"Dulce Bellum Inexpertis"~ War is sweet for the inexperienced
My story
My name is Tessa Cunnane. I am 17 years old and attend Scoil Mhuire Strokestown, Co. Roscommon. I have been very lucky to have been chosen to represent my county in this "Adopt a Soldier" project.I had heard about this amazing opportunity in early November when my History teacher, Mr. Brendan Fox, informed our class about this unbelievable chance to travel to Belgium/France where we will visit the many war cemeteries to commemorate the soldiers that had died in the Battle of the Somme.
Each applicant had to write a short 300 word essay detailing why they should be chosen to represent their county on the Somme. I wrote about my deep love of history and remembered a story my grandfather had been told as a young boy attending Elphin Community College. His principal had a son who served in the war, I found this extremely interesting and explained this in my email to Gerry Moore.
However after looking into this soldiers life further, I discovered he was not buried on the Somme. I quickly began researching other soldiers, when Lt. Albert Guy Dignan caught my eye. Although from a wealthier background than most, he fought in the war and sadly lost his life in the Kaiserschlact. With the help of Danny Tiernan, I discovered his family were also just as interesting. Danny helped me get access to war diaries and more in-depth information.
COLLINS Barracks 7/3/2015
On the 7th of March every student that is participating in the My Adopted Soldier programme,along with all the organisers and teachers involved, met in Collins' Barracks. A few of the participants gave PowerPoint presentations on their soldiers and we also split into groups according to our provinces to get to know each other a little bit better before our trip.
This is a video from our day at Collins' Barracks.
This is a video briefly introducing myself and my soldier, Lt.Albert Guy Dignan.
I am extremely excited to travel to France/ Belgium and to visit the Somme, where this bloody battle took place. I am really looking forward to seeing the trenches and commemoration monuments for the soldiers who lost their lives fighting for us.