On 11
th June 25 History pupils ventured on a “Duck Tour” of central London. The group
included a mixture of years and members of History Film Club, contributors to FHM and New Historian
and others just wanting to come a long for a good time. Contrary to popular belief this is not
a tour to find ducks but involves being transported around London in a DUKW amphibious vehicle that
travels on road and water. These are the actual vehicles used during the D-Day Landings so
just being in one was a historical experience in itself! If you were wondering, they are
however painted bright yellow and do attract a lot of attention in the streets of London and even
more so when everyone was encouraged to “quack” and wave at various points.
Accompanied by our knowledgeable and witty guide Matthew we were transported around many of
London’s most famous sites including St James’ Palace, Whitehall and the Houses of Parliament-
where we caught the eye of the evening news teams waiting for MPs. We laughed at the tour
guide’s jokes and took in plenty of historical details along the way, much to the delight of Miss
Yates. We were praying the rain held off and thankfully it did but the breeze was strong
causing great distress to Mr Quinton’s hair. We then faced the peril of splashing into the
Thames down Vauxhall Bridge into the murky depths of the Thames where we seemed to sink lower and
lower in the water. We cruised up and down the river, snooped at the MPs taking a break from
parliament by the river, and then slowly made our way back to Waterloo for our drop-off
point. It was a trip with a little bit of learning and a lot of fun and one I am sure many
pupils will want to repeat next year. Quack!