Plymouth College Year 10 historians have travelled to the battlefields of the First World War to learn about the nature and extent of fighting on the Western Front.
Starting with a visit to the site where John McCrae wrote "In Flanders' Fields", the trip explored the commemorations and memorials of the Great War. Students marked the centenary of the Battle of the Somme by laying a wreath, donated by the Parents' Association, at Thiepval Monument where the names of several OPMs are engraved. They walked the trenches where one hundred years ago their peers would have sheltered before advancing towards enemy lines. They examined, at a distance, the shells that are still ploughed up by farmers today which were fired one hundred years ago.
A second wreath was laid at Passchendaele, where OPMs are also commemorated, which helped turn millions of lives into a few real people. Neil, the guide, was outstanding in telling the stories associated with the men who fought, not least "Tubby" who ran the soldiers' sanctuary behind the lines where men could regain their humanity away from the trenches.
Beyond the history, no visit to Belgium would be complete without the chocolate shop experience! The students proved excellent ambassadors for the College.
