What does Victor the Veteran do?

I'm often asked what's in a workshop, so here is a quick description of a basic 'Victor the Veteran' session.  I have to stress that I can and do deliver loads of other things, but as many primary schools want their children to 'Meet a Roman Soldier' here's what we could fit into an hour or a hour and a half.

I base the workshop on the idea of meeting a Roman Soldier, who will recruit the children in to the Army.  I am in costume and describe myself as an Evocatus or Veteran Soldier back in the Army after 25 years service. I try to work as interactivity as possible, with plenty of movement, almost all of my equipment and armour is replica and can be handled by the children, I have tunics for the children to wear and wooden shields and foam 'spears' to use when drilling the group.

The session will be;

• Introduce myself and talk briefly about the people living in the area before the Romans, question and answer as to why they might want to join the Army.
• I recruit them and check if they are fit for duty (with as much movement as the space will allow).
• Using a couple of volunteers show the dress and equipment of a Legionary and Auxiliary soldier.
• Dress the group in tunics, issue them with shields and weapons and drill them as recruits using Latin commands.
• Replicas to handle, including armour.

It's informative, fun and usually generates loads of questions from the children.  I can run this workshop almost anywhere, from a large classroom, school hall or playground to a site as part of a visit.

There is movement, plenty of language, both English and Latin and it is visual.  This way I can engage children with different learning styles.

I have a collection of replica objects, all with a bit of a story and all can be handled by the children.

If this interests you, please get in touch, I'm sure I can adapt it to your needs. 

Roy Lawson
rlwsn@btinternet.com
07960 125218