This year marked the 20th time that Trinity College School students travelled to Europe over the March Break to study the history of World Wars I and II, and their impact on history and culture. It was a welcome return for the trip, which had not taken place since 2020, and students and staff were eager to spend 10 days visiting sites in Belgium, France and the Czech Republic that would illuminate their studies in the Grade 10 Canadian history and English courses.
One constant over the past 20 trips was the helpful presence of our tour guide, Michael Smith, who met the two groups of TCS travellers at the airport on March 7th and, along with his co-guide Andy Cameron, got them onto the bus for their first stop in Ypres, Belgium.
Canadian troops were moved into Ypres in 1915 in support of the British Expeditionary Force, and the city became a scene of intense fighting during WWI, as German troops built trenches encircling Ypres and unleashed destructive artillery bombing. Among the sites visited in the area were Essex Farm Cemetery (where Canadian Lt-Col John McCrae wrote the poem In Flanders Fields), Hill 60 battlefield (with a landscape that still reflects the impact of a war more than 100 years later), Tyne Cot Cemetery (the largest British Commonwealth cemetery in the world), St. Juliaan and the Brooding Soldier monument, Langemark German Cemetery and the In Flanders Fields Museum at the Ypres Cloth Hall.
Each night of our stay in Ypres ended with our group attending the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate. This structure was erected in memory of soldiers lost in the Great War, and TCS alumnus Gavin Ince Langmuir is among the names of the dead etched into this monument. On the first night, students Arden Collins and Ruby Campbell marched across the square and laid a wreath on behalf of TCS, while this duty was undertaken by Alex Sprayson, Duncan Cowdroy and Natalie Brown on the second night.
The group then travelled to France, including a stop at Cité Bonjean Military Cemetery in Armentieres, where two of our students visited the headstone of their relative, who was killed on the front lines in August 1915. Our next stop was at Vimy Ridge where the group spent some time talking about the significance of April 9, 1917 in forging the identity of the young nation of Canada at home and abroad. It was at this battle that, for the first time, the Canadian Corps fought together as one, achieving what the British and French forces were unable to in conquering Vimy Ridge.
Other stops in France included Auchonvillers (in the Somme valley), Beaumont-Hamel battlefield, the Lochnagar Crater, Dieppe, Juno Beach, the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach and the Musée de la Bataille de Normandie. During their time on the Normandy coast, students learned about Canadian involvement in WWII, including the D-Day landing at Juno Beach.
Students were particularly excited for the chance to spend two days in Paris, visiting tourist highlights such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Champs Elysées. As well as sightseeing on foot, the group enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Seine, and some free time for shopping and exploring.
The final leg of the journey was spent in Prague, a stop that was added to the tour in 2020 and was perhaps the most impactful destination for both students and chaperones on this trip. Of Prague it has been said, “If European cities were a necklace, Prague would be a diamond among the pearls.” The group enjoyed taking in the splendour of the city, and its main square, and many were good about sampling some of the unique Czech cuisine. However, the beauty of the city was soon overtaken by the impact of visiting the Terezin Ghetto and its museum just outside of Prague. Terezin served as a collection and transit camp for Jews from around Europe, and those who did not die in the horrific conditions here faced being put on trains bound for concentration camps. It was a sobering glimpse into the reality of life in Nazi-occupied Europe.
The trip concluded with one last afternoon in Prague before it was time to head home. Ms. Barb Brough and I would like to thank our fellow chaperones, Lisa Redmond, Angie Collins, Steve Murray, Campbell and Suzy Hall and Heather McClure, who were all incredibly important to the success of the tour and each of whom helped augment the experience for our students. And, again, a note of gratitude to our tour guides, Michael Smith (who retires later this year) and Andy Cameron.
Finally, much praise should go to the 54 students we travelled with. Throughout the trip, the students were respectful, responsible and kind. They showed great patience with the inevitable delays that come with travelling as a large group, and enthusiastic engagement, even following the many early morning wake-up calls. They all did TCS proud.
- By David Ingram, social sciences department
