Pastoral Panel for Parents, Fitzjames Theatre, until 1:00pm
An account from 3rd Form pupil, Stanley...
Our first day began with a very early start - we set off at 4am in order to reach Belgium by lunchtime. Quite a few people boarded the night before to get an extra half hour of sleep. The journey was quiet and easy, as everyone was still tired from the early start. When we arrived, we met our tour guide, John, who showed us around the town of Poperinge. We learnt about its fascinating history and how it served as a recovery area for soldiers during the First World War. After that, we visited Lijssenthoek Cemetery, the second-largest British cemetery in Belgium, with over 10,000 graves. One of the most memorable graves we saw was that of Nurse Spindler, a woman buried among the soldiers after dying in action. Rev Bev got us to think about the significance of the concept of sacrifice before Mr Hambleton ran us through it being expressed in a poem. After a busy first day, we finally arrived at our hotel, enjoyed a delicious supper, played some games in the games room, and then went off to bed.
The next morning, we were woken up by Mr Hambleton’s & Rev Bev’s bagpipe music before heading down for breakfast. We made our own packed lunches for the busy day ahead and were on the bus by 8am. Our first stop was Essex Farm, a small cemetery, where John told us about the heroic actions of V. J. Strudwick. This was a brief visit, as we then travelled to a medical site to learn how wounded soldiers were treated during the war. Next, we visited a battlefield where chlorine gas was first used and read some famous war poetry by Wilfred Owen. At lunchtime, we split into two groups - one group explored the museum while the other ate lunch, and then we swapped over. The museum was fascinating, featuring realistic underground bunkers and trenches. We then took a short bus ride to a German cemetery, where we learned about the differences between Allied and German graves. In the evening, we went out for supper and ended the day by attending a moving ceremony held by the Belgians to honour the soldiers who died protecting their land. We ended the day on a high with a visit to a Belgian chocolate shop, where we got to buy some amazing chocolates - with special discounts!
Our third day was our last full one, and we began by visiting two major memorials after having called in at the Devonshire Trench Cemetery. The first memorial was the Vimy Ridge Memorial, built to remember all the Canadians who lost their lives in WWI. The second was was Thiepval, a huge monument commemorating the unknown soldiers who died in the First World War. The arch-shaped structure symbolises the soldiers’ journey to heaven, and there are 73,357 names engraved upon it. After that, we went to Newfoundland Park, and listened to poetry and learnt about the Canadian and German trenches. Mr Fletcher explained the nature of the plans for the Battle of the Somme. We also re-enacted a trench raiding party with Rev Bev guiding us through an account from a soldier on the night before the Battle of the Somme - we crept up the exact same route he took. Back at the hotel, we enjoyed another great supper and celebrated Jack’s birthday.
On our final day, we were grateful for a little lie-in - though we were still woken up loudly with bagpipes! Since we weren’t leaving until lunchtime, we had time for a few last visits. After packing our bags and saying goodbye to the hotel staff, we headed to Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest British war cemetery in Belgium. There we held a service of remembrance and reflected on the deep value of trips like this. It was a fitting and moving end to a great trip.
Special thanks must go to all the staff for running such an amazing tour - especially to Mr Fletcher for leading it all.
Stanley - 3rd Form, Lyon House
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