Year 9 pupils explore the Belgium battlefields

9 October 2025

This term our Year 9 pupils went on the annual trip to the Ypres Battlefields in Belgium.

Their first stop was a family pilgrimage for Albert N to visit the grave of his relative, Captain Robert John Charles ‘Jack’ Otter. Captain Otter was a professional soldier and member of the British Expeditionary Force sent to Belgium in 1914, who was laid to rest at Dranouter in February 1915.

Day two was packed with historic visits. The morning began at Bard Cottage Cemetery where the pupils visited the grave of John Wright, an Old School House (OSH) and Farfield boy. Later, they toured Talbot House in Poperinge, which was once a morale-boosting rest house for soldiers during the war. The preservation of Talbot House is closely linked to Gresham’s School history, thanks to Paul Slessor, father of former pupil Hugh Slessor, who attended the school in the 1920s. Pupils Izzy, Cameron, and Ed laid a wreath on behalf of the school at the Menin Gate Last Post Ceremony, while Cleo K discovered her great-great uncle, Lance Sergeant Charles Evans of the 19th Lancers, among the war stories shared.

On the final day, the group paid their respects at St George’s Memorial Church in Ypres, stopping by the Gresham’s School Memorial. The trip concluded at Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in the world, where they honoured the memory of 113 pupils and 3 staff from the school who lost their lives during the war. Here, they also found the name of Jacob G’s ancestor, Victoria Cross recipient William Charles Clamp, who has no known grave.