WE WILL NEVER, EVER FORGET
Neil Harris on a weekend to Remember.
Marking 100 years since the end of WWI, last weekend was an opportunity to remember and commemorate those who fought, and those who lost their lives between 1914 and 1918.
Myself and Andy (Lamb) spent the armistice centenary commemoration with some of our Canadian friends; being privileged enough to participate in the Vimy Ridge commemoration and to attend the opening of Vimy Memorial Park , before joining hundreds in the city of Mons,for an event staged in in collaboration with the municipalities of the Roeulx, Soignies and Quiévrain, finishing by paying our respects at the 11am memorial on Sunday.
Mons
Armistice Centenary Commemoration
The launch of Vimy Memorial Park
Our trip also took in a visit to Douamont National Necropolis and its Memorial, visited by President Emmanuel Macron last week as part of his memorial tour of North-East France, to pay our respects to the 44,000 French buried at the site and to the 66,0000 combatants who died in the Pas De Calais in WWI.
Douamont National Necropolis
The ‘son et lumiere’ show was magnificent
A sombre sight, and one that the public do not have access to: Chalk tunnels where troops were ‘stored’.
One hundred years may have passed, but the legacy will live on for hundreds more.