Stratford High School NZ
Collège Jean Fernel FR
One class of 25 year 10 French students will participate fully in the project
Three classes of year 9 French students (75 in total) will be involved in aspects of the project
One class of 25 social studies students and their teacher will support and work alongside year 10 French students.
One year 10 English class of 25 students and their teacher will study the poetry of WW1.
Look to our past to pave the way for our future.
Regarder notre passé pour mieux tracer le chemin vers notre avenir.
Our students’ research focuses on the impact of WW1 on Clermont and Stratford communities. Students will appreciate the need to seek peaceful solutions when there is conflict between countries.
"This project has a very personal significance for me. My father, Mervyn Thomas Baird Hall, was born in 1894 and served in World War 1. He was an older father but a wonderful one. My sister and I grew up knowing only a
little of his war experiences, which were mostly spent in the trenches of France. I remember him telling us that he was in a trench, when someone came running up to say: ‘They’ve signed an armistice!'
His two older brothers were killed in the war and from time to time, he would talk about them. Vincent John Baird Hall was killed at Gallipoli. Lionel William Baird Hall survived Gallipoli only to be killed in June 1917 in the Battle for Messines. Vincent had an MA with honours in French and Latin, and was teaching French at New Plymouth Boys’ High School when he enlisted. He is honoured on their war memorial gates.
I fell privileged to be taking part in this project." Margaret Bullen (née Hall)