Remembrance / Belgium Battlefields Photo Diary

On a recent school trip to the battlefields in Belgium, I got a lot of time to truly think about the soldiers of the First World War, and I got to really reflect on what they did. It's been so hard to actually comprehend and put into words but I tried.... Here's what I'd say to the soldiers if I could speak to them, plus here are some pictures from the trip...

 

 

Dear Soldiers Of The Great War,

I have tried so many times to imagine what life would have been like fighting in World War I* and I just can't picture it. I have heard so many stories about it, visited trenches and your graves and felt such strong sadness over the war. However, I still really struggle to actually imagine it.

Your dedication and bravery is something I will always admire. I absolutely could NOT have coped with warfare, even for a couple of days, and the fact that this was reality for FOUR years is crazy. I also feel a deep sadness for all the German soldiers. You may have been 'the' enemies but you're certainly not my enemies. Many of us forget to honour your legacy too, but I will never forget or stop admiring you - at the end of the day you were mainly innocent men who had been made to fight, just the same as the British.

I am in awe of what you all went through and I want you all to know that we remember you. So many of you have not had your bodies identified, and therefore have a nameless gravestone. And many of you never even had your bodies discovered, and are still lying underground unfound. Whilst we may not know your names individually, we appreciate you and value you tremendously.

Thank you for everything.

Lexie


*and WW2 and all other wars, but because we visited World War 1 battlefields, this letter is mainly based off that.