Glyn Technology School in France and Flanders
On 19th – 20th July 2010 the staff and students of 
travelled to France and Flanders with Anglia on a tour of the Battlefields of the Great War led by Bob Hilton and John Taylor.
The tour started, as many do, with a study of the Ypres Salient and consideration of the impact the decision to hold this town had upon the course of the war. The destruction wrought upon Ypres and its surrounding area and the sacrifice made by thousands of young men, is so poignantly remembered by the citizens of the town who, on a daily basis, attend the Last Post ceremony held underneath the Menin Gate. Whilst the group gathered to witness the ceremony, 3 students were afforded the honour of laying a wreath to remember the fallen.
Given that only the previous day, the new Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery at Pheasant Wood, had been officially dedicated, it was agreed to revise the programme for the second day to afford the students an opportunity to visit the site.
The Battle of Fromelles was launched on 19th July 1916 in an attempt to divert German attention away from the Somme. In 24 hours and with no ground gained, the British Army suffered around 7,000 casualties of which more than 5,500 were Australian. Their loss is commemorated at the Memorial Park at Fromelles in which stands a wonderful, life size bronze statue known as the 'Cobbers' which depicts a soldier carrying a wounded comrade off the battlefield.
Following their visit to the Memorial Park, the group moved on to Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Cemetery, which still had the reviewing stand in place. In the words of Bob Hilton "To walk in and see a ‘brand new’ cemetery, with row upon row of brand new headstones is an awe inspiring sight'. "
In the front row, right in front of the Cross Of Sacrifice, is the grave of Lieutenant-Colonel Ignatius Bertram Norris of the 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion. Norris was born in North Sydney on 31 July 1880. A pupil of St Ignatius College, Riverview New South Wales, he was described as fearless rugby forward and a hard hitting batsman. A soldier in the Commonwealth Military District Orders and member of the Irish Rifles, Norris was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel whilst in Egypt. He sailed to France in June 1916 having been given Command of the 53rd Battalion.
In his last note to headquarters, written less than an hour before the attack Norris set out the Battalion's position. Then at about 6pm on 19th July 1916 he lead his men at the charge in attempt to reach the German support line. Although they reached the German parapets, they were mown down by machine guns with the 53rd Battalion alone taking 625 casualties.
A private of the 53rd offered the following tribute to Colonel Norris:
‘He was a man in a million, a gentleman to speak to, and if anyone got into Crime Street, and came before him, he got sound advice and the minimum penalty. I had a chat with him on the morning of the charge, and he might have been a private, so nice and friendly he was to me.'
Colonel Norris, is one of the 60 old boys fromSt Ignatius College who died during the First World War and who are featured in James Rodgers book ' To Give and Not to Count the Cost.
The timing of the visit undoubtedly added a real poignancy to the tour. As Bob Hilton said with 'There were quite a few Australians in the cemetery, and the emotions amongst them were running very high'
Posted on: 27 Jul 2010
