The first day of our Battlefields trip began very early as we had to be at school at around 5.30am to then get on the coach at 6am! We stayed on the coach until we got to the Eurotunnel. When we got there we have about 20 minutes to go and buy some food and drink and then we had to get back on the coach where we continued our journey to France.We were on the Eurotunnel for about half an hour before we saw daylight again and when we did, it was very hot! From the coach we travelled to the Commonwealth War Graves. After this we visited the German trench system and looked at the use of ground, the trench construction and the problems with the trenches whilst they were fighting. We then went and dropped our bags off at our hostel and went for dinner. After dinner we went to the Menin gate and watched a last post ceremony.
On the second day, we woke up and ate breakfast; there was a variety of cereal, fruit and pastries. They also served chocolate milk, orange juice and hot drinks. After breakfast we went on the coach and began our journey to the Somme. At the Somme, we went to the Sunken Lane, and learned about a soldier who fought there. Then we went to visit some of the graves by the Sunken Lane and saw the grave of the soldier we had learnt about.  After lunch, we went to visit the trenches and we walked across the battlefields and went to visit a mine crater. Later we went to the Ocean Villas tea room to have dinner, which was lasagne and chips with a side of bread. Once we finished our dinner, we went back to our accommodation. When we arrived, we were given the opportunity to go on a walk, which some of us did.
On the last day, Wednesday 19th of June, we departed our accommodation and visited the first German Cemetery called Langemarck and the tour guides taught us about how Hitler changed part of the cemetery and accidentally buried some English men. Outside of the cemetery there was a structure made from metal that was formed into poppies. One of the flowers was painted white and it signified that one special person in someone’s life that was in the war. We went to the St. Julien Memorial site and learned about how gas masks evolved throughout time, we then listened a reading of Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est.” After this we went to the Passchendaele Museum where we went into the British and German trenches and compared the better ones. We judged that the Germans had better trenches as they were more spacious and was dug deeper which meant shells wouldn’t be able to go into the trench. After lunch we had fifteen minutes of free time in Ypres, Belgium to buy whatever we wanted. Our trip ended went we returned to the coach to begin our return trip to England. We arrived at school at 12pm.
Rowan Ridley, Maegan Rose and Grace Chihowa
