On Thursday morning P7 welcomed our local historian, Nicky Gilmore, to Castle Gardens to help us learn more about the events that led up to the Battle of the Somme. This is the first part of a programme which has been organised by Ards and North Down Borough Council, under the leadership of Jonny Bell, Good Relations Officer. We also welcomed the P7 class from St. Finnian's primary school and they will be joining us on each section of this programme.
This morning the pupils were taken through a lot of historical events prior to the beginning of World War One and looked at important leaders of the day, such as John Redmond and his 16th Irish Division - the Irish Volunteer Force and Edward Carson and the formation of the 36th Ulster Division, the Ulster Volunteer Force. It was relayed to all the pupils that despite strong differences at home, these people served side by side on the battlefields at the start of World War One and huge numbers sacrificed their lives. Throughout this programme the aim is to give our P7 pupils a better understanding of this part of history and the fact that people worked and fought beside each other 'for the greater good'.
Part two takes us to The Somme Centre and we look forward to that trip just after half-term. Then in March we will all get a chance to visit Clandeboye Estate, where these soldiers were trained before heading off to Northern France to fight in World War One.
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