History For Kids: Tommy's History Adventures!

 Tommy’s History Adventures: Tommy And 1066

Tommy is a 10 year boy who lives with his Mum and Dad and his two sisters. In most ways, Tommy is like most other children his age. He likes going to the park and playing with his friends. He likes watching cartoons and he likes eating ice cream. Tommy also really likes History. It’s this last interest that makes Tommy a little bit different. Not that he likes History, lots of children like History although many don’t as well! No, what makes Tommy different is that he has a superpower! 

When you think of superpowers, you might think of a person who can fly or make themselves invisible. But Tommy’s superpower is that he can travel back in time! All he has to do is say the year and place he wants to visit and with a hop, skip and a jump, he gets taken back in time to that exact year and that exact place. For example, if Tommy wanted to see the Great Fire Of London in 1666, all Tommy would have to do is say London, 1666 and his Superpower would know exactly where to take him. Isn’t that cool? But don’t worry. Tommy is always safe. Nobody in the past knows he’s there and he can’t be hurt by anything that’s happened as he has a special protective pod to protect him. So, if he visited London in 1666, the fire wouldn’t be able to hurt him. And Tommy also has a special watch which he can set to however long he wants to stay in the year he visits. So, if he wanted to spend an hour in 1666, he’d set the timer on his watch to one hour. Although one hour doesn’t sound like a lot, events would move quicker than they normally do in real time so Tommy and whoever went with him could see as much as possible. Cool, eh?

Tommy has two friends called Tammy and James. They both know about Tommy’s superpower but are the only other children in the world, apart from Tommy’s sisters, who Tommy has told. As Tommy’s Dad said, if Tommy told everyone, then everybody would be asking Tommy to take them back in time and Tommy wouldn’t have time to do anything else! Tommy knew he could trust both Tammy and James not to blab his secrets to anyone else as they had all been best friends for years.

This is Tammy, who is one of Tommy’s best friends!

One day, Tommy, Tammy and James were walking home from school. They were talking about the day they had. In the morning, they had Maths and English, after break Science and Geography and, after lunch, their favourite subject, HISTORY! Today, they had been learning all about the Battle of Hastings. Tommy asked the others if they thought King Harold II had really been hit in the eye with an arrow.

“Hmm, I’m not sure,” said Tammy, “Seems unlikely to me”.

“Well,”interjected James, “ William The Conqueror did have a lot of archers so it’s definitely possible!”

They argued all the way back to Tommy’s house which was the closest to the school. Tommy’s Mum invited Tammy and James in for a drink and a snack. They were both very hungry and, whatsmore, they wanted to continue their boisterous argument! So, they accepted and sat down on the sofa with their snacks and watched TV. Tommy’s favourite programme was on and he sat watching that contentedly but both Tammy and James were STILL arguing! This time they were arguing over whether… 

This is James who is Tommy’s other best friend!

…William The Conqueror was really the rightful king which is what caused the Battle of Hastings to be fought in the first place. Tommy was used to their squabbling but their loud talking was interrupting his programme, He turned the volume up and tried to ignore his friends. 

When the programme was over, Tommy got up.

“Right,” he said, “There’s only one thing for it. We’re going back in time!” 

For the first time in about an hour, Tammy and James finally shut up!

“Are you sure, Tommy?”asked James,”Will your Mum let us?”

Tommy’s Mum didn’t like Tommy going back in time. She worried he might get stuck there! Also, Tommy’s 

sisters, Amelia and Paige, didn’t have superpowers and became very jealous of Tommy when he used his time travelling ability which caused a lot of arguing! But even Tommy’s Mum knew she couldn’t let her son waste his superpower so she allowed him to use it once a month AS LONG AS one of her or Tommy’s Dad went with him.

“Yes, that’s fine.” Tommy’s Mum said when he asked her if he could go,”But Tammy and James can’t go!”

Tommy’s Mum didn’t like Tammy and James going as they weren’t her children. But this caused a lot of protest from Tommy’s two friends.

“My mum doesn’t care if i get lost or stuck or whatever!” Tammy argued. “She’s too busy at the betting shop!”

“And my Dad allows me to do anything!” James chirped up. After twenty minutes of arguing, Tommy’s Mum relented.

“But,” she said,”We’ll have to wait for your dad so one of us is here to watch Paige and Amelia!”

“Maybe they’ll want to come?” Tommy suggested.”I’ll go ask.”

