The whole community at Wellington School has remembered the sacrifices of the First World War.
Pupils in Year 7, 8 and 9 experienced activities illuminating aspects of the First World War to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ending of the conflict. In Science, there was a field hospital showing the difficulties facing soldiers and medical staff on the front and in Chemistry pupils learnt about Chemical Warfare. In English, pupils inscribed poppies with words of Remembrance and placed them in the Chapel. A trench was built in Great Hall and Sixth Form students read from letters sent home by soldiers and acted the tragic moments of going over the top. There were also activities in Languages and Maths looking at the life of French soldiers and the statistics around the number of deaths during the conflict. This was poignantly illustrated by an installation charting the number of dead each month during the war.
There were also a number of services in the Chapel to remember those from the School and the wider Wellington community who gave their lives for their country.
The School has a registered war memorial in its possession. This post box was taken around the world with the North Somerset Yeomanry, as the official pennant and the men of the regiment used it to post letters home. After many years languishing in the regimental barracks at Jellalabad, it was bequeathed to the School, restored beautifully by school carpenter Jozef Szocs and has taken up residence in the Chapel.
Kate Hodson, head of English, has been researching the Old Wellingtonians who died in the First World War. She has compiled her findings into a fascinating book about the lives of these men and George Corner – the Headmaster at the time. He saw over 300 of his Old Boys enlist and fight on many fronts overseas and was as concerned for them as any parent would be. He maintained correspondence with them throughout the war and with news of casualties and deaths of 37 Old Boys, Corner experienced a personal grief. He had watched many of them grow from boys to men and to see so much lost potential was harrowing. It is this that motivated his determination to build a Memorial Chapel for those Old Boys who never came home.
Science teacher Stephanie Toase attended the people’s procession at the 2018 Armistice Parade in London at the Cenotaph on Sunday. She took a wreath containing the names of the 37 Old Wellingtonians who died during World War 1.
The weekend culminated in the Remembrance Parade from School to the War Memorial in town. Led by the Corps of Drums, the whole CCF Contingent led hundreds of followers to a poignant ceremony in the town park. Amid prayers, addresses and hymns, Year 10 trumpeter Dylan Leonard played the Last Post and the Corps of Drums led the parade back to school – narrowly missing a downpour.
It was a thought-provoking and fitting end to a weekend of Remembrance and respect for those who died.