Posted on: March 25th 2025

Visit to Ypres and Menin Gate

On Saturday, 15th March 89 students from Years 9, 10 and 11, and 10 staff left Sunbury at 4.30am to visit Ypres and the Flanders Salient. After a rest stop at Folkestone and a Le Shuttle crossing, we arrived in Ypres for a tour of the amazing In Flanders Field Museum and the Menin Gate. The Museum allowed us to understand the background to the conflict and the impact on soldiers and civilians once the war started.

The Menin Gate brought home to us the scale of loss across the Commonwealth with soldiers from the UK, Australia, Canada, India and many other countries commemorated on the walls. After lunch, we toured Essex Farm, where John McCrae wrote his famous poem.

We then moved on to Langemark, probably the bleakest place we visited, which highlighted the treatment of a defeated nation as well as the sacrifice of so many young men from Germany.

We completed our tour at Tyne Cot, the largest allied cemetery in the world, which showed us the terrible cost in human lives of the third battle of Ypres in 1917.

After a meal in Ypres, we attended the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. Jacob, Jack and Abbey laid a wreath on behalf of the School. We arrived back in Sunbury at 2.00am Sunday morning, reflecting on all that we had seen and experienced during the day.

I would like to thank Mr Ross, Ms Dodd, Ms Ward, Mr Griffiths, Mr Jardine, Mrs Williams, Ms Nicolaides and Mr Harrison for their support on the day and also Mrs Weetch who made sure we had everything we needed to make the visit such a success.

Ms F St John

Teacher of History

Menin gate