Original version

School Radio

The Machine Gunners

Learning: Primary

1: The hunt for war souvenirs

Robert Westall's famous novel set during World War Two in the fictional town of Garmouth.

Listen to The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall, abridged in 10 episodes. Set during World War Two, The Machine Gunners is the story of young Chas McGill and his friends living in the fictional town of Garmouth in the north east of England. With Nazi planes raining bombs on Garmouth night after night, every boy has a collection of war souvenirs. But nothing comes close to the machine gun which Chas pulls down from a crashed German bomber plane. While the police and Home Guard search frantically for the missing gun, Chas and his friends build a secret fortress and plan to fight the Germans themselves.

Antony Byrne

Penny Leicester

Roland Taylor

Bridget Dowty

The Machine Gunners: 2: Keeping a secret

2: Keeping a secret

English KS2: The Machine Gunners. 2: Keeping a secret - BBC Teachdocumentaudioaudioaudio

Chas and his friends return to the crashed plane and saw down the machine gun.

Chas persuades his friends, Cem and Audrey, to return with him to the crashed plane and saw down the machine gun from its turret. As it falls, the machine gun discharges several rounds of bullets, attracting the attention of Constable Fatty Hardy. The children hide the gun down the leg of Cem’s Guy and carry it off on his bogie.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Machine Gunners

2: Keeping a secret

Contributors

Genres

Brand

School Radio