From 7th to 10th October, 41 students from Years 9 and 10, accompanied by 4 staff, visited Belgium 
(by coach and ferry) for a tour of sites of interest including memorials, cemeteries and museums.
Sebastian Fernando in Year 9 explains:
I will begin by mentioning how amazing the 
coach was, with lots of leg space, making 
it easy to sleep and rest, and it even had 
(some) working charging ports, which you 
don’t get on many coaches! Our driver 
Hannah was excellent and she took us to 
wherever we needed to be on time.  When 
we got to Ypres, we had a great time 
roaming around and admiring everything; 
there was so much to see but we couldn’t 
get to all of it. Of course, being in the 
home of chocolate, we had to stock up on 
some fine Belgian delights! After our free 
time in Ypres, we headed to the hotel; we 
were given our room keys and were able 
to put our cumbersome luggage into our 
dormitories before heading down for dinner. 
After our meal, our brains were tested to 
the full during a highly competitive quiz!
After a good night’s sleep, we woke up 
early to get ready for the day ahead. 
Breakfast was delicious and we made 
our own packed lunches for the long day 
ahead. To start, we visited Langemark 
Cemetery, one of the few German 
war memorials in Belgium, and it was 
shocking, interesting and fascinating all at 
the same time. Our tour guide was very 
knowledgeable, giving detailed information 
and answering the many questions which 
were asked. We then visited Tyne Cot 
British Cemetery which was a vast open 
space that was just indescribable to look at, 
with it being kept in pristine condition over 
the years, and it stood out like a beacon. 
There were names here of some Old Boys 
from our school who died in the war, and 
we were lucky enough to pay our respects 
and lay a wreath.
We then visited the Passchendaele 
museum and I would say that this was 
the best part of the entire trip for me. It 
was packed full of interesting exhibits 
and every room had detailed information 
about everything that happened during the 
battle of Passchendaele. I loved walking 
through the replica of the trenches, as it 
really gave me some idea of what kind of 
living conditions the soldiers had to endure. 
It was a brilliant experience and I feel very 
privileged to be able to visit it.
After lunch we went to the town of 
Poperinge and visited Talbot House. Here, 
a few miles behind the front line, soldiers 
of all rank went for some rest, recuperation 
and entertainment. We enjoyed a hot drink 
there too.
At Ypres Reservoir Cemetery we laid a 
second wreath; this was at the grave of 
Captain Mould, who had been a teacher for 
many years at HGS.
After our tiring and emotional visits, we went 
to Ypres for a second roam around but, 
having a bit more time today, we explored 
further and bought lots of souvenirs and 
chocolates, again! Tasting Belgian waffles 
was an unforgettable experience, they were 
truly heavenly!
After dinner at the hotel, we went to Atlantis 
Bowling to have some fun together. Being 
my first time bowling, I was struggling 
hugely but I somehow managed to win, 
which was extremely surprising!
On our next day we visited two giant 
craters (Caterpillar Crater at Hill 60 and 
the Pool of Peace) which were caused by 
underground explosions; seeing the sheer 
size of these craters was amazing. We were 
also fortunate enough to see some actual 
bunkers and trenches that the Germans 
and the Allied forces lived in during those 
many years. Visits to Messines Ridge 
Cemetery and Memorial and Messines 
Church followed. From the viewing platform 
at the top of the tower, superb views of the 
Ypres Salient were enjoyed. On the way 
back to the hotel we stopped at Bedford 
House Cemetery and the Ploegsteert 
Memorial; at the latter we laid another 
wreath for the Old Boys commemorated 
there.
After our dinner, we ventured back out 
to Ypres to see and hear The Last Post 
Ceremony which takes place every night 
at 8pm at the Menin Gate. People travel 
across the World to see this, and we were 
seeing and hearing it on a school trip. We 
were then able to visit the bowling centre 
again, not to bowl this time but to play pool 
or enjoy the games machines there.
Lastly, I’d love to mention our (final day) trip 
to Bruges, the birthplace of the amazing 
chocolates we know and love today, which 
we visited en route back to Calais. We had 
a cracking time there, seeing huge buildings 
and churches, and we even had a canal 
trip. After the canal trip, we had a lovely 
walk down to the main square, known as 
‘De Markt’, where we were given free time 
for lunch and shopping – we bought even 
more souvenirs and chocolates to take 
home!
In conclusion, the trip was a superb 
experience, and I’m super thankful to 
everyone who made it happen. I would 
certainly recommend this trip for anyone 
who has a passion for history or in fact, 
anyone at all because I would think that we 
all learnt at least one thing on the trip, it was 
definitely a great success!
OF A FOREIGN
A CORNER 
FIELD
37

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