We woke up at 7:30am, showered, got dressed and went down to breakfast. For breakfast we had a choice of 3 different yummy cereals, juice or milk and some toast with butter, jam or Nutella. After a great breakfast, we hung out in the games room. We had a lot of fun playing pool and talking about home. Before we left for the day, the hostel was nice enough to pack us a lovely lunch.
Our first stop was Hill 62; a memorial to Canadian forces in Flanders. After this memorial we visited the Hill 62 museum. There were plenty of artefacts, rusted knifes, rifles, shell cases and photographs. Outside the museum there were preserved trenches from World War One. These zig-zagged through the woodland and due to recent rain the trenches resembled photographs of the mud seen in textbooks. Bunkers were also present and a few braved the confined spaces and dank, dark atmosphere to explore. Will and Sam explored a tunnel using the flash of their cameras to guide them to the other side.
Next stop was the Tyne Cot cemetery. Sarah Hall located her great, great uncle and placed a poppy next to his name. This cemetery was given this name due to German bunkers in this area which resembled Tyneside cottages on the river Tyne in northern England. There are 12000 graves in this cemetery with only 3587 identified. It is the largest commonwealth war cemetery in the world.
In some areas there were graves that were side by side. It was explained to us that the bodies were found together but individuals could not be distinguished from the other and were subsequently buried together. Something that stirred the emotions even more was the amount of graves that simply read “an Australian soldier of the great war”. Poppies were also placed on the graves of two Victoria Cross recipients (Captain Clarence Jefferies and Sargent Lewis McGee) for their bravery in attacking German bunkers during the battle.
The visit to this war cemetery evoked a feeling of sadness and pride.
Lunch which included a meat and salad baguette, chocolate, apple and water was eaten by a lovely pond.
Our education on Australia’s involvement in the Great War continued back in Ieper with a visit to the Flanders museum. Interactive displays, weaponry, uniforms and confronting footage gave us valuable insight into the conditions which all parties endured during the war.
After freshening up at the Salient school hostel, we met with studenst from Ieper. We were welcomed by the incoming principal and shared afternoon tea with the students. Shyness and nervousness gave way the more we talked and before long everyone was chatting excitedly. Dinner was at a four star hotel. Questions about Australia, particularly our animals were discussed. They were surprised we had not been bitten by snakes and spiders.
The highlight of the day was the last post ceremony held at the Menin Gate. This memorial has the names of 54000 soldiers who have no known grave from the battles around Ieper. The ceremony was very sombre and three members of the Australian Defence Force delighted us with fabulous voices.
After the service we found the names of local servicemen who are commemorated on the Menin Gate. We had researched the background on these soldiers before leaving Tumut, so to find the names of these men was a very enriching experience. The five Australians whom we placed a poppy next to were: John Elvidge Dunn, James Bartram Jones, Orlando Thomas Lockyer O’Brien, John Lawrence Bubb and John Henry Jagoe. We are looking forward to the dawn service tomorrow at Polygon Wood but not so much the 3am wake up.
James M.
