European battlefields tour enriched by studying History at King's

Olivia Holland was one of two King’s History students (Emily Amarelo being the other) to be selected to be part of the Canadian Battlefields Foundation Battlefield Study Tours of First and Second World War battlefields in Europe in May/June 2023. Dr. Graham Broad, Professor of History, led the group Holland and Amarelo were a part of. Olivia shares the following account and explains how her time at King’s enriched her experience:

“I was honoured to be part of the Canadian Battlefields Foundation’s 2023 Battlefield Study Tour. Travelling to Belgium and France, I had the privilege to visit various historical sites of the First and Second World War. Among some of my favourites were the St. Julien Memorial, which commemorates the action of the Canadian First Division during the First World War’s Second Battle of Ypres, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Dieppe, and Juno Beach. Being at these sites enabled me to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the world wars. We had seminars to unpack the historical significance of each location. It was during these seminars that I felt the advantage of my time at King’s. My King’s history classes not only sharpened my critical thinking skills, which enabled me to participate, but also gave me experience with smaller, more intense discussions, giving me the confidence to voice my thoughts.

Each student on the tour had to present the life of someone who died as a result of the wars. One of the most powerful presentations was one presented by Emily Amarelo about three nursing sisters who died during an air raid in the First World War. My own presentation was about Private Herrick Adair, a soldier from my hometown of Ingersoll, who fought and died in the Second World War. Though this was the hardest presentation I have ever had to do, my experiences at King’s gave me the skills necessary to write and present in an academic fashion. This presentation is among my most treasured memories of the tour. I will be forever grateful that I was able to share the life of Private Adair with such an amazing group of people.

In addition to all of the World War I and World War II sites we visited, the Canadian Battlefield Foundation also sponsored cultural excursions. As someone who loves history, actually seeing historical sites and artifacts that I had learned about in classes was an unreal experience. For example, we travelled to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, which I learned about in my first-year history class with Dr. Broad. Academics is not the only skill that King’s has enhanced; my time at King’s has also given me, a typically introverted person, the confidence to meet new people, a skill that was very handy while on the tour. Though I am beyond grateful for this experience, this tour was extra special because I got to share it with Emily Amarelo and Dr. Broad. Traveling with people from the King’s community was like taking a little piece of home with me.”

Image (from left): Dr. Graham Broad, Olivia Holland and Emily Amarelo.