TWO Year 11 Settle College students made a personal connection with the First World War when they visited the European battlefield of Ypres.

James Fielden had two relatives not directly related to each other on the same memorial close to Ypres, known as ‘Plug Street’ and Edward Burns visited the grave of his grandmother’s great uncle, Coulson Fryer, who was buried at Huts Cemetery.

James said: "Private Joseph Bridge was my grandmother’s grandfather, and Private Howard Fielden was my grandfather’s grandfather. We discovered shortly before the trip that their names are both on the same memorial to the missing. It was very moving to see their names, and to think about their experiences and sacrifice."

Coulson Fryer died on the 22 October 1917, knowing that his wife was expecting a baby. Edward said: ‘It was good to find his grave, as I am the first person from my family to visit it, but it was sad to think of him dying without getting to see his baby daughter. I also felt glad that a lot of other people got off the bus and came with me to pay their respects’.

Penny Fisher, History subject leader at Settle College said: "Although our itinerary for the trip is pretty packed, we always try to make time to visit additional sites of personal interest to our students if we can. James and Edward and their families had put a lot of effort into researching their relatives, so we were very happy to help them to see their final resting places.’

Settle College is planning to take another group of students to the First World War Battlefields next July.