Day 6 - Ypres

Today we explored paces of significance from World War I. It was an interesting but somber day for our group.

We started the day at Essex Farm Cemetery, a cemetery and memorial for over 1200 soldiers. It caused us to reflect on the gravity of the situation and was very daunting for some.

We then went to the Passchendaele Memorial Museum, built on the site where 400,000 soldiers perished for a territorial gain of only a few kilometers, including 35,000 New Zealanders (2700 on a single day). A highlight of the museum was a trip through the tunnels, bunkers and trenches.

After lunch we went to the Tyne Cot Cemetery, the memorial and burial site of 12,000 Commonwealth soldiers. The scale of the cemetery was overwhelming. It was incredibly emotional and moving to visit the cemetery. It was heartbreaking to see how young the men were when they were killed, some only 17. Also surprising was how many buried soldiers who were unidentified. Poppies were laid the group had a lot of quiet contemplation and reflection. We were proud to see the New Zealand section, where some students saw the names of their ancestors.

After Tyne Cot we headed to the Coming World Remember Me Project. Check the link for info, it is an amazing project to commemorate 600,000 fallen soldiers. Our group made clay figurines to be part of the art installation and each figurine represents a fallen soldier. We will be sent the names of the soldiers that the figurines commemorate in a few weeks.

After dinner we observed the Last Post Menin Gate Ceremony, before heading home to relax.