Last year we ran a competition to select two Year 9 pupils to take part in a tour of the Battlefields of Ypres and the Somme. Although it seems a long time since then, the tour date finally came around and Charlie Brincat and Olivia Walker set off on 11th October.
It was a jam packed three days taking in a number of battlefield site visits, museums and memorial services in both Belgium and France. A particular highlight was attending the Menin Gate ceremony in Ypres. The Last Post was played by the buglers in honour of the memory of the soldiers of the former British Empire and its allies, who died in the Ypres Salient during the First World War, followed by the laying of wreaths. This has taken place every night since 1928, with the exception of the years when Belgium was occupied by Nazi Germany.
Our second day was spent in a variety of trenches. At Thiepval Woods we saw trenches that have been preserved intact and identical to how they would have been during the war, protected trenches at Newfoundland that showed us how the land has partially recovered and reconstructed trenches and dugouts at the Passchendaele Museum. All of these gave us a real feel for what life was like for the soldiers in the trenches.
Having done some research prior to the tour, we were able to locate the grave of a soldier from Denton who had lived on Stockport Road, just at the edge of our school playing field. Harry Threadgold of the Manchester Regiment died during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in October 1917 aged just 22. Most of the men who died at Passchendaele have unknown graves and are remembered by the inscription on the memorial wall. Unusually, Harry’s body was recovered and he has his own grave at Tyne Cot Cemetery.
Although it was an exhausting three days, it was an unforgettable experience which brought the First World War alive to everyone who took part.
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
