At the end of June, a group of Public Protective Service students from the College of West Anglia visited Belgium to witness the battlefields in Ypres. The trip also served as an opportunity for the students to deliver end of year presentations about topics relevant to World War 1.
Day 1 started with a visit to Brandhoek Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Cemetery, the final resting place of Noel Chavasse, winner of two Victoria Crosses (VC) and a Military Cross. Here, Katie Hayes delivered her talk on the medical evacuation processes.
After a drive to Langemarck German Cemetery to look at the mass grave of 25000 soldiers, the group headed for Hill 60, one of the most bitterly fought over hills of WW1. Four Victoria Crosses were awarded in the space of two days of fighting here. Next the students visited the Yorkshire Trench Museum to see how British (Allied) trench systems developed during WW1. Here, Will Horspool delivered his talk on trench routine during the war. Not done yet, the students also visted the Death Cells and Firing Post in Poperinge where the students learned about the final moments of 346 allied soldiers who were shot at dawn.
Day 2 started with a visit to Vancouver Corner, Saint Julien, and the Brooding Soldier Memorial. Here, students learned about the gas attacks of 22 April 1915, from a talk delivered by Dennis Zemaitis. From here, it was off to Essex Farm Cemetery and Advanced Dressing Station, where students learned about the origins of the poppy’s links to remembrance and the poet, John McCrae, author of the famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’.
After a short lunch in Ypres town, it was time for Cameron Jackson’s talk about ‘The Wipers Times’. A satirical front-line newspaper written by, and issued to, the men on the front lines. Mid-afternoon found the group studying the ‘In Flanders Fields’ Museum at the ‘Cloth Hall’ in the town centre. Then the group visited the Menin Gate Memorial - it’s here that the Belgian Fire Service play the ‘Last Post’ (and have done every night since WW1) to a huge gathering of tourists.
Day 3 began with a visit to Spanbroekmolen crater to learn about mine warfare and the impact of 19 huge explosions on 7 June 1917. This was also a chance for the students to search for war artefacts. After a short visit to Lone Tree CWGC Cemetery, the group went to the site of the Khaki Chums Christmas Truce at Plugstreet. Here, Alfie Kierman gave his talk about the Christmas Truce. Next on the agenda was the Bayernwald German Trench Museum, to see how the Germans designed and built their trenches, before making the final visit of the trip to Passchendaele ‘Tyne Cot’ Cemetery - the final resting place of those allied men killed at the Third Battle of Ypres.
Rob Cooke, Public Protective Services Lecturer, and co-ordinator for the trip said: “The trip served as an amazing opportunity for the students to contextualise the learning and research they had put in to their end of year presentations. To be able to deliver them in the places they were written about was an amazing opportunity I will certainly never forget, and hopefully they won’t either.”