A Poignant & Moving Trip to the WW1 Battlefields for the 3rd Form

Visiting the sites of the First World War, even now more than 100 years on, never fails to bring home to our pupils the sheer scale of the conflict and the human suffering it wrought.

From our first stop at Vimy Ridge, where the Canadians attacked in 1917, to our final stop, just across the valley, at Notre Dame de Lorette where the French attacked the same ridge in 1915, these two themes of scale and suffering stood out. The 45,000 graves in the national French cemetery, the 53,000 names on the Menin Gate, the 72,000 on the Thiepval memorial, and finally the 500,000 names, of all nationalities, on the Ring of Remembrance at Notre Dame de Lorette, all tell the story of a war that devastated Europe. The pupils heard a huge amount about the battles of Ypres, the Battle of the Somme of 1916 and Arras in 1917, as well as having the chance to see, in the excellent museum at Zonnebeke, how the technology influenced the war and evolved as the war progressed.

At the same time, we tried to convey the individual human stories, perhaps nowhere better than at the Ulster Tower where Austin, our guide from the Somme Association, told the story of the VC winner who had gone out into no-man’s land to take water to the wounded and then his own family story that connects him to Thiepval Wood. Similar connections were made for some of our own pupils who had the chance to visit graves and memorials to their own relatives who died between 1914 and 1918. Finally, it was fitting that, as a year group, they were able to pay their respects in a short act of remembrance, in a cemetery at Serre, where so many of the ‘Pals’ battalions are buried.

Tim Fletcher - Head of History

On the Battlefields Tour we seek to explore the relationship between poetry and place. In doing so we hope to understand better this this remarkable body of writing, and to give pupils the chance to experience the language of its location. Two such visits from the trip are described here.

William Noel Hodgson wrote ‘Before Action’ in the days leading up to the Somme offensive. This is a special poem, not least because it is a beautiful, haunting piece of writing, but because it is so indelibly rooted in its geography. As pupils stood in the Devonshire Trench on what was the front line on the 1^st July 1916, we looked back over to the “familiar hill” so cherished by Hodson. Ahead stood the site of the German line, and the precise position on which the machine gun that ended his life was placed. To read his verse on the spot he left on the 1^st July, and by the grave he was placed after his death that day, gives a weight to his words this is without parallel.

Wilfred Owen was at Serre in January 1917. Here he held an “advanced post” in No Man’s Land, ahead of the British line. The subsequent shelling of his position gave rise to his poem 'The Sentry'. A little way off from our vantage point (perhaps a hundred yards or so) we read the letter that Owen had sent to his mother describing this place as “seventh hell” and the days spent there as “the agony of my happy life”.

Such moments provide a confrontation with the reality of war that moved many and gave pause to consider the words of these young men that faced a known and formidable threat, yet fought with undaunting bravery.

Mark Hambleton - Head of English

As well as the Battlefields Tour providing plenty of opportunities for pupils to consider the history of the Great War and the treasury of poetry and prose that it produced, the tour also provides many occasions for individual and collective reflection and remembrance. The First World War saw 282 Old Brutonians serve, of which 55 were killed in action, or died of wounds or from disease or accident. A further 49 were wounded or gas-poisoned. Whilst we were travelling around Ypres or exploring the Somme, we took the time to visit the sites where these brave Brutonians had fought, and to visit the memorials where many of them are commemorated. It was especially poignant to find Percival Beckwith Wace’s name on the Thiepval Memorial. Wace arrived at King’s as an Assistant Master in 1906 and stayed for three years. In the War he served with the 5^th Battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment. An appreciation of Captain Wace written by an Old Brutonian, says the following: ‘While at Bruton, he gave himself heart and soul to anything he could do for the School’s benefit. To the School Hockey and Football his skill and experience were inestimable valuable. Not a born Cricketer, he made himself one by sheer force of character, and gathered a fresh crop of laurels; while in every branch of life he set an example of determination and sportsmanship beyond praise. It was a matter of course that one learnt that he had joined the Colours on the outbreak of War. He leaves behind him the memory of an English gentleman of whom England may be proud.’ Wace was reported missing on 3^rd July, 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. It was truly poignant and moving for our pupils to hear his story, walk across the battlefields he fought in and to pause to remember him at the Thiepval Memorial.

Alongside remembering Old Brutonians, many individual pupils were able to visit graves and memorials to their ancestors who fought in the Great War. Alex, Joe, Hamish, Mimi, Lily, Reina & Flo all took time to pause, reflect and place a cross of remembrance at the grave or memorial of their forebear. Furthermore, at the end of our day on the Somme, all the pupils and staff on the tour gathered in Queens Cemetery, Serre for a short Service of Remembrance. Prayers, readings and words of remembrance were spoken, alongside a time of silence. Jenna read a poem, 'Peace' by Henry Vaughan, with great skill and Lucas laid a wreath of remembrance on behalf of the whole King’s Bruton community. Moreover, we reflected together on the powerful words of Jesus Christ from John, chapter 15, verse 13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” As Chaplain, I always leave the Battlefields Tour convinced of the value of such a trip both on the pupils’ academic development, but also on their understanding of the important realities of life and death, and consequently the necessity of reflecting upon these truths and seeking to remember those who gave their today for our tomorrow.

George Beverly - Chaplain

Flickr album: 3rd Form Battlefields Trip 13th to 16th October 2019 | Height: auto | Theme: Default

The 3rd Form from @KingsBruton taking in the scale of L'Anneau de la mémoire, which honors the 576,606 soldiers of forty different nationalities who died at Nord-Pas-de-Calais. #KSBBattlefieldsTour pic.twitter.com/Fm0FDx7nrn

— History Department (@KSBHistory) October 16, 2019

The @KingsBruton pupils walking through the mines of Arras! #KSBBattlefieldsTour pic.twitter.com/rspjaZ96E1

— History Department (@KSBHistory) October 16, 2019