On Tuesday 18th June, Mr Neve, Mr Trimby, Mrs Ingall and Mr Wilmar took 40 Year 9 students to Ypres as part of their learning about WW1 and the way it has been memorialised. The students visited Sanctuary Wood and surviving sections of the trenches on Hill 62. Whilst in the trenches, Mr Trimby, our expert guide, dressed as a soldier, taught them a WW1 song which they sang whilst walking through the muddy trench system. After this, they explored the museum which contained a range of artifacts including uniforms, helmets, guns, shells and even an engine from an early fighter aircraft. We then visited Tyne Cot Cemetery. The students were able to reflect on the scale of the loss experienced as a result of the war and see how the fallen have been memorialised by the commonwealth countries in the years since 1918. Row after row of gravestones, many without names, but all adorned with flowers and immaculately kept by the War Grave Commission demonstrated how important it is to keep the memory of the fallen of WW1 alive. We then visited Vancouver Corner, the memorial to the Canadians who fell in the war and then visited Essex Farm, famous for its association with the War Poet, John McRae and his poem “In Flanders Fields”. At this point, Ryan Simpson set a challenge for the other students, to locate the grave of a soldier who had been shot at dawn. This was found by Emmie Schalch and Annie Low, who were rewarded with a chocolate prize. A visit to the Menin Gate was then followed by a trip to Leonidis Chocolate Shop, where they were able to purchase chocolate treats and gifts.
