The Machine Gunners

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Out at sea, Rudi finds he does not have the strength to row to German-occupied Norway and is forced back to England and rejoins the children at the fortress. I don't like the distinction that is made between books for different ages - a good book is a good book - and I would highly recommend this to younger and older people alike. It presents a whole other war, on the shores of England far from the real action, an echo of the fear and uncertainty that shook half the world. The Home Guard averts this trope with the Polish force after realizing that there was no enemy invasion and that the Poles were merely acting on their own to the rumors. Believing the Germans are invading helps Rudi overcome his reluctance at letting the kids have such a powerful gun.

The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall (9781447284161

Yet, looking past his selfishness, Chas is really just a scared 13 year old trying to make a safe, secure place for himself in a world at war, where the next bomb could be the one that destroys your whole life. For some Northern English school children during the Second World War, this worldview is deeply shaken when they make the acquaintance of a German soldier who survived after his plane crashed. 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.

And albeit I do know that some reviews for The Machine-Gunners seem to have some issues with Westall's story not being black and white (and that because Rudi is a German soldier he should of course be depicted as monstrous and despicable and not as friendship material), sorry, but what makes The Machine-Gunners such a great story for me is totally and utterly that Robert Westall textually has created with Rudi and the boys hiding him nuanced and wonderful heroes and that the true and horrid villains of The Machine-Gunners are war as an entity in and of itself and also the adults surrounding Chass and his compadres (those ignorant authority figures, including parents, who are willing to believe that anyone German is not only the enemy but also akin to a devil, that Rudi is simply a thing that needs to be destroyed). It is interesting because the language layout is old and quite hard to understand, but you get it if you say it aloud, thats why it's interesting. I also loved the way Rudi -the German rear-gunner who falls in Garmouth- cooperates with the children while staying at the fort under Audrey's care and fixing the machine gun for them. Mainly because it’s historical fiction set during WW2 and as a big HF reader I thought I would enjoy it. Macmillan first edition hardback, laminated pictorial boards, no dj; Very Good ex- library book, marks to fep where plate removed, usual stamps; UK dealer, immediate dispatch.

English KS2: The Machine Gunners - BBC Teach

Chas has the second best collection in school, so when he stumbles upon the engines of a German plane, he thinks he has hit pay dirt, until he discovers that one has been claimed by a boy and the other engine is being guarded by the Constable Fatty Hardy, who starts chasing him. Because authorities are keen to recover the missing gun, their movements are being tracked by a bumbling policeman, a suspicious teacher, and the neighborhood bully.A German pilot who survives a crash stumbles upon their base, changing the dynamic in the group, and his desire to escape coincides with a false invasion alarm and the confusion that results collides in a tense, emtional finale full of dramatic anticlimaxes. As the war moved north the unit was sent home, disbanded and the members dispersed as reinforcements across a wide range of units.

The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall - AbeBooks

However -with help from his loyal and caring friends- he manages everything until the night of the (fake) German attack. Consider the impact of rationing on people’s lives during World War Two, and also the role of the Black Market.The book won the Carnegie Medal in 1975 and was voted in 2007 as one of the ten most important children's novels of the last seven decades by the Carnegie Medal panel. Includes a bonus short story - 'The Haunting of Chas McGill' - and an extended biography of the author. The play was directed by Adam Penford [6] and starred Chris Coxon, David Kirkbride, Claire Sundin, Scott Turnbull, Matthew Brown and Michael Imerson. 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. Well, actually, the grown-ups are all anxious too, so they don't have a lot of spare energy for the emotional demands of the children.