In Flanders Fields Museum

The In Flanders’ Fields Museum is dedicated to the study of the First World War. The museum does not set out to glorify war, but to suggest its futility, particularly as seen in the West Flanders front region in World War I. The exhibition has touching video projects, unique sound fragments and the most up-to-date multimedia applications to immerse your students in the life at the front.

The exhibition is complimented with audio-visual material and students are able to follow the history of a soldier, civilian or nurse in the Salient through their interactive ‘poppy’ bracelet. There are excellent educational resources available as well as a guided tour of the museum and external if required.

Langemark German Cemetery

There are relatively few German cemeteries on the Western Front
battlefields. As the invaders the land that France and Belgium was
prepared to grant was limited, in comparison to their British allies.
Although this cemetery is much smaller in area than Tyne Cot, in
fact it has many more burials. This is because the burials are
effectively in the form of several mass graves.

Lochnagar Crater

The Lochnagar mine crater on the 1916 Somme battlefields in France is the largest man-made mine crater created in the First World War on the Western Front. It was laid by the British Army’s 179th Tunnelling Company Royal Engineers underneath a German strongpoint called “Schwaben Höhe”. The mine was exploded two minutes before 07.30 am Zero Hour at the launch of the British offensive against the German lines on the morning of 1st July 1916

Menin Gate Memorial to the Fallen

The Last Post, the traditional final salute to the fallen, is played by the buglers in honour of the memory of the soldiers of the former British Empire and its allies, who died in the Ypres Salient during the First World War. It is the intention of the Last Post Association to maintain this daily act of homage in perpetuity. A very moving ceremony and often the highlight of a Battlefields tour.

Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont-Hamel

It consists of 80 acres of land purchased by the Government of Newfoundland after the end of the War to commemorate the attack of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, which failed after sustaining nearly 800 casualties. As it is so clearly laid out you will probably find that it is the most useful battlefield site on the Somme for practical fieldwork.

Talbot House

It opened in December 1915 and was the inspiration of the Reverend Neville Talbot who named it after his brother, Lieutenant Gilbert Talbot (who is buried in Sanctuary Wood Cemetery). He immediately set about making the house an oasis of peace and ‘normality’. He was so successful that after the War the Toc H (military signallers code for Talbot House) Movement was founded to help the unemployed and keep alive the ‘brotherhood of the trenches’.

Thiepval Memorial and Visitors Centre

The Thiepval Memorial bears witness to the fact that a high percentage of those who died in the Battle of the Somme have no known grave. Many bodies having been lost entirely in the pulverised battlefield, and many others not found until battlefield clearance took place after the war, by which time all trace of their identity had disappeared in most cases.

Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing

This is the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world where 11,954 soldiers are buried and where the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing stone wall surrounds the cemetery listing nearly 35,000 names. The Cemetery is built on a ridge from which there is a good view over the Salient to Ypres in the distance; its position therefore explains why it was so hard to seize and the advantages of occupying it.

Vimy Ridge

Canada’s most impressive tribute overseas to those Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the First World War is the majestic and inspiring Canadian National Vimy Memorial which overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge. Students can take a guided tour of the tunnels, trenches and cemeteries in groups of up to 20 people.