Taylorian

Trips

Battlefields

T he Fourths visited the Somme Department’s annual trip. The party braved unseasonable chill, sporadic sunshine, and the occasional squall as we learned about the Somme offensive of 1916. We began the trip by learning about the feats of bravery performed by the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiments at the Devonshire cemetery, where the poet Noel Hodgson is buried, before moving on to discover the harrowing experiences that the Welsh divisions endured at Mametz Wood. We then hopped over to the Lochnagar crater at la Boiselle, created by a mine exploded on the morning of 1 July 1916 at the start of the Somme offensive, before visiting Fricourt German Cemetery. The dark, unrelenting, gothic atmosphere offered a stark and sombre contrast to the bright feel and planted blooms of the British and Commonwealth cemeteries. We then spent a happy two hours at the Ulster Tower learning about the heroic Battlefields Trip Battlefields of the First World War at the end of April for the History

Tank Corps Memorial and the Australian Memorial outside the village of Pozières. We then drew our enjoyable trip to a close by first visiting Beaumont Hamel, where we learned about the experiences of Newfoundland troops, walked the moonscape of No Man’s Land, and espied the great bronze caribou, the emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. We then walked sections of the old front line, taking in the Hawthorn Ridge Mine Crater, the Sunken Lane, and the battlefields at Serre. Our journey finished at Sheffield Park where the Pals’ Battalions of the North of England performed such distinguished service during the Somme campaign. We hope the boys enjoyed the fascinating historical lectures given by Mr Taylor and the sensational War Poetry delivered by Mr Manley. The party’s behaviour was praised by all who encountered them, and they were an absolute credit to themselves and the school. Mr M. W. S. Hale

charge of the 36th (Ulster) Division at the Battle of the Somme on the opening day of that great offensive. We were also treated to a guided tour of the original trenches that have been carefully uncovered and preserved at Thiepval Wood. After lunch, the party visited the grave of Second Lieutenant G.A. Ward OMT at Mill Road Cemetery. The headstone has passages from the school song carved on the gravestone: HOMO PLANTAT HOMO IRRIGAT SED DEUS DAT INCREMENTUM. We then travelled to the Thiepval Memorial to find the names of twenty-two OMTs amongst the 72,195 British & Commonwealth soldiers missing on the Somme. The day concluded, as is tradition, at Lonsdale Cemetery with a wreath-laying at the grave of Frederick Arnaud OMT, killed aged nineteen on the first day of the Somme. Letters from Arnaud were also read in a moving and memorable ceremony. Saturday started with a quick stop at the

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