Making World War One a Reality

As part of their History course, Year 9 pupils toured the Belgian battlefields during half-term.

The pupils visited the towns of Ypres, Vimy Ridge and the Somme Battlefield, all of which saw heavy casualties during the 1914-1918 war.  The pupils visited the memorial to the Canadians at Vimy before venturing into the underground tunnels to see first-hand how dark and petrifying it must have been for the soldiers; on the eve of battle, the soldiers stood for 38 hours in the dark waiting to go over the top.   

The group also walked across the infamous battlefield of the Somme at Newfoundland Park.  There they were able to witness first hand why Field Marshall Haig’s battle tactics were so disastrous.  They were shown and made to understand why, within the first hour of battle, the Newfoundland regiment lost nearly 90% of its men.    

During the trip, the pupils also visited the town of Ypres and went to the Cloth Hall, a museum which was completely destroyed during World War One and which has subsequently been rebuilt.  They also visited the moving Last Post Ceremony held in the town, before going to the Tyne Cot Cemetery.  The pupils paid homage to all the old boys from the Grammar School who lost their lives during World War One. Their names were read out in turn, before a minute's silence and the laying of the wreath on behalf of the school.   

Connor Whitely, Ben Holms and Henry Fielding describe the trip:

"It was good to go on this tour as it is not a family trip, but more to further our own education. The tunnels were a bit claustrophobic; the lights were turned off at one point during our visit so that you could see what the actual lighting  was like during the War. It was really dim and you had to reach out to feel the walls. Going into the original trenches made the War feel real. Some trenches were untouched. Going to the German soldiers’ cemetery was very sad, especially seeing how they were buried; their graves are very discreet with the stones laid out flat, and it is very grey, dark and very sad. You can see the contrast with the English cemetaries which are huge; each soldier has his own grave, with the name, date and a message. In contrast, the German cemetery is the size of a football field and has 35,000 soldiers in mass graves. The trip was a really good experience."