SCOUTS VISIT YPRES FOR REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 2018…
Four of our Scouts and leaders joined the Woking District Scouts trip to Ypres to commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One. Here is what Archie & Sam had to say about the trip:
My trip to Ypres was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I will look back on fondly later in life. My favourite part of the trip had to be the Tyne Cot Cemetery. There were loads of graves there (and almost 35,000 names on the memorial of men who died in the fighting there). My great great uncle is commemorated there. When I saw his name on the memorial, I felt very connected. We got to see the Menin gate at its best all lit up and it was really atmospheric. I also enjoyed carrying the flag for Knaphill on the Sunday for the Armistice Day Service. Even though I wasn’t under the Menin Gate I still felt like I was there. The Passchendaele museum was also a thrilling experience, we went inside a trench, we also did this at the Yorkshire trench. There were lots of models of the clothing the soldiers wore, the weapons they used and the conditions of the trenches. Report by Archie, Scout
The Ypres trip was very emotional, but very interesting. We went to the last post on the Saturday night under Menin Gate and we also were part of the parade on the Sunday during the remembrance service. We went to the Yorkshire trench which was great since we got to go into the trench. We also went to Tyne Cott cemetery and that was emotional to see all the soldiers grave stones side by side with the opposition. At Tyne Cott we had to find people from Woking on the wall of all the people who had died, but their bodies had not been found. We also went to a museum which was very interesting because it had a trench experience at the end, it also had tonnes of World War One guns.—Report by Sam, Scout
Ferme-Olivier Cemetery on Sat 10th Nov where Scouts held a ceremony to lay a scarf and wreath on 2nd Lieutenant Marc Noble’s head stone (he was at the first Brownsea Island camp run by BP in 1907) and killed in action in 1917 just down the road from the cemetery.
Photo credit—Surrey County Media team
Sunday 11th Nov morning Poppy Parade through Ypres to the Menin Gate for the main Remembrance service.
Photo credit—Surrey County Media team
For more photos please see:
https://surreyscouts.smugmug.com/Public-Galleries/District-Events/Ypres-2018/
and Youtube of the Poppy Parade (Scouts appear at approx 9 mins parading to the Gate and 51 mins returning):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yR5LGigMT8