Student responses the the visit to the Somme battlefields.

This section contains contributions from: Jake V, Mia W,  Jack J, Jessica P, Liam W, Abi H-S, Phoebe O, Reece J, Cameron P, Thomas B, Billy R, Charlotte O, Emma J, Josh G, Aileen C and George M.

Jake V wrote:
'The most interesting part of the day was the visit to the Newfoundland Park. I liked this because you could see the real battlefield from WW1. The good thing was that our guide Tom was able to show us as well as tell us.
A good example of this was when Tom said the Germans had an easy shot at the Newfoundlanders. When we got to the German frontline, we could see what an easy shot this was.'

Mia W wrote:
'The Thiepval memorial was very impressive. I couldn't believe how many people had gone missing in action. I tried to find my surname but gladly I couldn't find it.'

Jack J wrote:
'We visited the Newfoundland Memorial Park and saw all of the trench systems. I liked the clever idea of using heavy guns to create a trench quickly, which helped get the soldiers across no-man's-land.'

Jessica P wrote:
'I found the story of the Lochnagar mine crater very upsetting, to think that so many people had lost their lives in an instant, and for what? I was happy to learn that soldiers are still being found, properly buried and recognised for their bravery even after all this time.'

Liam W wrote:
'I enjoyed the visit to the Newfoundland Park and enjoyed listening to Tom's explanations about what it was all really like. At Thiepval I thought there might be a family name but I couldn't find it.'

Abi H-S wrote:
'All in all this day has made me realise just how horrible it must have been to be in this war. The soldiers were incredibly brave. I couldn't have coped and I don't know how they managed to.'

Phoebe O wrote:
'The amount of names on the Thiepval Monument shocked me because it had never occurred to me just how many people weren't found, or were no longer recognisable, or may be simply in an unnamed grave.'

Reece J wrote:
'One of the saddest places we visited was the Devonshire Cemetery. The Captain Tom told us about had done his research and he knew that the German machine guns would probably kill the men very quickly as they ran down the slope. But he had bravery and courage, and when the whistle blew, he followed his orders and moved with his men towards the guns.'

Cameron P wrote:
'We went to the Newfoundland Park. These men were from a small region and when we saw the names on the memorial, it seemed like whole families had been wiped out. You could imagine how these men ran down the hill and were killed. They didn't die for nothing as we will always remember them. It was horrible to me because it seemed like a whole community had been killed.'

Thomas B wrote:
'Today we had an educational and dramatic visit to the Newfoundland Park. We saw the view from the German trenches and saw how the gunners would have annihilated all of these poor people. We got a good idea of how the battle would have happened, how scary it would have been, and how brave these men were.'

Billy R wrote:
'Today we visited a huge bomb crater that was made at the start of the battle of the Somme. Tom told us that one British soldier was found in 1988, over 70 years after he died. He was then properly buried, which I was glad about.'

Charlotte O wrote:
'We went to the Devonshire Cemetery and we could see how the men would have to walk downhill towards machine guns. Their officer had worked out that there was no escape from the guns and they would almost certainly die. They were very brave. I don't know how I would have reacted in this situation.'

Ellen J wrote:
'The trip to the Newfoundland Park was interesting and shocking. Walking round the trenches there gave a good idea of how the battle was fought. When they came to the Killing Tree the Newfoundlanders were all hit by gunfire. I was a bit surprised that these were men who were not really trained in military work. At home they probably fished for fish and seals.'

Josh G wrote:
'At the Newfoundland Park it was intriguing to see what a WW1 battlefield looked like at it is preserved just as it was at the end of the war. Tom told us about the Newfoundlanders who were taken from their tiny country and told to come and fight. When they got to go into battle, the trenches were so packed with dead soldiers that the Newfoundland soldiers decided to get out of the trench and walk along the surface next to the trenches. It's all very well being told that the Germans had an easy shot but can really picture it when you see it for yourself.'

Aileen C wrote:
'All day I was horrified by the numbers who died or were casualties. I was surprised just how many gravestones there were in the tiny Devonshire Cemetery. It's terrifying to realise that so many men died so quickly on the morning of the battle only to be buried later that day.'

George M wrote:
'Early this morning we arrived at a huge crater that was created by a mine at the very start of the battle of the Somme. Watching the opposition being vapourised would not make me want to charge towards the scene of the incident like the soldiers did. How all of these men could leave their ordinary lives and families to join up is beyond me. Surely nowadays there would be dramatically fewer people who would want to risk their lives for their country? What made people want to fight in the first place? Was it patriotism, was it pressure from others, or propaganda? Probably the propaganda almost brainwashed people by creating a false reality of what the war was like.'

 

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