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Galina International
School Tours





The Poetry of the Somme and Arras
 
Themes covered include:
  • Patriotism & Jingoism
  • The End of Chivalry & Reality of War
  • Disillusionment & Cynicism
  • Aftermath & "The Pity of War"
Whilst travelling the route taken by British troops as they approached the Western Front in the early days of the war, initially in a spirit of optimism, patriotism and jingoism, the poetry of Binyon, Sorley, Hodgson, Gibson and Brooke will be considered.
 

Locations Visited
 
The Somme
 
A Rendezvous with Death - at 7.30 a.m. on the morning of 1st July, 1916, the Pals' Battalions of Kitchener's New Army rose out of their trenches to climb the gently sloping gradient into the slaughter that became the first day of the Battle of the Somme. By the conclusion of the battle in mid-November, over a million British, French and German troops had become casualties. The Somme was a watershed that changed attitudes, changed opinions, changed lives. Optimism and belief gave way to disillusionment and cynicism. The poetry selected highlights this theme using a "before and after" approach.
 
Newfoundland Park - this preserved battlefield is the site of the ill-fated assault by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment which was virtually destroyed as it attacked the German lines at "Y" Ravine. The poetry of Sassoon, Graves, A.P.Herbert, Seeger and Sitwell is considered.
 
Thiepval Memorial to the Missing - the largest Memorial of its kind; Thiepval commemorates the 74,000 men who died on the Somme and who have no known grave. Poems by Grenfell, Nicholls, Kettle, Read & Mackintosh.
 
Mash Valley - on 1st July, 1916, the 2nd Middlesex Battalion advanced down this valley by the side of the Albert-Bapaume Road. Assailed by German machine-guns from the fortified villages of La Boisselle and Ovillers, the battalion suffered over 500 casualties and lost all but one of its officers as the troops made their way across 750 yards of No Man's Land. Poems by Plowman, Sassoon and Blunden will be considered at this location.
 
Lochnagar Crater - 90,000 lbs of explosives created a crater 90 feet deep. From this position, the ground over which the Tyneside Irish Brigade advanced at a cost of nearly 3,000 casualties can be seen.
 
Mansel Copse - Noel Hodgson wrote his last poem near here shortly before the Devonshire Regiment suffered greatly from the fire of a German machine-gun situated in a civil cemetery on the edge of Mametz. Captain Martin, whose model of the battlefield indicated this danger, lies buried along with Hodgson in the Devonshire Cemetery.
 
Arras & Vimy
 
The Pity of War & Aftermath - as the war drew to a close and bitterness and disaffection became endemic the poetry of the "pity of war" proliferated. In visiting the Bailleul Road East War Cemetery and Vimy Ridge Memorial, the poetry of Sassoon, Owen, Rosenberg, Gurney and Mew reflecting these themes will be considered in juxtaposition to these monuments of remembrance.
 
Bailleul Road East C.W.G.C. - the group will visit the grave of Poet Isaac Rosenberg.
 
Vimy Ridge - a section of front-line trenches have been preserved complete with concrete sandbags, duckboards, firing steps, sniper shields and observation saps. Canadian guides describe the principal features of the nearby Grange Tunnel (open from April to November) including the water point and communications room. The Vimy Memorial was built on what was Hill 145; the strongest point of the German third line defences. The Interpretive Centre is the latest addition at Vimy Ridge and includes a short audio-visual display explaining the battle. Entrance to Vimy is free but pre-booking is advised and can be arranged by Galina.
 
The poetry of the First World War provides an ideal subject for a Combined Tour for English and History. The poetry is allied to and placed in the context of significant dates and events. The change in intent, tone, style, language and form that characterized a change in attitudes to the war is highlighted.
 
Recommended Anthologies - "Men Who March Away" edited by I. M. Parsons, "Up The Line To Death" edited by B. Gardner, "The Poems of Wilfred Owen" edited by J. Stallworthy and "The Lost Voices of World War 1" edited by T. Cross.
 
 

A typical 3-day itinerary
 
Day 1:    Pick-up from school, cross-Channel ferry from Dover to Calais and travel to hotel for evening meal.
 
Day 2:   Breakfast in hotel followed by tour of the Somme to include:
  • Newfoundland Park
  • Thiepval Memorial
  • Mash Valley
  • Lochnagar Crater
  • Mansel Copse
Return to hotel for evening meal.
 
Day 3:   Breakfast in hotel followed by visit to Arras & Vimy Ridge:
  • Bailleul Road East C.W.G.C.
  • Vimy Ridge Memorial
  • Preserved Trenches
  • Grange Tunnel (Apr - Nov)
Travel to Calais for cross-channel ferry and return to school.
 
Bespoke tours - if you have a specific anthology or specific poems that you would like incorporating into a tour, please ring to enable design of a poetry tour for your school. Itineraries can be tailored to your requirements. Contact us now by clicking here.
 
 
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