Postcards from the past competition: the winners
The wait is over – we bring you the 10 winners of our recent lockdown competition...

In May this year, as the world was locking down, BBC History Revealed, with HistoryExtra, launched a competition for children aged 6–13 designed to challenge their historical knowledge and imagination. Their task: to write and draw a postcard from the perspective of a historical person living in a past lockdown.
The response has been amazing, with more than 600 children across the UK putting pen to paper and channelling their inner historians. The panel of judges was bowled over by the sheer variety of characters chosen – from Elizabeth I, Blackbeard the pirate and Martin Luther King, to Ötzi the Iceman, Boudicca and Samuel Pepys – as well as the artistic talent, imagination and breadth of historical knowledge.
Sadly, there could be only ten winners, whose postcards you can see below, as well as some bonus 'highly commended' entries. A huge thank you and well done to everyone who entered – your postcards brought many smiles to the whole magazine team.
Congratulations to all ten winners! All ten winning postcards will be published in the October issue of BBC History Revealed – on sale from 3 September.
Charlotte Hodgman
Editor, BBC History Revealed
The 10 winners
The following ten winners (in no particular order) all win a framed version of their postcard, a HistoryExtra T-shirt and a water bottle!
Annika Chapman
Age: 6
From: Bristol
Writing as: Mary, Queen of Scots
Judges' comments: “Captured the relationship between the two queens very well”

I’m happy that you can’t execute me.
I can’t do much because I’m self-isolating, but I’m having a fun time with my dog and son, James. Maybe we can meet up at the end of lockdown and be friends again and you won’t execute me.
Love Mary, Queen of Scots
Eva Bewicke
Age: 12
From: Tyne & Wear
Writing as: Anne Frank
Judges’ comments: “Great sense of atmosphere and a fantastic drawing”

Christopher Turner
Age: 13
From: London
Writing as: Nelson Mandela
Judges’ comments: “Moving and very inspiring”

Lucas Embery
Age: 9
From: Suffolk
Writing as: Charles Darwin
Judges’ comments: “We loved Darwin’s tortoise excitement!”

Charles Darwin
Ethan Davison
Age: 7
From: Essex
Writing as: Spartacus
Judges’ comments: “Loved the menacing drawing”

I’m having a fantastic time in lockdown because I’m not having to fight for my life just to entertain a crowd. It’s horrible fighting animals and gladiators in the gigantic Colosseum! I’ll try to escape if I can.
Love Spartacus
Erin Gray
Age: 11
From: East Yorkshire
Writing as: Katherine Johnson
Judges’ comments: “Great character choice and use of imagination”

Cameron Barnes
Age: 13
From: South Yorkshire
Writing as: Harald Hardrada
Judges’ comments: “Impressive knowledge of Viking games”

From, Harald Hardrada
Caitlin Rawden
Age: 9
From: Essex
Writing as: Henry VIII
Judges’ comments: “Excellent Tudor knowledge”

I am King, quarantine should not apply to me or my future wife. I am stuck at Rochester, waiting for Anne, and your infernal policy has her stuck in Deal. She’d better be worth this endless wait. You’ve promised me that she is as influential as Catherine was, that she is gentile, unlike the charming Anne, and as likely to give me a son as Jane. I have some faith in Holbein’s ability to portray her accurately as he did when he painted me. However, if I am not satisfied, heads will roll. I order you to lift this accursed lockdown now, regardless of what physicians are advising, or I will strip you of your titles and change the law anyway. HR
Emilia Harrison
Age: 8
From: Cheshire
Writing as: Thomas Becket
Judges’ comments: “Loved the drama and detail”

Thomas Becket
Luca Griffin
Age: 8
From: Worcestershire
Writing as: King Arthur
Judges’ comments: “Lovely drawing. Surely every garden needs an Excalibur!”

From King Arthur
Highly commended
There were so many fantastic postcards submitted that it was incredibly hard to choose the final 10 winners. Although sadly they don't qualify for a prize, check out some of our other favourite, 'highly commended' entries below...
Amelia Earhart – by Alice Hurd, 8, Essex

Boudicca – by Elizabeth Ansdell, 12, Kent

Hiawatha – by Mia Virgo-Cox, 12, South Yorkshire

Henry VIII – by Jasper Knowles, 8, Tyne & Wear

Edward III – by Max Farish, Surrey

From Edward III (the best English king, (personally))
Billy the Kid – by Rory Barry, 12, Herefordshire

Mary Shelley – by Ursula Newbould, Kent

You can also view a selection of the other fantastic entries here
The October issue of BBC History Revealed is on sale from 3 September 2020