Select a region
Sand bags, branches, barbed wire and propaganda have transformed a school hall into a wartime trench to allow islanders an "authentic" glimpse of life on the front without having to dig too deep.
The trench was built by students at Les Quennevais School to mark the centenary of the WWI armistice.
The idea of the trench was suggested by Assistant Head Teacher Pete Jones and Head of Humanities Jon Brennan, who said that students jumped at the idea when it was put forward.
"We did think about putting a trench outside and actually digging a real trench but with the weather being what it is at this time of year, we were not sure it was the best idea," Mr Jones explained.
"We came up with several ideas and I spoke to a few students and they thought this would be a really good idea to build an interior trench - not an exact copy at all, but to give you this sort of feeling of what it might have been like, the idea of feeling a bit claustrophobic and obviously using some of the original materials. We tried to use relatively authentic materials. It’s quite authentic. There are various parts, the fire step, you’ve got all those different angles, there’s lots of things that we did think about to show the actual existence of what trenches were like in the day."
Pictured: Students helped build and decorate the trench.
Students from the school came in over half-term to build the trench and put it together. This included filling bags with recycled paper to recreate sand bags, collecting branches on the Railway Walk to include outside the trench and recording poems, which are played when an interactive wall at the end of the trench is pressed. A similar interactive display is located on the floor, with wartime facts popping up when it's tapped. Mr Brennan said that it was all designed to give students an idea of what life on the front was.
Mr Jones says the reception to the installation has been very interesting. "It is located in a very social place in the school," he explained. "Students have been constantly going through it.
"But what was very interesting is the last time we had a parents’ evening, the children brought their parents in to come and have a look. For parents to see something like this, using this kind of technology, they’d never seen anything like that before in their lives I don’t think. They were really taken aback by it and there was quite a few parents who got quite emotional listening to the poems and reading the stories about the war. When you see it and you are immersed in that experience, it really is quite a powerful thing to be part of."
Pictured: The Trench Experience includes interactive displays about life on the front.
The students say it was important for them to be involved to help commemorate the soldiers who took part in the war. Year 9 student Phoebe said that people need to respect the really touching topic of the First Wold War more and commemorate the soldiers that took part in it.
Callum, Year 8, added: "The wooden planks really help the atmosphere with it. The way you can walk through, it helps you imagine what it would have been like for those soldiers. And the letters would have shown you what the families would have seen from the war and what the letters would have been feeling. I just think it’s a great way to remember the people that helped the country and it’s a great way to remember the people that went on to carry on their legacy throughout the time."
Mr Brennan explained that the trench also helped the students contextualise their wartime learning in many subjects. "[Students] have been coming here with their teachers. In English, they read wartime poetry here. But it also ties in with all of the other subjects, there's history obviously, but in science they have been learning about mustard gas and in maths about code breaking."
Keen to share their recreational work with the local community, Les Quennevais is extending an open invitation to all members of the public to visit the exhibit tomorrow (Saturday) between 11:00 and 13:00.
Les Quennevais is one of many schools in the island who marked the armistice with special events or displays. Victoria College covered its hallway with poppies, made by students and staff. Today they will hold a special service with Chelsea pensioners joining them.
Les Landes School is holding a WWI-themed day today and the children will be dressed in 1918 clothing. St. Lawrence and Bel Royal School are putting together a field of remembrance by St. Lawrence Church.
On Monday, students at St. George’s School will be having a day of commemoration. It will include having wartime food during breaks and lunchtime - beef stew and dumplings and sponge pudding and custard - and playing traditional 1900s playground games. They will also be recreating the famous football match in No Man’s Land that happened during the Christmas Day truce of 1914.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.