum, where they saw what air raid shelters were like in the Blitz Experience display.

And children at the school were visited by veterans who told them stories of what it was like growing up during the war.

Most were teenagers at the time and one was 18 and in active service.

The pupils spent several weeks preparing their own questions about rationing, bombing raids and their most frightening moments. Their exhibition at the county museum closed at Christmas.

Kay Durban, history co-ordinator at the school, supervised the interviews across three days.

She said: "The children were most surprised to find out that a special treat was nothing more than an orange or a banana.

"They learnt about the U-boats that bombed the merchant navy and stopped supplies from getting through.

"Normal things like eggs, cheese, sugar and margarine were rationed and people had to queue for what are now everyday items."

One veteran said the most frightening moment was tuning into the wireless radio on September 3, 1939, and hearing the Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announce Britain was at war with Germany.

Mrs Durban said there were poignant moments for everybody. Veterans drew on personal stories, while the children imagined the trauma of trying to live through such chaos.

Cllr Pam Bacon, of Chalfont St Peter, gave her own account to pupils. Her father was a serving officer in the army, which meant they didn't see each other for the duration of the war.

She said: "The children were very bright and asked a huge range of questions.

"They wanted to know everything what we ate, what cuddly toys we took into the air raid shelters and what happened at Christmas.

"There was also a lot of memorabilia.

"One chap put on a tinhelmet and worked the portable air-raid siren and some tried on the gas masks too.

"I remember getting my gas mask in 1938 and the awful smell of rubber that came with it.

"Though I never used it, we carried them everywhere in the house, outside and at school."

Cllr Bacon moved to Chalfont St Peter from Skegness in 1943.

One morning, while walking to school, she narrowly escaped being strafed by a German aeroplane.

She said: "Thankfully there was an empty ditch nearby so I ran for cover.

"You never mistook the sound of a doodlebug coming though.

"The engine would cut before you saw the tail-flame as it glided in.

"Then there was a thunderous boom as it hit. If you saw it fly over though, you knew you were safe.

"The V2 was much scarier. They would explode before you even heard it.

"It was a dangerous time even if you weren't a listed target.

"AKAK's would often release left-over bombs and petrol on their way back from bombing runs.

"Anything west of London was in the over-shoot area.

"I still feel a churning stomach when I hear an air-raid siren even after all these years.

"Every night in Skegness, my mother and I would hide under the kitchen table with candles, flasks and blankets.

"Gangs of boys went looking for trophies or bits of wreckage, but I collected the ticker-tape that got dropped to scatter our radar.

"On D-Day, I remember lying on the sand dunes by Sandy Rise, Chalfont Heights, and counting the aircraft flying over with white stripes on their wings.

"Tanks came driving through the village and on Gold Hill Common, there were canons, fireworks and bonfires."

Cllr Bacon, a historian, praised the approach of schools like Robertswood that teach history through first-hand experiences.

She said: "Teaching needs to be more than book-based.

"Inviting people in to relate their tales, while having objects from the era for pupils to physically handle, is hugely valuable."