Battlefield Tour

10th November 2016

Two students took a once in a lifetime trip to Belgium and France.

Alex Lowe and Victoria Swinburn went to Europe to visit WW1 battlefields and cemeteries as part of a trip to mark the 100th anniversary of the Great War.

The Year 10 students were chosen to go on the trip after writing an explanation of why they should go on the experience.

From November the 4th to November the 7th the two students and one teacher went via the Eurotunnel to learn all about WW1.

They first went to Ashford where they had to research about a certain solider that had lived within Lincolnshire. Also they got to hold real WW1 artefacts. Then they went to Belgium they visited cemeteries were WW1 British soldiers were buried. They learned that every soldier has their own unique story, for example, a American solider was buried in an British cemetery because his brother was in the British army and his mum wished him to be buried in the same place as his brother.

 We also learnt that when they were buried, people believed in equality and that everyone is the same no matter what their rank, race or religion was.

Students also got to visit the site of the battle of the Somme and they learnt about the tactics they had and they got to see how the battleground was.

Alex, Vikki and Mr Tufnell also got to lay a wreath at the last post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Belgium, which was an honour because they were one of the very few that got to take part in the ceremony which remembers the soldiers we lost.

The culmination to the trip involved attending a project in Menin where we made a clay display that will be part of another 600,000 identical clay models. Each one will carry an identity disc of a fallen solider and the name of ourself. This will then go into field of remembrance to commemorate those who have failed to return home.

The project will be displayed into 2018 and be a national event.    

This trip was a great way to show remembrance and to tell us that we should never forget the people that gave their lives so that we can make our lives better. It teaches people to always remember and never forget.


By Alex Lowe and Victoria Swinburn