On Thursday 06.02.25, a group of 35 Year 11 GCSE history students and 4 staff set off to Belgium on their WWI Battlefields Trip.
After a calm sailing across the Channel, we arrived in Calais and made our way over the border in to Belgium. At sunset we arrived at Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest British Military cemetery in the world, where we located the names of several men from the Staveley and Brimington area who had lost their lives and were commemorated here. We then made our way to Ypres Lodge Hostel and enjoyed dinner and some history charades.
We were up early on Friday for our day travelling to France and visiting battle sites, trenches and cemeteries in the Vimy Ridge and Arras area. Highlights of a busy day included a trip to Wellington Quarry where students went underground to the huge network of tunnels built by NZ soldiers during the war, and a visit to Vimy Ridge Canadian Memorial and trenches. After enjoying our evening meal at the hostel, it was time to head back out to the Menin Gate for the Last Post Ceremony. It was a moving moment and made us all stop and reflect on what we had seen and learnt about the sacrifice made by so many. The day ended in Leonidas Chocolate Shop where a great deal of money was spent on Belgium’s finest chocolates!
Saturday morning was spent at Hooge Crater Museum and trenches where students enthusiastically learnt about the construction of trenches and the battles of the Ypres Salient. We then visited the town of Poperinge to see the ‘death cells’ where men accused of desertion were held. Our final stop was the beautiful Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery where we learnt about one of only two women to be buried in a WWI Military cemetery. It was then time to catch the ferry back to Dover and head back to Derbyshire.
It was an absolutely fantastic trip: the behaviour of our students was exemplary at all times, we learnt lots of new knowledge about the fighting in World War One and how injured soldiers were treated, and we all spent several moments thinking of the sacrifice people made in this most terrible of wars. Lest we forget.
