The year 10 student at Nowra Christian School recently returned from a 12 day trip visiting battlefields and memorial sites in France and Belgium to commemorate and learn about Australia’s involvement in WW1. 

Noah undertook the adventure after being awarded the Premier's Anzac Memorial Scholarship earlier this year. 

With a keen interest in Australian history, Noah researched officer Clarence Jeffries VC who was killed in WW1 and took the opportunity to visit his gravesite.

“For me a standout moment of the trip would be when we visited Tyne Cot Cemetery and I actually saw his headstone,” Noah said. 

“I stood right near the gate and saw all the headstones which was really moving. 

“It was quite an emotional experience, just to think ‘every single of those is a person.’

Twenty-three students from across NSW took part in the trip, with everyone writing the name of the person they had researched and leaving it at the site.

“A few people spoke about the life of the person they researched and we all said the Ode. That was a very moving experience and the emotion is still clear in my mind,” Noah said. 

The trip also included a visit to the Battle of Pozières and the Battle of Fromelles. 

“The atmosphere there was very sombre but just seeing how much passion and respect the French people have for Australians was amazing,” Noah said. 

“The respect for both sides was incredible.” 

Noah thanked his teachers, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Hetherington, principal Mr Smith, the school community and his parents for supporting his journey. 

While he’s already racked up an impressive number of stamps on the passport, Noah’s hoping to add a few more over the coming years. 

“I’d like to go to Greece or Italy. Or America.”

“I hope to go to college somewhere on the coast in America and play basketball.”