as written by Kent Primary School pupils

The Kent Story

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The Kent Story is a series of 11 books written by primary schoolchildren from across Kent. Each book has the same opening

chapter written by Paul Carter, Leader of Kent County Council.Children read what was written before and then added the nextinstalment of the tale. The project was created to celebrate the

National Year of Reading and encouraged pupils to use theirimaginations and to take an active role in reading and writing.

Of all the 11 books, the Thanet volume was a clear favourite and is the chapter that is published here today.

Many thanks to all the schools who offered to take part and tothe pupils, teachers and staff who helped create the Kent Story.

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The Kent Story

Opening chapter

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Matt Reagan entered the world on a sweltering, hot and humidmidsummer day in June 1920. No great surprise to his father, DickReagan, who, 18 months previously, had returned from the trenchesof the Somme to almost immediately marry his childhoodsweetheart, Rosie Bliss, the local blacksmith’s daughter. However, itwas a massive surprise, 20 minutes later, that a second child wasdelivered - a tiny 4½ lb baby girl to be named Lily Reagan.From their small farm cottage in Hunton, near Maidstone, the

Reagans lived a simple, basic life. Dick had been lucky throughout theFirst World War to avoid serious injury. When, as a 16 year old, hevolunteered to sign up for the army, seeking adventure along withfriends in the neighbourhood and his school, he had no idea of theatrocities that were to come. Few of his classmates and friendssurvived - but Dick had been lucky. His father, a solidly built man of Irish descent, had worked the land

on the local estate, showing extraordinary mechanical skills, and hadbeen put in charge of maintaining all the farm machinery, most beingmassive steam driven traction engines needing continuousmaintenance and ingenuity. Luckily Dick had inherited his father’s mechanical expertise and

was seen by the army to be more valuable maintaining the tanks,ambulances and support vehicles, rather than being placed in thetrenches on the front line. His survival was a result. Rosie, now the surprise mother of twins, Lily and Matt, was lying

exhausted from childbirth, happy, emotional and very tired. Mum hadwanted a boy, dad a girl; they both had their wish come true. England was recovering from the devastating effects of war. The

world was fast changing; farming was changing in their back yard.Innovation was all around them; cars, buses, and things calledaeroplanes that had appeared in great numbers during the war.

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Despite the devastation, the war had ceased. Dick and Rosie werehappy and optimistic for the future of the two small hearts pumpingin one cot at the foot of the bed, as the local doctor packed his bagto leave the family cottage in Hunton. What did the world have in store for little Lily and Matt…

Thanet

Schools that took part

Drapers Mills PrimaryBromstone Primary School

Upton Junior SchoolSt Peter-in-Thanet CEJ School

St Laurence in Thanet CEJ SchoolChrist Church CEJ School

Newington Community Primary School

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Eleven years later, Matt was happily digging in the garden with Lily,his sister. He felt something hard and rather unusual, not like a stone.He had found an antediluvian World War bomb. He remembered thestories his father, Dick, had told him when he was younger. He stoodthere gazing in amazement not knowing whether it was live or not.He knew that his picturesque cottage in Hunton, a village full oftranquillity, had nearly been destroyed in the war. He did not wantthe bomb to be successful this time.However, Lily, the bright and clever one, was getting suspicious of

seeing her brother peering at something she couldn’t see. Shescurried over just as Matt was about to touch the bomb. “No!” Lilyscreamed, as she pushed him away. She looked at the bomb withextraordinary amazement thinking how stupid Matt was. “That couldhave blown up,” she said.Matt did not reply, he just thought about what could have

happened and scuttled off towards the cottage. Lily felt sad. Matt wasliable to do something wrong. She felt the urge to tell dad.Dad was a solemn guy, very strict. When he heard the news, he

rushed outside trembling with fear. He called the bomb squad. Mattwas disgruntled, he had wanted to examine it further.Later, Matt told his father of his ambition to join the army. His

father was furious, but Matt was unequivocal, he was going to jointhe army, nothing would stand in his way.In 1939, at the start of World War II, Matt was to be part of the

Green Jackets and fight on the front line. He was excited, but whatwas going to happen?

