London history students reflect on VE-Day from battlefields of France

A group of history students from King's University College are reflecting on the end of the Second World War from the battlefields where many Canadian soldiers gave their lives.

Thursday marked the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day as ceremonies were taking place at war memorials across the region.

"When we learn about World War I and World War II in class, we learn about the numbers of soldiers who went over, but this so far has been a very personal trip," Keegan Rudman said Thursday as the group was travelling near the Somme, a major First World War battle ground. 

"So far this has been a very emotional experience."

The students are enrolled in an experiential learning course about the wars that received $27,000 from the Canadian Battlefields Foundation and the Legion National Foundation. The money helped subsidize a two week trip to visit war memorial sites in France and Belgium.

One piece of homework for the students was to learn about a soldier, and present the information about their life to the group, an exercise that had greater significance after visiting graves and seeing where the person fought and died. 

"I chose someone from London, Ont. and he went to Central High School. His name is Major Charles Edward Sale," student Mia Fayle said. "I thought it would be important to remember someone from where I grew up. I have my presentation tomorrow and I feel it will be very emotional." 

The students said seeing the battlefields, and walking through the trenches near Beaumont-Hamel, now a memorial site dedicated to the Newfoundland Regiment that was nearly wiped out there during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, has brought history to life. 

"Being able to see the actual trenches and finally picturing it from that rather than just comparing photos, I think was quite impactful," Fayle said.

Both Rudman and Fayle want to be high school teachers when they finish their studies at King's and believe this experience will make them better teachers one day.  

"I have my own photos, my own stories from these battlefields that we learned so much about," said Rudman.  "I've now been to places like Bény-sur-Mer, [a place] that was never really talked about, and that's a grave site of 2000 Canadian soldiers who died in the Battle of Normandy."

The group is heading to Ypres, Belgium next, to attend the Menin Gate Ceremony to commemorate the fallen soldiers of World War I. They will be laying three wreaths at the memorial on behalf of those that helped make the trip possible.

"An awesome quote that I heard one of my professors say was that WWI and WWII not only took the soldiers' lives, but it took their identity. It's only right to remember their names and stories rather than just simply through the numbers.'"