Battlefield trip for students
TWO St Chad’s Catholic and Church Of England High School students visited the battlefields of northern Europe with history teacher Rebecca Forshaw.
Emma Shearer and Chloe McKnight visited France and Belgium on a four-day trip after winning a University College Of London competition earlier this year when they produced an assembly explaining why we should never forget the sacrifice soldiers made during the two World Wars.
The World War I Centenary Battlefield Tour Programme hosted the group as they visited Ypres, Passchendale and the Menin Gate.
They were extremely fortunate to witness a remembrance ceremony for two Australian soldiers whose remains had been found a few years ago during the laying of a new road. ● Emma, Chloe and teacher Ms Forshaw visited many sites
Services of this nature are quite rare and the group found this particularly poignant.
The group made a visit to Caterpillar Valley where soldiers who died at the Battle of the Somme are buried.
Later that day they spent time at the Newfoundland Memorial Park.
The final stop on the trip was to Tyne Cot Cemetery where much of the Battle Of Passchendale was fought.
There are 11,956 soldiers buried in this cemetery alone, with a further 34,927 soldiers’ names being recorded who are still missing.