The Somme , seen through the eyes of a Child.

The Somme, Seen Through the Eyes of a Child
By Sarah-Emily Haskell (24)
Ode of Remembrance

They went with songs to the battle, they were so young
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted
They fell with their faces to the foe

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them

LEST WE FORGET

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From a young age, I always knew my dad was interested in history and we had a cellar full of artefacts. There was a poster on the door of a young child sitting on their father's lap, asking “Daddy what did you do in the Great War ? “. So I asked my dad, what had he done in this “Great War”??? This was in 1989 !

This was when he first started really telling me about WW1.
He had researched it for a great many years and is more interested in the personal stories. It was something that always captured my imagination.
Sarah and her sister, Lyndsey, cooling their toes in the Somme.

While all my friends were going on holiday to places like Disneyland, we spent holidays on The Somme. To me it was never anything different, it was just a holiday but as I have got older I think it has definitely shaped the person I have become today.

Even now, people know they wont be able to get hold of me on Remembrance Sunday. I’ll be glued in front of the TV, watching everything that’s happening. To me, I think its such an important day and should be something everyone keeps in their minds.

I remember the journeys. It was part of the excitement. We would drive up to Dover to get the ferry over. It was always at night time so we would take our pillows and duvet in the car and get all wrapped up. When we arrived in France that’s when the singing started. “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary” and “Pack Up your Troubles” were the favourites. We were off…
Thiepval Memorial to the Missing

Standing in front of the Thiepval memorial on the Somme battlefield, it takes your breath away. But at the age of 5, I didn’t understand its meaning. It was just this massive ‘thing’ that had loads of names all over it.
It was the same with the rest of the Somme. All the open space, it’s a child’s dream playground!!
Sarah on her "treasure" hunt
The treasure hunts were the best!!! Hours searching through fields. Every time I found something metal or shiny I would run to my dad to see if it was the ‘treasure’ we were looking for? How was I to know that I was holding a nosecone of a shell that may have killed a soldier, an innocent man or boy, just trying to protect his fellow soldiers, fighting for his country!
Sarah at the Ulster Tower in 1991 with Ancre Valley behind
The Ulster Tower was another fun place! Like a tower out of a fairy tale, we would be running up and down the stairs, till we were breathless. There was a really lovely man called Victor who looked after it, and he had a horse out in the field that we loved going to see. How was I to know it wasn’t a princess’ tower, but a memorial to the men of the 36th Ulster Division.
The Ulster Tower
One thing I could never understand was why we had to trail round all these cemeteries?
There was no one buried there that we knew? There would be hundreds upon hundreds of crosses or headstones, row upon row.
The one place that always gave me the shivers from an early age was Notre Dame De Lorette. All those coffins would scare me so much and I didn’t get why we would want to go somewhere so sad? To a child literally thousands of them, side by side. Gave me the creeps!
Sarah at Rancourt French Cemetery

As I got older I started to learn more and every year that we went back, I slowly started to understand more about this ‘World War’.
I’d find myself getting goosebumps every time I stood at the Menin Gate,Ypres or heard “The Last Post” played.
Every time I went to Newfoundland Park on the Somme it was no longer just a cool place to run around all the “tunnels“. It was now a trench system, where men huddled together for warmth while shells were fired over their heads!
Sarah and her Mum at Beaucourt village, Royal Naval Division Memorial.
The cemeteries no longer bored me, but filled me with sadness. I now knew these men had put their own lives on the line to protect OUR country. If they had not done so, what would England be like now???

All of this should never be forgotten. We are who we are today because of these people who fought so bravely for us….The Innocent!!!
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