Tommy asked if the girls wanted to come on this exciting journey. Neither girl said a word. Instead, in response, they both threw heavy books at Tommy which narrowly missed him. Tommy’s Dad came home from work at 4:30 PM and was instantly excited at the thought of going back in time. Tommy’s Dad was much more excitable than Tommy’s Mum and it was normally he who took Tommy on his incredible adventures.

“Remember, one hour and you must be back for dinner. It’s a school night!” Tommy’s Mum said. Tommy, his Dad, Tammy and James went into the back garden where they formed a line by holding hands. They then did a HOP! A SKIP AND A JUMP AND SHOUTED ENGLAND, 1066! The world started to spin. They were now going back in time!

Round and round they spun. The further back in time Tommy’s superpower had to go, the more it made him and his companions spin. And the Battle of Hastings was nearly a 1,000 years ago so that meant a lot of spinning. Eventually, they began to slow down and they landed with a thump. After taking a minute to get their bearings, Tommy, his Dad, Tammy and James looked around.

“Where are we?” James asked.

To answer his friend’s question, Tommy looked down at his watch which, apart from telling and controlling the time when he was in the past, could also tell Tommy where his exact location was.

“York,” he replied to James, “Or just outside of York.”

“Why are we in York? Thought we were going to Hastings?” Tommy’s Dad said, scratching his chin and looking bemused.

Tommy thought for a moment. 

“In 1066, there wasn’t just one battle in England. In fact, there wasn’t just two battles. There were THREE!”

“THREE!” Tommy’s Dad exclaimed!

“Yes! People know all about William The Conqueror and Harold II and Hastings but there was another man who thought he could or should be king of England. That was King Harold Hardrada of Norway!”

Harold Hardrada was a powerful and mighty king. His name Hardrada means “Hard Ruler” and It’s said that he was 7 feet tall! Hardrada had seen and done a lot of things in his life, travelling far and wide. Now he wanted to become king of England. Whether his right to become king of England was actually strong enough was something that WASN’T going to bother him!

King Harold II knew he had big problems. He was expecting an invasion from William, Duke of Normandy but knew he couldn’t ignore the danger from Hardrada. What made things worse for Harold II was that Hardrada was being helped in his invasion of England by Harold II’s own brother Tostig!

“So, in September 1066,” Tammy said, as they stood in a wet and soggy field in Yorkshire,” King Harold of England was in a really bad position! He faced invasions from both the North with Hardrada coming from Norway and William coming from the South, crossing the English channel”.

“Yes,” Tommy replied,” Harold knew he needed help in seeing off both dangers and he relied on two of his Northern nobles to try and beat Hardrada. The battle we are going to see first is called the Battle of Fulford and is one that not many people know about”.

After waiting for another couple of minutes, two armies began to appear, as if by magic, in front of Tommy’s eyes. At the same time, a bubble surrounded Tommy, his Dad and Tammy and James to shield them from all the flying arrows but still let them see the fierce fighting. On one side was the English army, on the other the Norwegians, led by Hardrada.

The battle began and was fought ferociously. It looked as though the English army were going to win!

“Hardrada’s going to lose!” Tommy’s Dad shouted!

“Oh no, he isn’t,” Tommy replied,” He’s got reinforcements!”

What the English didn’t know is that not all the men in Hardrada’s army had disembarked from their ships. As a result, they were late arrivals to the battle. 

“Look!” James said, pointing at some men marching in the distance. These were members of Hardrada’s army! As soon as they arrived, the course of the battle was changed and the English were defeated. If he didn’t know before, Harold II knew he had problems now!

“This is incredible!” Tommy’s Dad exclaimed. “It was during these exact moments that the course of this country’s history could have changed forever!” The children all nodded fervently in agreement. They were still processing what they had seen at Fulford when the scene in front of them changed. They were now standing near a river with a bridge crossing it. 

“Where are we now?” James asked.

“This must be Stamford Bridge!” Tammy responded excitedly.

“Where the Chelsea football team play?”

“NO!” Tammy laughed.”Where the Battle between Hardrada and Harold II was fought!”

After Hardrada’s victory at Fulford, Harold knew he had to respond quickly otherwise the King of Norway, with the help of Tostig, might make his army even bigger and capture towns across the North of England. Harold II gathered his men and marched up north.

The armies of Harold II and Hardrada fought fiercely. Both sides knew what was at stake. If Harold II won, he would then only have Duke William as his rival. If Hardrada won, he might be able to have himself crowned king of England! Eventually both Hardrada and his ally Tostig would die in the fighting and Harold II won the battle.

“Wow! That’s the end of Hardrada!”Tommy's dad said.

“Yep,”Tommy replied,”As brave a warrior as he was, it wasn’t meant to be for him that year.”

