Paschendale

In a foreign field he lay 

Lonely soldier, unknown grave 

On his dying words he prays 

Tell the world of Paschendale

Relive all that he's been through 

Last communion of his soul 

Rust your bullets with his tears 

Let me tell you 'bout his years

Songwriters: Adrian Frederick Smith / Stephen Percy Harris

Paschendale lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

This is a song by Iron Maiden, and one I've always liked.

I'm working on a project at school currently, which is using ESRI's Survey123 to collect stories from the Great War, to collect together links between Old Eleans, parents and teachers with the Great War. I've already shared my own family's connection with the conflict at Paschendale, and we now have over 30 entries onto the map.

There are some amazing stories and images already.

Here's a story about George Cope, for example.

He rarely spoke of the war but told us of his reaction when he saw his sergeant carrying a caged canary into the dugout. He thought it unusual to take a pet to war and the sergeant's words never left him. "Laddie, when you see this little bird fall off its perch, you run. Understand laddie? you run."