History Battlefields Trip

Over October half term, 60 girls from the Upper 4th and Lower 5th travelled to France and Belgium to retrace the steps of the Western Front battles from 1914 to 1918. They visited many monuments, cemeteries, battlefields and even some trenches that were built over a hundred years ago. They were particularly shocked at the sheer scale of the casualties over such a relatively short time. Another surprise was the range of nationalities and religions of the soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of the Somme. The girls also visited Langemark German cemetery, which illustrated the marked contrast in how Commonwealth soldiers and German soldiers have been commemorated. They were able to participate in their own act of remembrance at the Menin Gate, a memorial that bears the names of more than 54,000 soldiers who died in Belgium and have no known grave. The trip reminded everyone about the sacrifice of people from across the world during the First World War.