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Inzpire Take Part in ABTC Force Development to the Ypres Salient

27 Apr 16

Force Development

In a true demonstration of the Whole Force Concept, Inzpire’s team were accompanied by both Military counterparts and members of the ABTC Tech team from Boeing and QinetiQ.

The aim of the Force Development trip was to visit key sites of both remembrance and strategic importance from WW1, whilst undertaking proactive analysis of the use of Air Power and Air Land Interdiction during the Third Battle of Ypres, and compare it to its use during recent campaigns and in a contingency environment.

To ensure the educational objectives of the trip were met, at each visit a small team made up of RAF, Inzpire, Boeing and QinetiQ personnel delivered presentations on a number of topics that had been researched. Topics ranged from the use of artillery throughout the campaign; military tactics during WW1; the impact of Air-Land Integration on trench warfare and methods of dealing with PTSD. I cannot speak for everyone on the trip, but from my perspectives these presentations were one of the highlights and were certainly extremely educational, thought-provoking and encouraged lots of conversation between all of those present. The best presentation of the trip award goes to Mark ‘Val’ Valentine, Inzpire’s Command and Control ISR SME, who, despite claiming all the way down to Calais that he didn’t miss his time as a Secondary Maths teacher, delivered a presentation that OFSTED would have been proud of!

Val Delivering his Presentation on the Evolution of Tactics at the Lone Tree Crater

In three days of sometimes emotionally draining visits, the 34-strong party visited and learned about:

The St Omer Air Services Memorial

In Flanders Fields Museum

Hill 62/Sanctuary Wood

Tyne Cot

Talbot House

Lone Tree Crater

Messines Ridge New Zealand Memorial

On the Tuesday night, we were all extremely privileged to attend the daily Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate, where OC ABTC Wg Cdr Matt Grafton laid a wreath during the procession.

Crowds at the Menin Gate Ceremony

All of these sites offered time for quiet reflection, and at the sites which also contained cemeteries many of the party took the time to walk around individually, reading the personal inscribed messages on the headstones.

As someone who visited all of the above sites during a Battlefields Tour at the age of 17, it was even more special to have the opportunity to visit again alongside both serving and ex-Military personnel. It is testament to Inzpire’s Military heritage that so many of its personnel were freed up from their day to day duties to be part of this trip, and it is an opportunity that I am extremely grateful for. Although the key purpose of the visit was to pay our respects to those that fell during WW1 and to learn about the War, the trip also offered the opportunity for those working with Inzpire to spend time with our RAF and Civilian colleagues from the ABTC. As someone who spends the majority of the time at Inzpire HQ in Lincoln, being able to spend time with staff from other Defence contractors, and the RAF contingent, was something I really enjoyed.

As a quick parting message, if you have never visited any of the battlefield sites or cemeteries scattered around France and Belgium, I can only urge you to put it on your “to do” list. No amount of research in to numbers of fatalities, the strategies of war and the various Battles will ever prepare you for the sheer size of the memorials and cemeteries. As we approach the centenary of the end of WW1 in 2018, I think it remains as important as ever to visit these sites and pay our respects to those who laid down their lives for us just a few generations ago.

The Cemetery at Hill 62/Sanctuary Wood