Never Such Innocence visit Plymouth to to give children and young people from both service and civilian communities a voice on conflict.

The Never Such Innocence Community Roadshow was a day to remember at Plymouth Guildhall. Children and young people from Plymouth displayed their beautiful poetry, art, and songs to an audience of their peers and local dignitaries.

Never Such Innocence were invited to the west coast by Heather Ogburn on behalf of the Military Kids Club Heroes Plymouth Cluster. We were joined by three schools from Plymouth; Chaddlewood Primary School, Woodfield Primary School and Salisbury Road Primary School. Children from all three schools participated in the event, either by reading out poems or singing a song. All the children’s hard work was supported by all of our guests, including Mrs Patricia Southby-Tailyour, Deputy Lieutenant of Devon, Captain S C Martin LVO OBE RN, High Sheriff of Devon and Councillor Terri Beer, Deputy Lord Mayor of Plymouth.

After a welcome to the venue from Heather Ogburn, Councillor Terri Beer, Deputy Lord Mayor of Plymouth delivered a speech to the audience and thanked NSI for visiting Plymouth and providing young people with an opportunity to reflect on local history.

The Deputy Lord Mayor was followed onto stage by pupils from Salisbury Road Primary School who performed a song created during a songwriting workshop with 2019 Voice UK finalist and NSI Artist in Residence - Bethzienna Williams. The song focussed on the Plymouth Blitz and its impact on the community.

Following Salisbury Road Primary School, Lady Lucy French OBE, Founder and CEO of Never Such Innocence took to stage. Lady Lucy French discussed the origins of Never Such Innocence, the development of the 2019/20 international competition, and informed all of the young people in attendance that they had become a part of the Never Such Innocence global movement!

Throughout the day there were many moving poems read by pupils from Chaddlewood Primary School and Woodfield Primary School. Poems created by students from Chaddlewood Primary School focussed on the evacuation of young people from Plymouth during the SecondWorld War, and were created during a poetry workshop facilitated by Never Such Innocence practitioner Rebecca Tantony.

We were also joined at the event by Rebecca Smith from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Rebecca gave a brief background about the work of the CWGC and highlighted sites in the local area.

For the big finale, a second group of pupils from Salisbury Road Primary School sang a song that they had written during a workshop with Bethzienna Williams. This time, the song explored the subsequent redevelopment of Plymouth following the Plymouth Blitz.

The event was hugely enjoyed by our guests, and Never Such Innocence is delighted to have had such a great response from local children and young People.