Posted on: June 20th 2014
As you can see from the newsletter story about the French trip, our pupils had a fabulous time in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region the week after half term. I’m sure I don’t need to regale you with tales of snails, or sugar that looked like glass, as that is done in impressive detail by the children; although, I do think what is worthy of note was the poignant visit to both the military cemetery in Etaples and the WWII museum in Ambleteuse, particularly as we are celebrating both the centenary of The Great War and 70 years (to the day in fact) of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
I think it is a huge expectation for children to understand the magnitude of a war that cost some 60 million lives – as I explained to them, virtually the population of the entire UK. To most of us that is incomprehensible. However, the footage from the landings was not lost on the children; they were aware that soldiers shown dropping on the beach were in fact real men who were fighting for the world we have today and were prepared to give their lives in pursuit of our freedom. Lest we forget are three small words, but their meaning and significance are themselves beyond comprehension.
Poppy’s quote sums up in the simplest terms:
‘It was sad and amazing that these people fought for our freedom.’