School English day trip to The Somme

From the 9th to the 16th centuries, the people of Albert, like many in the region, got used to hiding underground to avoid attacks from the invaders from Normandy and then Spain. During the First World War Albert became a British garrison town. It was from Albert that the doomed offensive on July 1st 1916 was launched. Later in 1918, at the time of the Ludendorff offensive, most of the town was be...

On the first day of the battle of the Somme, eight hundred men of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment went over the top here. Half an hour later, only 68 were left alive and uninjured. The preserved trenches and Caribou monument are a fitting memorial to these men who died thousands of mile from home. This visit brings to mind Wilfred Owen's poem "All a poet can do is..."  

On the morning of the first day of the battle of the Somme, Welsh miners blew a huge mine under the German trenches here. The crater it left, an immense, permanent scar on the landscape, is still clearly visible today.

After a brief introduction in front of the cathedral, your guide will show you the Notre-Dame district and will take you into the lower part of town. You will finish your tour in the upper part of town, in the heart of the city centre’s shopping streets. This is the perfect start to your trip as your French students will discover the city’s monuments and history.