After what was an informative and exciting trip to Ottawa and Montreal in November, the Grade 10 Travel Education group from Trinity College School is heading off to Europe for the first 11 days of the March break to study Canada’s involvement in the First and Second World Wars.

The group will land in Brussels, Belgium on the morning of March 10th and spend the next 10 days touring the countryside in search of moments of unique history. The group’s first stop is in Ypres, Belgium, site of brutal conflict during World War I. While staying in Ypres, the group will visit Hill 60, the Menin Gate, Tyne Cot Cemetery, Langemaark German Cemetery, the Flanders Fields Museum and some other sites of historical significance.

From there, the group will head west, making stops at both Vimy Ridge and Beaumont Hamel, before continuing on the path towards the French coast. A moving stop in Dieppe to discuss one of Canada’s greatest military disasters will be followed by visits to Juno Beach and the American Cemetery at Normandy, perched above Omaha Beach.

And no trip to France would be complete without a day in Paris! The group will move from Normandy to Paris for a couple of days to explore one of the world’s most beautiful cities. From there, we will board a flight to Krakow, Poland, where students will spend the afternoon walking through the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

The trip will likely be eye opening for many of the students and they’ll no doubt have many, many stories to share upon their return!

- By David Ingram, history teacher

Update: Mr. Ingram e-mailed on March 10th to say that the group had arrived safely in Ypres, Belgium, and immediately boarded the bus to visit Essex Farm Cemetery and Poelkapelle British Commonwealth Cemetery. Essex Farm is best known as the dressing station where Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of the Royal Canadian Medical Corps operated and ultimately wrote the celebrated poem, In Flanders Fields. Perhaps more moving still is the grave of Private Joseph Strudwick who died in battle at the age of 15.

The Poelkapelle British Commonwealth Cemetery is significantly bigger than Essex Farm, with nearly 7,500 burials, 6,321 of which are unidentified. Again, a striking grave is that of Private John Condon, thought to be the youngest battle casualty of the First World War, who was killed at the age of 14.

The group’s next stop is the Menin Gate to see the very moving Last Post Ceremony.