Year 9 Battlefields Trip
It is fairly usual to teach history in a nice warm classroom. That said, even historians need to feel the fresh air once in a while and field classes are an essential part of any full and rounded historical education. Last week Year 9 went to the battlefields of the Great War and trod the ground over which so many suffered between 1914-1918.
Our field class was designed to help us understand why historians have differing opinions about the Battle of the Somme; was it a costly failure or an attritional victory? Walking the ground also helped us consider why the city of Ypres played such a large part in this most costly of conflicts.
As the memories of these battles fade into the distance of history it is perhaps more important than ever that we have the chance to visit these sites to understand the courage, comradeship and sacrifice made by individuals.
During our two day tour we had the chance to visit the three great memorials to the missing at Thiepval, The Menin Gate and Tyne Cot. We experienced trench life in Passendale, Sanctuary and Thiepval Wood. We learned about battlefield medicine, war poetry and the stories of the individuals who went to war. It was an exercise in building a human connection between the past and the present. Our understanding of the conflict has been enhanced, opinions have been developed and arguments resolved. At the Menin Gate we were privileged to take part in the Last Post Ceremony and the simplicity of this daily act of remembrance will stay with us as we look to the future equipped with our knowledge of the past.
