Gentlemen of the Road (plus a shared reading and writing activity).

Most highwaymen were really just 'thugs' and not gentlemen of the road at all. However, one exception to this rule was Claude Duval. As his name suggests he was a Frenchman and he made a point of always being very gallant when robbing ladies. He once robbed a man of 100 and then insisted on dancing with the mans wife. Despite his charm he met the same fate as most highwaymen and in 1670 he was hanged. His gravestone contained this epitaph: "Here lies Duval, if male thou art, look to your purse, if female to thy heart." Perhaps the most famous highwayman of all is Dick Turpin. However, far from being a dashing hero who rode in one day from London to York on his horse Black Bess, Turpin was a ruffian who was quite prepared to torture his victims. As a young man, he led a brutal gang who broke into isolated farmhouses in Essex. He later teamed up with a fellowhighwayman, Tom King. King prided himself on being a dandy and had a reputation as a lovable rogue. However, he met his end when Turpin accidentally shot him when the pair were about to be arrested for stealing horses. Turpin escaped to Yorkshire where he changed his name to Palmer. He did not escape justice though because he carried on his criminal career and was finally arrested in York. He was sentenced to death and was taken through the streets of York in an open cart, bowing to the crowds he met on the way. When he reached his place of execution he sat beneath the gibbet and chatted to the executioner and the guards. Then when he had said all he wanted to say he stood up and threw himself off the platform to his death. He had lived a mean and squalid life but had died bravely. The highwayman who really did ride from London to York in one day was called Swift Nick Nevison. During the reign of King Charles the Second he robbed a sailor in Kent and then fled to York. This epic journey covered more than 190 miles and took him 15 hours. He was famous in his own time but in 1834 a writer called Harrison Ainsworth wrote a novel called Rookwood in which he had Dick Turpin and Black Bess make the legendary ride. Rookwood became a best seller and everyone forgot all about Swift Nick. Despite their daring and romantic reputations very few highwaymen lived to reach a ripe old age. Some were too stupid to avoid capture and one of the most accident prone, if not downright idiotic highwayman, was Dick Dunsdon. He caught his hand in a door-shutter when he was trying to break into a house. Then his two brothers had the brilliant idea of cutting off his arm to free him. Sadly for Dick he escaped but then bled to death. Many other highwaymen met their end when friends or accomplices betrayed them for the reward of blood money.

A Shared Reading and Writing Activity Shared reading activity: Make clear to the children that you want to give them an opportunity to develop note making skills. Explain that note taking will help them with their research into highwaymen. Show them the fact sheet Gentlemen of the Road and tell them that all information can be split into three sections: the theme, the main ideas and the details. Tell them you will demonstrate this using the information in the fact file. Shared writing activity: Ask them what the theme of this fact sheet is. (Highwaymen), what are the main ideas (Highwaymen were thieves. They were not romantic figures but cruel thugs. They werent very successful), and what are details, (They stole horses and broke into houses and well as holding people up. They were hanged when caught. Dick Turpin was a highwayman). Show them how to represent this information in the form of a wedge, e.g.

Theme

Main ideas

Details

Guided/ group & individual work: Now put the class into groups and give them each a short piece of factual information, e.g. All About Simon Simon is a highwayman. He robs stagecoaches. He is not very good at it. He usually forgets to bring his pistol. He has a girlfriend called Lizzie. Ask them to separate out the theme, the main ideas and the details using the wedge, e.g. Theme Simon Main ideas Hes a highwayman. Details Robs coaches. Hes hopeless Forgets gun Girlfriend- Lizzie

Plenary: Go through their finished work with them to see if they all agree on what constitutes the theme, the main ideas and the details. Roger Hurn 2012 www.roger-hurn.co.uk

Books by Roger Hurn For more books by Roger Hurn go to: www.roger-hurn.co.uk Three eBooks for children published by The Endeavour Press.

Something Wicked This Way Comes - This is a fantasy tale of a 14th century tragedy invading the present-day. The pace is fast, the danger lurking in woods and fairgrounds hugely credible and terrifying. With humour and scares taking turns on the page, this book will keep children (8-14) thrilled and engaged. urlm.in/moga The Eye of the Pharaoh - This thrilling story will captivate readers of all ages - as well as serving as the perfect introduction to the history of ancient Egypt. urlm.in/ngfs Once There Were Lions - It is 1939 and a gang of children who call themselves The Lions play happily in the back streets of London. They are totally unaware that their little world is about to be shattered beyond repair. War is declared and they, like thousands of others, are torn from their families and sent off to live with strangers in the countryside. This is their story. urlm.in/mxne Spook Squad Adventures Too Scary For Boys (Ransom Publishing http://www.ransom.co.uk/SpookSquad.html) Chosen by The Book Trust for their Bookbuzz list 2012

The Alien Detective Agency Series 1 & 2 (Reluctant readers; Badger Publishing www.badgerlearning.co.uk)