During the September school holidays, 35 Senior students from Marist College Canberra had a memorable opportunity to complete a history tour of Germany, Austria, Belgium, and France.
The trip included visits to a multitude of architectural landmarks, priceless museums, and historic sites, but the most powerful and emotive experience that was offered to our students was an afternoon of coordinated visits to the First World War gravesites of the relatives of five of our current students.
Tucked away in the intimate cemeteries of small French villages, these immaculate gravesites provided a chance for our students to pay homage to their family members and was an opportunity to reflect on the realities of war and sacrifice often made by young men, not much older than themselves, that shaped the world in which they live today.
Noah Prail (Year 12) had an opportunity to visit the site of his Great, great, great grandfather at Warlincourt Halte Cemetery in France. Noah was the first family member to visit his grave in the 107 years it has been there, and it was a phenomenal moment when Noah located the site himself and dropped to one knee in reverence at the overwhelming occasion.
Patrick Sharkey (Year 12) had a similar experience visiting the final resting place of his Great, great, great uncle Serjeant Andrew Findley Madden. It was heartwarming to see the respect and love that Patrick demonstrated towards his beloved family member and it was an honour to witness every student and staff member pay their individual respects, filing past his grave with heads bowed in the drizzling rain.
The tour and its carefully researched visits to the war cemeteries of family members of our students, fosters a personal connection and engagement with history that cannot be replicated in a classroom textbook or a film. Experiences like this develop our students critical thinking skills and empathy by encouraging them to evaluate the strategies and tactics of the First World War, through the prism of personal sacrifice and family loss. It was an honour to stand alongside our students as they made this pilgrimage, these experiences and memories are a treasured gift that a career in teaching has been able to provide, for which I’m eternally grateful.
Lest we Forget.
Matt Calder
Patrick House Dean