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Matt started packing his bags. Frantically he shoved all sorts ofclothing into his bag. Tops, shorts, trousers and underwear all wentflying around the room as he struggled to find the things he wanted.He was in such a rush because all his family disagreed and weretrying to stop him. However, he knew what he wanted, he had madeup his mind and he was going to war.

By the time he had finished packing, his bag was bulging withvarious items. He lugged it down the stairs with a CRASH, a BASHand a THUMP! Matt’s father ran to the door and blocked it,desperately trying to stop him.“Son, please think about what you’re doing!” said Dick.Matt replied: “Dad, I know what I’m doing! Please trust me!”

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Lily and Rosie rushed out to see what all the noise was about.“Where are you going?” asked Lily, “You’re not actually going to

leave us are you?”“Yes, I am going to the front line,” Matt said.There was a moment of silence. Then suddenly he pushed his

father out of the way and ran out of the door.“Nooo!” Lily screamed and they all ran after him.Matt jumped into the army truck that was patiently waiting

outside. It started driving away so Dick, Rosie and Lily raced after it.They soon became breathless and stopped, their eyes overflowingwith tears. Matt put on a brave face, but as soon as the truck wasround the corner he put his head in his hands and started crying.Had Matt made the right decision?

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The family staggered into the cottage in shock, still sobbinguncontrollably. Rosie sat perched in her chair. “How did we ever letour darling son go off to fight?” she sighed.For the rest of the day the atmosphere in the cottage was icy cold,

everyone feeling the pain of having a loved one in danger. This madeRosie in particular incredibly emotional and irritable. Tension levelswere high in the household and even their treasured cat, called Alice,knew something devastating had happened.This behaviour from the family carried on for many more weeks,

conversations often resulting in “Is he alright?” “What will we dowithout him?” and “We haven’t had a letter recently”. The family were considerably worried about their son, although

they still questioned themselves about what they should have doneon that horrific day. However, Matt’s overpowering yet caring sister,Lily, was spendingendless hours ponderingover his safety andlocation. But what theReagan family did notknow was that Mattwas just as depressedas they were.A year had gone by

and the family werefinding it intenselydifficult copingwithout Matt. Thesound of the postsliding through theletterbox urged thefamily to rush tothe door.

Dear Diary,It was a long journey to the base camp that I was allocated to. Itwas next to a city called Lille, in Northern France.I was feeling somewhat sorry for myself in the truck, even

though I knew that all the errors I had made that day were myown fault. I knew I should have listened to my family. However,there was a tiny part of me that did want an adventure in mylife and not just to grow old and die. I understand why at homethey didn’t want me to go, I am in huge danger. I suppose I wastrying to feel positive about doing this. Now, I have realised thatit was the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life.Several hours went by and I had still found it impossible to

get to sleep. There were several other lads in the trucks as wellas the Chief and driver. “How old are you sonny and are youfighting on the front line like the rest of us?” the driver askedme with a strong country accent. I choked a reply and then Ibegan to doze off with exhaustion from the whole day.

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This happened most days as they were anxious to see if a letter hadarrived from Matt. However, on a gloomy day late in May, they weredismayed by the shocking news that lay before them.The headline made Dick’s mind up. He’d been thinking about it for

many weeks, deliberating over the situation. Rosie read through thereport several times, tears rushing down her pale face. The truckdriver had told her that Matt would be fighting in Lille all those manymonths ago. Dick fled to the door, picked up his jacket and said hisfarewells, then made a quick exit. It was only then that Lily and Rosieunderstood what Dick was doing. He was catching the next boat atthe local harbour in search of his troubled son.

Germans attack French town LilleLuftwaffe bomb northern France causing huge damage to nearby towns

Luftwaffe activity

has increased in Lille

during the last two days

as tanks have moved

south ready for the

battle of France.

The damage they

have caused is

phenomenal and many

towns have been

affected. The Times has

been lucky enough to

interview a resident

from Lille who

experienced this

traumatic event.

“I was asleep at the

time when it happened.

I woke up to the

startling noise of the air

raid siren wailing. With

it still ringing loud, I

went to find my two

possessions. The

children started to

gabble numerous

questions at me in a

sudden panic. Three

precious minutes later,

we were safe and

protected from the

Luftwaffe above. We

could hear everything

being destroyed. It was

the worst experience of

my life,” explained the

lady living in Lille.

