Graham Broad says a compelling excerpt from a textbook or a passion-filled lecture from a professor does not compare to being physically present in a setting where history occurred.

The associate professor and the history department chair for King’s University College in London, Ont., knows this to be true.

“There is just a power of place,” said the scholar of war and society studies. “There is an impact to seeing something in real life that is hard to replicate in the classroom.”

From May 1-12, Broad and his colleague Nic Virtue will guide students enrolled in the Catholic institute’s World Wars in History, Memory and Reconciliation course through an immersive tour of First and Second World War battlefields, cemeteries and memorials through Belgium and France.

This overseas experiential learning opportunity returns following a successful inaugural journey in 2022. The expedition is poised to be emotionally profound as the student scholars' visit coincides with the 80th anniversary of V-E Day, May 8, 1945, the day that marked the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Broad said the tour plans to capitalize on this celebratory occasion.

“We're there to understand the impact the war had on the local population, both the experience of occupation and the experience of being liberated,” said Broad. "We’re going to meet some of the local French who are deeply involved in commemorative activities. I think transnational and intergenerational encounters are very important for students.”

Intergenerational legacy will be on 21-year-old student Ethan Howe’s mind during the trip. “Humbled by this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Howe seeks to pay homage to a paternal great-grandfather who served in the First and Second World Wars, and another great-grandfather, also on his father’s side, who volunteered to fight in World War I. Their children then served in the military, and Howe’s father became a provincial police officer.

With The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme in Picardy, France, as the backdrop, Howe will present his great-grandfather William Newton’s service during The Battle of the Somme in 1916, which resulted in over 650,000 casualties.

“My great-grandfather was fortunate enough to be one of the individuals that survived that conflict,” said Howe. "But I know from the legacy of my great-grandfather he never talked about his military experience when he was at home. He was one of the individuals who believed the real heroes were the ones that sacrificed their lives there.”

The fourth-year history major is enthused to visit Flanders Field in Belgium, where Canadian physician and Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae wrote his famous poem "In Flanders Field." He also said it is meaningful to observe the open farmers' fields and their cemeteries.

“Those soldiers were buried where they stood before they died,” said Howe. “I think that’s super impactful to me.”

Nineteen-year-old Priya Flynn is keen to deliver her biographical presentation about William Leopold Gallery at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium. Flynn said Gallery’s story made an impression on her as he signed up for the war when he was her age and exhibited bravery with the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Company up to his death during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917.

Flynn expects “to be a bit overwhelmed” visiting Tyne Cot, Normandy, Vimy Ridge and other historical locations.

“We’ve been warned to anticipate that a little bit,” said Flynn. “You read and learn the facts, but then you are there where they fought and died, and it goes from 2D to 3D. It becomes more than about the numbers.”

Broad said the site visits conjure emotion and enlightening conversations.

“You'll be standing in a field in France, or at a monument in Belgium, asking profound questions about the human condition, and questions of morality, ethics and our responsibilities to one another, and even theological questions,” said Broad. “The really profound questions tend to happen more in the field, I find.”

There is a need to discuss the horrible consequences of war, particularly given the current situation in the world. The Russo-Ukrainian war has stretched into its third year and the Israel-Hamas conflict has reignited after a short ceasefire. 

Howe said it is essential to draw connections between the wars of the past and the conflicts of the present.

“This program especially shows that history is real, history is living. When we forget our past, and we forget the sacrifices that those before us made in conflicts for whatever motivations or causes, we begin to make the same mistakes that our ancestors did in the past.”

Broad noted that many former battlefields he, Virtue and the students will visit are now sites of symbolic reconciliation between Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

“It's almost impossible now to imagine that battlefields in Ukraine might one day be sites of reconciliation between Russians and Ukrainians, but that would have been impossible to imagine for First and Second World War battlefields a generation ago.”

This 12-day tour was made possible by a $17,000 contribution from the Legion National Foundation (LNF) and a $10,000 donation from the Canadian Battlefields Foundation (CBF).

A significant project the students will work on overseas is partnering with the CBF to create a series of digital walking tours for some of the lesser-known memorial sites, such as the Dury Memorial. This site commemorated the Canadian Corps that spearheaded a key advance through the Drocourt–Quéant Line (near Dury, Pas-de-Calais, France) on Sept. 2, 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive that concluded the First World War.

“No one visits that memorial any more,” said Broad. “It’s largely been forgotten. But for the generation who fought the First World War, that location seared itself into the memory of a generation. Six thousand Canadians died in the 10 days leading up to the action at Dury — 6,000. It is important for us to get to some of these sites not only to understand what historically happened, but how historical memory is formed and preserved.”