Third Year Battlefields History Trip

At the beginning of the February half term holiday, 60 members of the Third Year accompanied the History Department on our annual trip to the World War One battlefields. 

On the first day we visited the Commonwealth war cemeteries of Essex Farm and Tyne Cot, before comparing these with the very different German cemetery at Langemarck. Even on a beautifully sunny day, this had a much darker feel to it, and we were all shocked by the mass grave which was the final resting place for over 20,000 German soldiers.  That evening we had the chance to watch the ‘Last Post’ ceremony at the Menin Gate and reflect on the huge number of soldiers who went missing during the Battle of Ypres. 

The following day we travelled to the Somme battlefield in northern France, site of one of the most notorious battles of the war.  The land in this area still showed the scars of the fighting, and one student even found some old ammunition, underlining how far the effects of the war are still being felt in this region. 

The final day saw the students back in the beautiful town of Ypres, visiting the ‘In Flanders Fields’ museum which helped to put the sites we had visited into context, and exploring the ‘underground war’ at Vimy Ridge.  This left just enough time to make the most of the local market and chocolate shops before starting our journey home. 

This was a moving and thought-provoking trip, and as always our guide Peter’s in-depth knowledge and personal accounts really helped to bring our classroom studies of the war to life. 

By Catherine Hill

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