What many French

and British troops were

asking themselves is if

they should evacuate

from Lille, or even

France. The worries of

these troops were

necessary as, yesterday

afternoon, 48,300

troops were evacuated

from Dunkirk. Not only

have they been

evacuated, but there is

a total of 53,823 troops

that have been

evacuated between

27th May and today.

Also, 126,606 troops

have landed in

England. Many people

fear that this is

nowhere near the end

of the attack on France.

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Dick sped out of the door, hoping his son was still alive. He randown the road, bashing into people, swerving in every direction, untilhe reached the train station. When he gotthere the queue for tickets wasenormous! He quickly slid past a tall,crooked man to get in front of him inthe queue. Dick kept checking hisgrandfather’s pocket watch and slowlyhis great, heavy boots lifted from theground and made their way towardsthe ticket booth.“One ticket to Ramsgate please,”

Dick asked hastily.“Of course sir,” replied the lady in

the booth, “that’ll be three shillingsplease.”Dick reached for his pocket and

got his wallet out. As he pulled the coins out, he noticedsomething in there with them. He reached in and grasped the photoof his son and clutched it close to his heart.“Don’t worry son, I’m coming,” Dick thought silently in his head.

The lady gave him a ticket and he headed off to the platform. Hestepped onto the train and began his one hour journey. His mindbuzzing all the time.Soon he got there. He stepped on the platform and smelt the

smoke coming from the boats. It was a big change from the fresh seaair. As he ran down to the bustling harbour he saw thousands ofsoldiers. They were wearing khaki green uniforms and matching hats.Some had medals on and some were leading troops out of the town.They all looked tired, muddy and wet. The smell as they went pastwas nauseating. They obviously hadn’t had a shower in weeks! Allover the promenade were little canvas tents, heaving with worried

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and confused people.Dick made his way towards the check point where a busy sergeant

was typing on a clackety old typewriter, muttering every now andagain as the ribbon jammed. “Excuse me. I know you’re busy, but do you know if a boy called

Matt Reagan has checked in yet? He was fighting on the front line,”asked Dick.“Don’t you think I have enough work on already, typing with this

stupid typewriter that keeps jamming and typing in every last soldierthat has come through those two harbour walls. I have no time tocheck thousands of lists just for one man!” replied the sergeantangrily.“Please, I promise it won’t take a minute!” Dick pleaded.“No I can’t. Now go away! There are soldiers injured behind you

waiting to get checked,” grumbled the sergeant.Dick waited with trepidation away from the sergeant and looked

around the harbour. He could see small fishing boats and yachtsfilled with soldiers coming into the harbour. He made his waytowards the hospital tents to see if his son was in there. The tentwas full of nurses and injured soldiers and sergeants. Bandagescovered their legs and arms and blood was on them. He looked inevery bed, asked every nurse, but no one had seen Matt. He lookedagain and again and it wasn’t until the third time he looked that hesaw Frank. Frank was Matt’s best friend. Dick looked down at Frank.He was covered, head to toe, in bandages and sadly, his arm hadbeen amputated.Frank looked pleased to see a familiar face. Dick asked him this

one simple question and he knew at once what he must do!“Is there any news about Matt?”Frank began his story. “Ok, I’ll tell you” he said. “Our barracks

were totally destroyed by the Luftwaffe bombers and tanks. Me, Mattand two other soldiers ran to a rickety, old, wooden boat. We

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slipped on our life jackets and began to row out of the war harbour.Suddenly, a torpedo plane, being chased by three English fighterplanes, soared over our heads. It dropped all of its torpedoes, tolighten its load. One of the torpedoes hit our ship dead in the middle.The boat smashed in half and splinters of wood flew everywhere! “I was separated from Matt. Me and the two other soldiers were

on one side and Matt was on the other. I hurt my arm badly.Suddenly another torpedo hit my side of the boat. I jumped off, butthe other two soldiers weren’t as lucky, they went down with theboat remains. Nobody saw what happened to Matt, patrol planeswere still going over the spot well after midnight. The patrol planesgave up soon after the first light of day. Nobody knows whathappened to Matt, whether he died or survived. And that is my story.”There was a stunned silence. Then, suddenly, Dick grabbed Frank