As Tommy, his Dad, Tammy and James watched on, they could see the English army were exhausted. They’d not only had to fight a hard battle but the march from the south to the north of England would have been tiring in itself. What they would hope for now was a nice, long period of rest.

But they wouldn’t get it! Soon, the English king had some unwanted news. Duke William had finally landed in England. This left Harold II with a problem. Did he give his men the rest they badly needed? Or did he go and meet the danger posed by William head on.

“The course of English history rested on this decision!”Tammy said excitedly.

“Ooh, yes.” Tommy’s Dad responded,”I wonder what he’ll do?” 

They soon had their answer. Harold and his men began their long march South where they would meet Duke William at Hastings. Tommy, his Dad, Tammy and James watched as the soldiers marched off into the distance before, suddenly, the scene in front of them changed again. This time they were stood on top of a hill.

“We’re at Hastings!” Tommy exclaimed excitedly. He didn’t even need to check his watch to know this. He knew that the English army had the advantage as they were at the top of the hill and Duke William’s Normans would have to charge up the hill to try and break through the enemy lines.

“Look, it’s King Harold!” James said, pointing to a man riding on his horse, in front of his men. He was shouting words of encouragement to his soldiers as they prepared to give battle. And soon, the fighting had begun!

The Normans charged up the hill time and time again and the loud clangs of swords rang through the air. 

“They’re not getting anywhere, are they?” Tommy’s Dad said in wonder as he watched the Normans being repulsed over and over again. He was right, the Normans made little progress for hours and hours (remember, time moved forward quicker for our Time Travellers then it did for the men in the battle). As the battle wore on, something caught Tommy’s eye. Some of the Normans appeared to be agitated. James had seen this also .

“Are they retreating?”He asked, pointing at some men who appeared to be leaving the battlefield.

“No,” Tommy responded,”At this point, a rumour had gone round that Duke William had died. He hadn’t and he had to make it known by lifting up his helmet!”

It was getting late in the day now and still the battle was a stalemate.

“Looks like the Normans are giving up now!” Tommy’s Dad shouted as it appeared that the Normans had really begun to retreat.Tommy’s dad didn’t know as much about History as his son.

“Oh no, they’re not!” Tommy replied. 

The Normans, sick and tired of trying the same tactic over and over again, had tried a different idea. To lure the English from their safe position on top of the hill, they pretended to flee the battle in large numbers. And the tactic worked, as Tammy explained.

“On seeing some of the Normans riding away,” she said,”some members of the English army, going against what King Harold had told them, broke away from the rest of the army and pursued the Normans.”

But it was a dastardly trick! The Normans doubled back and encircled the men who had been following them. Realising their mistake, the English tried to rejoin the rest of the army that had stayed in position. But it was no good.

“Look,” Tommy’s Dad shouted, “They’re all falling into a ditch!” The Normans had a dug a secret ditch that hindered the English escape. And now the rest of the English army joined in, desperate to help their countrymen. It was chaos! Duke William, at this point, ordered his archers to unleash a volley of arrows which came raining down on the English, including King Harold and…..BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP! Tommy, his Dad, Tammy and James all started at the noise.

“It’s my watch, our one hour is up!” Tommy said.

“Has it been an hour already? Time flies when you’re having fun!” Tommy’s Dad said excitedly.

“Time does fly when you come back in time thanks to this watch.”

Tommy, his Dad, Tammy and James all held hands, shouted HOME! And with a hop, skip and a jump, they arrived back at Tommy’s house.

Tommy’s Mum was waiting for them in the living room. 

“How was it?” She asked.

The four all burst into excited chatter as they told of the incredible things and people they had seen.

“Sounds fantastic,” she replied, barely stifling a yawn. Still buzzing, Tommy sat down at the dinner table, ready for some food. Time travelling was hungry work! Tommy’s Mum had offered Tammy and James some dinner but they decided to go home. 

“Thanks for that Tommy!” James said enthusiastically.

“Yeah,” Tammy chipped in,” I think that was my favourite adventure yet!”

“You say that every time!” Tommy replied grinning. After saying bye to his two friends, Tommy began to get stuck into his dinner which his Mum had ready early, as she did every time Tommy went on an adventure.

“Where’s your father?” Tommy’s Mum muttered. As she said this, Tommy heard a slow, rumbling noise coming from the living room. Tommy’s Dad was snoring the house down! 

“For goodness sake!” Tommy’s Mum muttered as she went to wake him. Grinning, Tommy carried on eating and started to daydream about all that he had seen that day.