I am just going to update you on the antics of Coach 2, who today travelled, for the first time, to the battlefields of the Somme. It is the trip that Coach 1 will make on Thursday so there may be some spoilers for you Coach 1 parents.
It was a 8.30 start on the coach but that did not stop the singing of every song imaginable while we travelled to get to the Trench Museum in Albert. The museum is totally underground, following a route under the centre ville – literally. The museum helped the children understand the trials, tribulations and utter hardships that the soldiers from all nations went through during the Great War. It was a mix of the ordinary and extraordinary and everyone was so impressed with the questions the children posed and interest they showed in the exhibits.
Lunch in the local park (no seagulls this time) then off to see the battlefields. It was poignant driving through the a beautiful countryside full of poppies. The history of June 1st 1916, the Battle of the Somme (which was in fact many battles across a large area) was told through a series of visits to beautifully kept and respected war memorials, small and large, walks through trenches left from the time and a visit to the huge crater of Lochnagar created by a massive underground explosive charge that created a crater over 100 feet in depth. The visit ended up at the Lutyens designed war memorial at Thiepval, which was a startling sight and where the children paid their respects in a beautifully observed minute of silence.
More songs and many card tricks later (some better than others – much like the singing!) and we were back in Creil settling down to an evening of dinner, games and eventually bed – a long but very informative and unforgettable day.
Mr Williams