by the collar and began to shake him vigorously, then growledthrough gritted teeth, “Show me where this happened, NOW!”Frank looked frightened and shouted feebly, “Let me go, I…I…I

will draw you a map.” Other soldiers and the nurses were watchingnow. Dick let go of Frank.Frank began to draw his map. He gave it to Dick and Dick gave him

a quick nod of thanks. He swiftly ran out of the medical tent, off onhis new adventure and hopefully to find Matt.The sea was calm, however, Dick was not. His stomach felt like it

was turning inside out. He glanced down at the icy waters of theChannel, wondering miserably if his beloved son was down there.With a final sickening jolt, the boat reached the shore. His handsbegan to shake uncontrollably. Stepping out of the vessel, he clutchedthe picture of his cherished son.“I’m coming…” he gently whispered to the picture. Looking round

at the sandy beaches, Dick’s eyes could make out pinpricks of lightahead and his ears could pick out the sound - murmured voices upahead. With a rising spirit, Dick headed towards the whispering

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sound. Upon reaching the dismal sand dunes, unsmiling faces greetedhim before someone pointed out that he was British.Then, before Dick had time to draw breath, a stampede of people

was heading towards him. The sea waves almost crushing him.Suddenly realisation hit him as the boat began to shrink from view.He was stranded.Tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes as he thought

about his family. He hadn’t even said goodbye to them. Through thelimited blurry vision he got from his terrified eyes, he could see

somethingglittering. With athumping hearthe reached outand grabbed theshining objectfrom where it layhalf buried insand. It was hisson’s treasuredstopwatch that hehimself had givenhim for hisbirthday ten yearsago. Stumbling ashe got up, Dicklooked out to seapraying that hiswife, daughter andson were all safe.But were they?

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Meanwhile, back in Hunton Village, all was peaceful and calm, a farcry from the hustle and bustle Dick had previously encountered. Lilywas staring out of her bedroom window thinking about her dad andbrother. A million questions flashing through her mind. Had her dadfound Matt? Was Matt safe? She knew he was still alive, she sensed it,like she always had. Being Matt’s twin meant there had always been aspecial bond between them, even though he was the adventurousone out of the two and Lily the more serious, thoughtful one - theycouldn’t have been more different.Her mind suddenly started wandering back to the good times she

had shared with Matt. The warm, sunny day in June when they hadmoved to their house in Hunton village. They had both been 10years old and were extremely excited, running around discoveringevery room of the house. Out in the garden had been a huge oaktree with a small wooden tree house. There was a rickety ladderleading up and Matt was the first to climb it. It had been his specialplace from that day.A flicker of light caught Lily’s eye and brought her back to the

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present time. The light was coming from the corner of the gardenwhere the oak tree still stood and the now old wooden tree house.Flicker, flicker the light went again, as if someone was turning a torchon and off. Slowly she pulled on her coat and boots feelingsomewhat apprehensive about what she was about to do. Shefumbled in the dark for the keys to the back door and opened itcautiously. The cold night air hit her face and made her wrap hercoat tighter around her as if to protect her further. Lily steppedonto the damp grass and made her way towards the tree house.Despite the cold night, Lily had a sudden warm feeling inside. She hadfelt it many times before, but only when Matt had been around.

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As she got nearer to the tree house she could see the silhouetteof someone inside. Flicker, flicker went the light again. This time shecould see clearly who was up there. She ran, almost tripping, andclambered up the wooden ladder and there sat Matt, at least itlooked like Matt. He was extremely dirty and had at least a twoweek growth of hair on his face. “Hiya sis, took your time!” said Matt. At first, Lily was speechless,

not really knowing if she was dreaming or not. “Welcome home Matt,” gasped Lily.Several days later, and many hours of catching up with the tales of

Matt’s wartime adventures, there was a knock at the door. In burstDick, looking a little worse for wear. In his hand he was still clutchingMatt’s glittering stop watch.“Where did you find that?” asked Matt.“It’s a long story!” answered Dick, “but I knew you would always

come home.”