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New Zealand Secondary Schools Passchendaele Centennial Tour

Written by on November 16th, 2017.      0 comments

 

Our young people remember

   Ten secondary school students jointly won the Ministry of Education, Fields of Remembrance Trust and Passchendaele Society digital competition about the Battle of Passchendaele. The winners - two group entries and one individual entry - came from St Paul’s Collegiate, Rotorua Girls’ High School and St Margaret’s College.
   The prize was a trip to Belgium to attend formal commemorative events in recognition of the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele.

Road sign for Passendaele

   In a very comprehensive itinerary prepared by Students Horizons, also a supporter of the competition, the students visited cemeteries and memorials, battlefields and museums in both France and Belgium. They attended commemorations at the Menin Gate, the National Commemoration Service at the Tyne Cot Cemetery and the opening of the New Zealand Memorial and Garden. Their final days were spent in Amsterdam, visiting the Jewish Quarter and Anne Frank house and museum for a very sad reminder of the horrors of WWII.
 
Somme battlefield cemetery
 Somme graveyard, photo by Alexandra Lay
Students at Menin Gate ceremony
At Menin Gate, photo from Student Horizons
Prince William at Passchendaele Centenary
Prince William speaks at ceremony, photo by Alexandra Lay
New Zealand Memorial and Garden
New Zealand Memorial and Garden, photo from Student Horizons
Students at the Messines memorial statueNZ soldier statue at Messines, photo from Students Horizons Memorial sculpture
Photo from Student Horizons

‘We couldn’t believe the huge number of New Zealanders killed, some as young as 19"
Lucy Tustin ST PAUL’S COLLEGIATE, HAMILTON
 
It was a time of learning, sharing and reflection. The trip was described as a journey of a lifetime!
 
Students in a field of poppies
In Flanders Fields, photo by Kayla Kautai
 

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ABOUT US

The Fields of Remembrance Trust was established in 2012 to honour those who served and died for our nation during World War One.

The Trust is made up of the Passchendaele Society, the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, New Zealand (RNZRSA) representIng all local RSAs, and the Auckland RSA. It is a registered charity.