Our senior pupils travelled to Ypres in Belgium last week for their annual Battlefields Trip. Accompanied by Normanhurst School, everyone travelled by coach and ferry through France to the Salient area of Belgium to learn about the individual stories of soldiers and their families.
The trips first stop was the Canadian National Vimy Memorial – a memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of the Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed in WW1. It also serves as a place to commemorate Canadian soldiers killed in France with no known grave. Whilst here the children got to experience walking through a set of preserved front line trenches.
The second day of the trip was spent at the Somme, with pupils visiting the High Wood memorial. They then travelled to the Lochnagar Crater which is still in existence today. This highlighted the impact of mine warfare in the Great War.
Pupils witnessed a special commemoration ceremony at the Commonwealth graves in Ypres. Our schools took wreathes of poppies which were laid at certain memorials and graves to pay our respects to the fallen.
Our coach passed through Passchendaele to visit the museum to experience life in the communication trenches in WW1. After the museum stop, they went to Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery to learn about the different allies and nations that fought in the war. Some pupils were able to identify their family surname on the memorial there.
It was an amazing trip – pupils learned about France and Belgium, about the war and about all the individuals who risked their life for their country.
