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History Trip - Battlefields

On a rainy Thursday morning in March, when many would have preferred to be curled up in bed, the Fourth Form History students and staff arrived, appropriately enough, outside the Mem Arch ready to embark on the annual trip to the Ypres Salient and the Somme battlefields.

After waiting for a few late comers, ipods at the ready, we all set off for the long coach journey to Ypres. This journey took up most of the day with the highlight being a rough sea on the Dover – Calais ferry, not without incident as Ollie Bowden’s passport was blown overboard! Once we had arrived at the Hotel Munchenhof in Langemarck, just north of Ypres, chosen our rooms and unpacked, it was time for our evening meal. After dinner, as we would find every night, Mr Sibley and Mr Tait would then give us a short briefing of where, when and what for the next day.

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On Friday morning, our first stop was the largest German cemetery in the Ypres Salient, just on the outskirts of the village. We would later use this as a comparison to the Allied cemeteries that we visited in the coming days. After this, we visited a number of major points on the front line, such as Hill 60, the scene of much fierce fighting, some of it underground in tunnels, and then museum and trenches at Sanctuary Wood. We also visited the Irish Tower and the ‘Pool of Peace’, one of the mine craters from the explosions that started the Battle of Messines in 1917. Later we went through the ‘In Flanders Fields’ Museum and then the largest of all the British military cemeteries Tyne Cot on the Passchendaele Ridge.

We then came back to St. George’s Memorial Church in the centre of Ypres. The Church is a British military chapel, which contains many school and regiment plaques to remember those who fought in the Salient. One of the highlights of this year’s trip was a school service in the Church where we dedicated a new plaque that has been placed on the wall to commemorate the 853 Cliftonians who fell in the two World Wars. We sang ‘Abide with Me’ and then there were a number of prayers and poems read by the students. This was followed by the dedication of the plaque itself by the Reverend Canon Jones. Mr Sibley then said a few words and we finished with a rousing ‘I vow to thee my Country’. Appropriately enough the plaque has been placed just down from a memorial to Sir Douglas Haig (and in good company with Winston Churchill just above it!). The church is open to visitors so do pop in if you are in Ypres.

After the service, before returning to the hotel, we visited a small cemetery on the road out of Ypres, Duhallows, where Johnny Whittaker found a relative Captain Bayley M.C. In this cemetery also lies Major Harry Clissold who was housemaster of Wiseman’s House up to his death in 1917.

After supper we returned to the Menin Gate for the Last Post Ceremony, which this year held another first for the trip as we were laying two wreaths for the OC’s and School. Three Royal Navy and one Army CCF cadets, including myself, volunteered to join the Adjutant Mr Scaife in the ceremony. Although quite a nerve racking experience, I can say taking part in the Last Post at the Menin Gate which has taken place every single day since it started in 1918 was a very awe inspiring thing to have been part of. Although only a ten minute ceremony there was a huge crowd present. At eight o’clock the traffic was stopped through the arch and the buglers from the Ypres Fire Brigade sounded the last post.

The following day we visited the Somme battlefield walking from the Sheffield Park outside Serre down to the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont Hamel where we were able to see the lines of the preserved trenches and learnt about the fate of the Newfoundlanders on the 1st July 1916. Later we visited the Ulster Tower where Tom Greenslade was kitted out in full army uniform including rifle and bayonet! He looked just the part. We finished up at the Thiepval Memorial on its dominating position at the heart of the battlefield. This series of interlocking arches, containing near to 75,000 names remembers the names of the missing from the battle of the Somme. Harry Morgan, Katie McInally and Jacob Dirnhuber all found relatives here.

On the final morning we visited Vimy Ridge which the Canadians finally captured in 1917. The trenches have been preserved, in some parts with the lines just a stone’s through apart. Here we went into the museum and down into the underground communication trenches to see how men in on the front line really lived. We then visited the Canadian memorial in its spectacular position atop the ridge looking out over the Douai plain.

Finally, we briefly went into Notre Dame De Lorette, the French national war cemetery. Then we made a much quieter return journey home with many tired faces, until we crossed the boarder back into England when at the press on a button by the driver the coach turned into a disco with much jovial singing and dancing.

A great end to a very fun and interesting trip to the First World War Battlefields of Northern France. Thank you to Mr Sibley and Mr Tait for organising the trip and to all the staff, Mr Lidington, Miss Clarke and Mrs Spencer who joined us to make the trip so enjoyable.

James Richards

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