An Unforgettable Experience: Year 9 Tour the Battlefields of Ypres and the Somme
Friday 21 June 2024
MRS JULIA CURTIN, HEAD OF HISTORY
During Enrichment Week in June, Year 9 students experienced a moving and powerful two-day journey across Ypres and the Somme, which illustrated the realities of the scale of loss and bravery in World War One.
One day one, Amelie M and Emmy C were able to visit the graves of relatives and lay a wreath in remembrance of their families sacrifice. Eva G was also able to see the battle ground where her great great uncle fell.
We also visited both an allied cemetery, Lijssenthoek, and were able to spend time reading the individual inscriptions for some of the 10,500 buried there. Pupils were particularly interested in Nellie Spindler, a nurse who is the only woman in a military grave in Belgium. In Langemark, the German cemetery, we were struck by the scale of the mass grave containing at least 25,000 soldiers.
The Passchendaele museum provided an excellent interactive experience with an underground bunker trench system.
The final part of day one involved seeing the wreaths laid and the Last Post played at the Menin Gate. This act of remembrance has happened every evening at 8:30pm since 1928.
One day two, we awoke to a grey and rainy day, which provided a more realistic sense of the muddy, wet conditions that troops faced for weeks on end.
We headed to France and the Somme. Our first stop was at the Sunken Lane. Students learnt about the Battle of the Somme, Kitchener’s army and the PAL’s battalions. They were given the opportunity to try on uniform and handle weapons from the war.
We then had the unique opportunity to attend the funeral of a WW1 British soldier who had been found recently by a farmer whilst ploughing. Although he was identified as British, unfortunately his name could not be traced. The ceremony was very moving; he was given a military funeral with the Last Post played and he was finally laid to rest with his fallen comrades.
Next was Lochnagar crater to help understand the use of mine warfare in the Great War. Finally, our last stop was the Thiepval memorial to the missing. We observed a short act of remembrance and laid a wreath on behalf of Queenswood School.
Students and staff had a wonderful experience, which we will reflect upon for some time to come.
