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Expeditions
S u m m e r F i e l d s
2 0 1 5 – 2 0 1 6
Ypres
5thYears - September
The 5th Years spent the first
weekend of term in Belgium on
a First WorldWar battlefields
tour based in Ypres.
They visited many cemeteries and heard the
gallant stories of Old Summerfieldians who
gave their lives in action. Two in particular
stood out: Julian Grenfell, author of the
famous naturalistic war poem
Into Battle
and Rivs Colyer-Fergusson who won a
posthumous Victoria Cross on the first day
of the Battle of Passchendaele.
On Saturday evening the group attended
the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate,
a truly moving ritual that all school children
should experience. The evening was capped
off with Form Masters’ treats of ice creams
and Belgian chocolates!
The tour was concluded by seeing the
graves of an OS killed in the retreat to
Dunkirk in 1940 and of WB’s uncle who
died in the same action. This taught the
boys how history so often repeats itself
and how this corner of northern Europe has
seen so much action. This great cultural and
historical trip also had the advantage of
building the team spirit of the boys at the
start of their final year at Summer Fields.
CS