22nd November 2019
A group of 15 Second Year History students took their History studies to Belgium recently, and returned to the UK feeling lucky to have taken part in a trip of a lifetime; full of history and life-long memories!
Student enjoys experience
The 5 day trip was packed full of tours and students were able to indulge their love for history, as well as immerse themselves in the Belgium culture. After crossing to Calais and travelling down to Ypres Lodge, the students enjoyed an informative walking tour of Ypres and were able to get a sense of the significance and history of the city. After a welcomed night’s sleep, the group enjoyed a trip to Flanders Field Museum. The highly-regarded museum presents the First World War in the region and tells the story of the invasion of Belgium and the first months of the mobilisation, the four years trench war in Westhoek and the end of the war and permanent remembrance ever since. Following their insightful visit, the group attended the last post ceremony (it was the 11th November) at the Menin Gate; dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of Wold War 1.
Day three was another busy day for the group, as they enjoyed a guided tour of Passchendaele. In 1917, there were 500,000 casualties in 100 days for a gain territory of only 5 miles; known internationally as a symbol of senseless military violence in its most cruel form. The museum shows a collection of artefacts, images and movies.
The fourth and penultimate day included a tour of the Thiepval Memorial, Tyne Cot, Hill 62, Langemark memorial and the Ulster Memorial Tower. Before heading home to the UK after an action-packed trip, the group visited the Vimy Ridge Memorial; Canada’s largest overseas National Memorial, commemorating 11,000 men of the Canadian Expeditionary Force killed during the First World War in France who have no known grave.
