In the run-up to Remembrance Weekend and Armistice Day, the children have spent time this week listening to first-hand recollections of what is was like to live and fight in the trenches. We had also previously read poetry by Siegfried Sassoon and responded to a range of images from the Western Front.

The children were tasked with writing a poignant WW1 poem that considers mood and atmosphere. We are proud of their results, particularly their ability to empathise with the situation the soldiers and their families found themselves in.

We chose Edith Swandell’s to be read aloud in our Remembrance Assembly:

“Your Country Needs You!”

the posters said,

I repeated the words over and over

As I sat in bed.

It will be a short war I would say,

I might even be back later that day.

 

The day we arrived,

Knee deep in mud,

Showered by rain and our neighbours’ blood,

The crimson skies called out their alarm,

As rifles and machine guns aimed for harm.

None of us expected it this way,

All of the things we saw that first day.

 

By the warmth of a candle I sat waiting,

How much more could I handle?

But we – daring men,

We stood our ground,

For all we wanted was for our country to be proud.

 

Months later,

With many lucky retreats,

I waited to go over,

Although I was weak.

I took one step towards the foe,

And all-of-a-sudden, my body fell low.

They couldn’t help,

They weren’t allowed,

But still I tried to stay strong and proud.

 

The courageous soldiers who fell for us,

So we could live freely.

They gave their tomorrow so that we could have our today.

Edith Swandell, 2022