On Friday 30 September, Year 9 went on a trip to Belgium. Despite having to wake up very early, we were very excited. When we arrived we were shocked at the amount of headstones in the first cemetery; not only were there British headstones but also headstones from different nationalities including Chinese and French. We then visited a German trench that had been dug in World War I and had been recently restored by archaeologists. The tour guides showed us weapons that were used in battle, some of these were hand grenades, rifles, and shovels with sharp ends that were used to dig trenches and to attack with. After we explored the trenches we stopped for lunch and the weather became much warmer, a real Indian summer!
After lunch we went to a German cemetery, a very different experience. It was dark and solemn, with thousands of German soldiers buried in a very small space. The atmosphere was grim, as the trees stopped the sunlight from coming through. We saw the spot where Hitler had made a speech in the Second World War. It was then on to a museum at Passchendaele, the scene of the 3rd battle of Ypres. This had a recreated trench/bunker system which succeeded in bringing the war to life with realistic wax models.
The museum showed outfits, medals, weapons and trench systems. After this interesting museum we went to the largest Commonwealth Cemetery called Tyne Cot where some students found relatives either on a headstone or wall panel dedicated to the missing.
This was a moving experience.
At the end of the busy sightseeing and reflection we went into the town of Ypres for some chocolate shopping and dinner. After a very tasty meal we attended the Menin Gate Last Post ceremony which is carried out every single day of the year and has been done since the war ended (apart from some time in World War II). Three students: Ellie Thompkins; Fiona McQuire and Juliet James laid a wreath on behalf of the school. This officially ended our trip and we embarked on the journey home, tired but with memories that we will never forget.
Tessa and Zoe, Year 9