Essex Farm Cemetery
Our First stop of the day was Essex Farm Cemetery. John Macrae served as a doctor and after the death of his best friend, penned the famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ We visited the grave of the youngest soldier killed in WW1, Valentin Strudwick. This young boy was the same age as many of our young people.
Poellekapelle Cemetery
At Poellekapelle Cemetery, pupils stood in front of an individual grave and imagined what that soldier was like. Many of these soldiers were ‘Known unto God’ They then placed a poppy on their gravestone, more than likely the first person to ever do so on that particular grave.
Tyne Cot
Euan, our official tour piper, piped as we marched to Tyne Cot. The largest British military cemetery in the world. There are 12,000 graves and a further 35,000 names on the memorial wall. Our young people placed an individual poppy cross at a grave of their choosing, many selecting graves with the same surname as their own.
Langemark Cemetery
We then visited Langemark Cemetery. This German cemetery (one of only 4 in Belgium) contains 44,000 German soldiers. There are 2 sections of 10,000 graves each and then a mass grave containing 24,000 German soldiers.
Ypres Reservoir Cemetery
At Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, we heard about two young British soldiers who were executed after Court Martial.
Ypres
We then had some free time in Ypres and viewed the impressive Cloth Hall. We visited our good friend Peter de Groote and his fantastic chocolate shop. Pupils were then given some free time to buy souvenirs and explore.
Menin Gate Ceremony
We attended the prestigious Menin Gate Ceremony and many locals and international visitors commented on how smart our pupils looked in their school uniform and that their conduct was a credit to our school and Scotland. Abigail was asked to read ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon and then laid a wreath on behalf of the school alongside Derryn and Millie. They were fantastic!
Private Ceremony
We then held our own private ceremony to conclude our Battlefields experience. Euan piped us to the cemetery, Matthew S and Eden laid our wreath, Adam read our dedication and Rory read ‘For the Fallen’. All pupils conducted themselves impeccably.
