We spent the morning walking across the no mans land area near the Leipzig Redoubt in the Albert region. We walked up the rise that the British troops would have run up as they went over the top.
We visited the Lonsdale cemetery which contains the graves of over 1000 Brirish soldiers who died during the Battle of the Somme. This cemetery lies down the valley from the Leipzig redoubt. We signed the visitors book on behalf of the school. Pupils were moved as they identified the ages of some of the fallen were just 17, 18 and 19...
We heard about VC winner James Turmbull and then walked across the area that was no mans land to the Thiepval Memorial. This contains the names of 72,000 soldiers whose bodies have never been found and identified. The scale of the losses at the Somme was brought home to all of us and we spent a sobering half hour here.
We heard about VC winner James Turmbull and then walked across the area that was no mans land to the Thiepval Memorial. This contains the names of 72,000 soldiers whose bodies have never been found and identified. The scale of the losses at the Somme was brought home to all of us and we spent a sobering half hour here.
We lunched at the Ulster tower cafe:
Again, our pupils have been commended for their behaviour and attitude.
This afternoon we spent time in the Serre region. We stood in the hollows where the trench lines can still clearly be seen. We imagined what it was like for the Accrington pals who had to leave the cover of the copse and run across no mans land towards to firing enemy lines. 80% of these men died in the first half hour of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. We heard of two Barnsley pals aged 19 who went over the top, and one of them said 'let's hold hands like we did when we used to go to Sunday school.' Our boys are beginning to understand why this kind of fighting was so terrifying, and the worst thing was to be alone in the midst of it all.
We saw different memorials and cemeteries at Serre commemorating the fallen. Our pupils have been commenting that they are beginning to understand the landscape of the war, and how this contributed to the losses.
At Newfoundland Park we were able to walk along trench lines and communication trenches, and see a number of Scottish graves and memorials.
The Lochnager crater is the crater made by exploding British mines on the morning of 1st July 1916. It can be seen from space.
At Contalmaison we spent time looking at the memorial to McCrae's battalion of the Royal Scots. The Edinburgh Heart's Football Club had a number of players and supporters who joined the battalion. The impact on the city and the club when the battalion suffered 75% casualties on the first day of the Somme cannot be imagined.
We have learnt a huge amount from our tour guide today- it's been a day to remember!!
Time for dinner, games, and an early night.
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