
Ensuring our younger generation understand the sacrifices of previous generations in WW1

We’d raced through 700km of Germany, to grab an opportunity to see Holland, Belgium whilst hoping we’d have time for the girls to experience a hugely important historical visit to the WW1 battlefields. So today’s visit to the WW1 Battlefields with Salient tours was more than eagerly anticipated…
“Lest we forget the sacrifices of so many”
Both the Commonwealth Essex Farm (with its stark symbols of remembrance – Cross of Sacrifice & Stone of Remembrance) and the German Langemark ( with its inner sanctum depicting the horror of the ‘Studentenshaft‘ massacre of 1914) were wonderfully preserved and protected, serving as clear reminders of the extent of the sacrifices made by both nations.
Journeying further into Flanders field, (the actual poem superbly delivered by Lucas earlier on the tour at the makeshift field hospital used by McCrae) we reached the site of yet more German bunkers and the Tyne Cot ceremony.. (named after the similarity with both the river at ‘Newcastle upon Tyne and the soldiers cottages). This huge cemetery shows both the devastation of war (enormous number of graves), the futility of the Battle of Passchendaele 1917 (only some 500m of ground were given or taken) and the sheer number of ‘unknown soldiers’ who gave their lives (some 8000 at Tyne Cot). Sadly the British arm were given cardboard tags making subsequent discoveries almost impossible compared to other nation’s aluminium tags…
Then onto a reconstructed area that surrounded a ‘Mark 2’ German bunker completed with a trench system that allowed both girls to experience the difficulties of life for a WW1 soldier – even learning about pig tail barbed wire system as we ventured deeper into the trenches…
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