A POPULAR children’s project in Weymouth is in danger of closing due to a lack of volunteers.

The Nothe Evacuee team has entertained thousands of schoolchildren over the years with its recreation of how life was like in the war years.

The team, all of them willing and enthusiastic volunteers, is now appealing for new volunteers to help run the WW2 evacuee programme which runs through the school academic year.

Steven Booth, administration manager at the fort said being a volunteer involves working with primary school children and is extremely rewarding and lots of fun participating in role play, as well as a great learning opportunity of what actually happened at that time.

He said: “As many local schools will testify, the Nothe Fort’s Evacuee Experience is second to none when it comes to reliving blitz life in the 1940s.

“Schoolchildren have a great time engaging in this interactive and learning experience. We know from feedback from the children and teachers how much they enjoy their visits.”

The World War II Evacuee Experience for primary schoolchildren has become extremely popular and is designed to meet curriculum requirements.

Over the past four years the number of pupils and schools attending has increased from just over 1,000 to last year’s total of over 3,600.

Mr Booth added: “As the word gets about we have simply become a victim of our own success and struggling to meet demand, thus the reason to appeal for assistance.

“Sadly some schools had to be turned away as we had no more days available and our team were stretched to the limit. “Many of our existing volunteers are now residing on the mature side of life and we desperately need new blood.

“We do not want to lose this valuable educational experience to our schools and wider community. We would like to appeal to any retired teachers or teachers thinking about retiring to possibly consider giving this some thought.

“As with any voluntary organisation the fort relies on its volunteers who give their time freely. To meet this demand and accommodate any more schools in the future we need help. You don’t need to be a qualified teacher, just someone who enjoys working with children, doing a bit of role play and possess a sense of humour.”

Mr Booth is encouraging anyone interested in joining the group to talk to existing team members about the work they do.

He added: “Not only will you be supporting a local charity, in itself a worthy cause, but the education of our young children and the wider sense of community spirit that prevailed during the war years.”