Bearsden Academy Pals Battalion

10th Battalion Bearsden Academy Pals have completed their experience and returned home to their families. We have all gained so much from the week.

Thank you to everyone who contributed so much to making the experience special - mostly to the Pals themselves for hard work and positive engagement.

We are making very good time on our journey north. The traffic has been kind to us!

Our current arrival time at Bearsden is between 9:30 and 10.

The school car park will be open for pick up.

The officers of the 10th Battalion are very proud of the Pals. It is a privilege to give such fantastic young people the chance to share these experiences.

Iain, our amazing guide, and Steve, our tremendous driver, have added so much with skill, cheerfulness, and commitment. Huge thanks to both.

The 10th Battalion is back in Blighty. The white cliffs of Dover welcomed us off the ferry.

Now comes the joy of the various motorways of southern England. We’ll post updates as we progress.

See you soon!

The journey home has begun! We have reached the port of Dunkirk, and are waiting to board our ferry.

The 10th Battalion conducted their own remembrance ceremony this evening - a private event for the Pals. This was the wreath that was laid on our behalf. The message was agreed and drafted by the Pals themselves.

I don’t think any of us will forget this moment. A powerful end to a powerful week.

We attended the nightly remembrance ceremony at the Menin Gate. This has been taking place every night for almost one hundred years. It was an honour to be part of this evening’s event.

If they don’t bring you chocolate home, it’s not our fault!

In the centre of Ypres, it was great to visit the shop of an old friend of the Battalion - who always offers good value deals.

(The officers are not on his payroll, we just like his chocolate!)

At Langemark we answered the question - where are the German graves?

This is a very different cemetery, with a very different atmosphere than those we have already visited.

A reminder that young soldiers from Germany suffered in the same way as young soldiers from Britain.

Tyne Cot Cemetery contains over 12,000 graves, and a further 35,000 names of the missing listed on the wall. Having marched from Passchendaele, singing soldiers’ songs as we went, this place really took our breath away.

At Poelkapelle Cemetery there are over 6000 graves with no known name. Each of us stood by one and took a moment to think about the young man who was buried there.

We visited Essex Farm Cemetery.

A special place to think about the famous “In Flanders Fields” poem, composed on this spot. We listened to it being read for us.

We also visited the grave of Joe Strudwick - a 15-year old soldier. Lessons to be learned for us all.

The cemetery and memorial at Loos were our final stop of a very full day. These places are beautifully maintained and cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

A special opportunity for one Battalion member to pay their respects to a relative listed on the memorial wall.

Vimy Ridge Memorial was a moment to reflect on Canadian contribution and sacrifice during the Great War. It’s a visually stunning memorial, full of symbolism and meaning.

Lochnagar Crater - caused by massive explosive mines, and the biggest crater we’re ever going to see.

The Thiepval Memorial contains names of over 70,000 men with no known grave - their bodies have either never been identified, or never been found.

On behalf of his school family, the Battalion paid their respects to James Ross, depute head of Bearsden School, who died at the Somme in July 1916.

Dartmoor Cemetery has so many specific stories. We’re working hard to process all the details and emotions.

At Y Ravine the 10th Battalion entered their first Great War cemetery. We were ready, we understood.

The 51st Highland Division memorial. Friends are good have on the day of battle.

At Newfoundland Park we walked across the Somme battlefield. It really gave a clear impression of the landscape of war.

We heard the heartbreaking story of the Newfoundland Regiment, and saw the howling, grief-stricken caribou.

The 10th Battalion are heading south this morning. Our focus shifts from Ypres to the Somme. We expect another intense and rewarding day.

What a packed day! So many places visited. So much to see, so much to hear, so much to think about. After dinner brings time to reflect upon feelings and reactions. Personal diaries will serve as a permanent reminder.

I think we definitely understand that this is an “experience”, not a holiday!

At Hill 60 we practised salutes. Which were we best at - traditional, or “peace pout”?

Black Watch Corner. Always worth a visit to remember the essential moment in November 1914 when the German advance was halted, despite overwhelming numbers for the German forces.

The Brothers in Arms memorial is very different from the others we’ve visited. A deeply intimate portrayal of the suffering.

Hooge Museum was a place where we could only scratch the surface.

At Sanctuary Wood the 10th Battalion walked through the trench. A chance to really understand the structure and layout of trenches. But also an opportunity to consider the emotions and feelings of the young men who stood in these spots a century ago.

Soldiers from New Zealand played a crucial part in the fighting around Messines. Commemorated in this statue of a soldier in the distinctive “lemon squeezer” hat.

Messines Church. Some inspiring stories of restoration, and some dark stories in the crypt.

Ploegsteert Memorial to missing - soldiers with no known grave. A place of significance to one of the Pals.