Postcards from the past: Aged between 6–13? Enter our exciting lockdown competition
Have you always wanted to time travel? If you’re aged between 6 and 13, BBC History Revealed would love you to write a postcard, pretending that you are a historical character living in a historical lockdown
Enter our postcards from the past contest for a chance to be published in the magazine and win some prizes! Follow the competition on social media using #pastpostcards
Even with televisions, toys and the internet, life in lockdown for most people isn’t much fun. But imagine how life might have been in a medieval lockdown, or isolating in ancient Rome...
... well that’s exactly what we’d like you to do!
If you’re aged between 6 and 13, BBC History Revealed magazine would love you to write a postcard, pretending that you are a historical character living in a historical lockdown.
You might decide you’re a bored Henry VIII, writing from Hampton Court Palace in the 16th century; or perhaps you’re an ancient Egyptian slave, isolating with your master and running out of food.
How to enter
DOWNLOAD OUR PDF POSTCARD TEMPLATE
If you don’t have a printer at home, don’t worry – you can draw your own!
Choose a historical figure, and write a short letter to us from the perspective of that person. Imagine that they are in lockdown – what would they be thinking about?
We love great pictures at BBC History Revealed, so we’ve also included space for you to draw a picture of your character in lockdown.
And don’t forget to create a special stamp!
Example 1: Woody, aged 12, Bristol
Writing tips
Once you’ve decided on your character and period of history, you might want to do a bit of research into what life was actually like at the time they were living, to give you a bit of inspiration.
If you’ve chosen someone famous, find out a bit about them – what they liked doing, what they were good at. You’ll find loads of relevant content on HistoryExtra – so do some digging around.
- How did 8 famous figures deal with being in lockdown? Find out here
- Was Victorian life really so grim? 5 reasons why the Victorians were 'happy'
Once you’ve done some homework on your character, think about how they might be choosing to spend their time in lockdown. If you’ve chosen a writer or musician, perhaps you’ll decide that they would be writing a new book or piece of music, for example.
What do you think your character would be missing the most? Work? Friends? Family?
When you’re happy with your postcard, ask a parent or guardian to take a photograph of it and email the photo to photos@historyrevealed.com making sure you include your name, age and a general geographical location within the email itself. If you want some tips on how to submit the best possible photo of your postcard, please read our technical tips below.
We’ll post a selection of images here throughout the competition – so keep checking back to see if you’ve been featured. We’ll also share examples on our social media channels: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you’d like to share your creation on social media yourself, make sure you include the hashtag #pastpostcards so we can see it!
The competition is open to UK residents only, however we'd love to see postcards from our international followers and feature some of them on the website.
View some of the current entries here
Technical tips
- Where possible, write your postcard in pen, so that it’s easy to read on the final photograph
- Photos should be less than 10MB in size
- Try and make sure your postcard fills the entire photograph, so it’s nice and clear
- It is recommended that you take the photograph in landscape
Example 2: Annie, aged 7, Bristol
Prizes and closing date
The closing date for the competition is 1 July 2020. After that date, a panel of judges will choose 10 winners whose creations will be published in a future issue of BBC History Revealed.
The 10 winners will also receive a t-shirt, water bottle and framed picture of their postcard.
Read the full competition terms and conditions
Entries will judged on the following criteria
- Creativity shown in drawing, writing and ideas
- Demonstration of any historical knowledge of the character chosen
- Presentation of submission
Example 3: Betty, aged 8, Bristol
Need inspiration?
Don’t forget, if you’re struggling for ideas, there’s a wealth of content on HistoryExtra to give you some inspiration and get you started. (Please note that some of our articles may include references to historical violence; you can also find plenty of child-friendly history resources at BBC Bitesize)
Key characters you might like to research include:
- Elizabeth I
- Henry VIII
- Queen Victoria
- Winston Churchill
- Thomas Cromwell
- Anne Boleyn
- William Shakespeare
- Jane Austen
- Mary, Queen of Scots
- Martin Luther King
Browse more articles about key historical figures here
Example 4: By Freddie, aged 9, Bristol
About the magazine
BBC History Revealed brings the past to life for everyone
It’s an action-packed, image-rich magazine with zero stuffiness, jam-packed with facts, features and historical fun.
If you’re interested in finding out more about BBC History Revealed, why not try our 3 issues for £5 offer?
Read the full competition terms and conditions here
View some of the current entries here
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