Students from Public Services courses at West Suffolk College and UCS Bury St Edmunds went on a World War One Battlefield tour to Belgium and France earlier this month. [4 - 6 May 2010]

Teaching and Learning Assistant Daniel Connor, who organised the trip, said: “We arranged to visit a Suffolk Regiment Cemetery, linking events nearly a century ago with our campus, part of which is based on the site of the old Suffolk Regiment barracks.”

The three day trip included tours of battlefield sites around Ypres and the Somme.

The group stayed in Ypres, where they visited the Menin Gate to hear the Last Post played and to lay a wreath on behalf of the College and all its Public Services students.

Daniel said: “This trip was an excellent opportunity for our students to learn about the history of the uniformed Public Services, with a particular emphasis on the role of in women in war.

“I personally hope that these students now have a deeper understanding of the sacrifices made in their name, and see that these events that happened so long ago still have relevance in their lives.”

Staff members Mary Steeden, Mark and Jo Wyatt and Jared Bubb also accompanied the group.