Sacred soil (1 Viewer)

[Guy]

Sacred soil on its way to the London Memorial;
70 sandbags are awaiting in the Lakenhalle in the city of Ypres to be transported to London. They will be transported by the end of this month by a Belgian Frigate belonging to the Belgian Roayal Navy .The frigate will moor in the Thames river near Tower Bridge. The bags contain soil collected at 70 British cemetries and memorial parks across Flanders Fields . They will be used to complete a memorial Garden in London ,near Buckingham Palace, to commemorate the 1st WW
guy:smile2:

 

[Jack]

Sacred soil on its way to the London Memorial;
70 sandbags are awaiting in the Lakenhalle in the city of Ypres to be transported to London. They will be transported by the end of this month by a Belgian Frigate belonging to the Belgian Roayal Navy .The frigate will moor in the Thames river near Tower Bridge. The bags contain soil collected at 70 British cemetries and memorial parks across Flanders Fields . They will be used to complete a memorial Garden in London ,near Buckingham Palace, to commemorate the 1st WW
guy:smile2:
View attachment 139034

No one does commemoration quite as well as the Brits!

 

[waynepoo]

Sacred soil on its way to the London Memorial;
70 sandbags are awaiting in the Lakenhalle in the city of Ypres to be transported to London. They will be transported by the end of this month by a Belgian Frigate belonging to the Belgian Roayal Navy .The frigate will moor in the Thames river near Tower Bridge. The bags contain soil collected at 70 British cemetries and memorial parks across Flanders Fields . They will be used to complete a memorial Garden in London ,near Buckingham Palace, to commemorate the 1st WW
guy:smile2:
View attachment 139034

Outstanding! well done to all concerned.....:salute::
Wayne.

 

[Martin Tabony]

The ceremony was shown on the news last night. The Belgian army handing over the the sand bags to the Household division, then placed on a King's Troop gun carriage, at the Menin Gate. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...e-Day-Prince-Philip-lays-wreath-in-Ypres.html

Martin

 

[Guy]

No one does commemoration quite as well as the Brits!

Sorry Jack but I have to put this right: this is a Belgian initiative . Part of the Belgian commemorations of WW1 and out of respect for the British nation and more in particular for the British soldiers who lost their life in Flanders Fields defending my country; The Brits were the first who stood by the Belgians right from the start of the war when the Germans invaded my country.The sandbags were filled by Belgian school girls and boys and handed over during the Menin Gate ceremony to British school children and it is the Belgian Navy that will take care of transporting the sandbags to London where they will be handed over during a ceremony to the London authorities ..
guy

 

[Rob]

Watched this live yesterday and it was very moving. To hear the seventy cemeteries read out really brings home the enormity of what we are remembering here and the sacrifice this country made in standing by Belgium. As I was just saying to Jack, in this country there is often uproar about public spending and infrastructure, but we certainly do know how to remember our fallen. This new Garden at Wellington Barracks , the rebuilt Imperial War Museum, the forthcoming National memorial near Dover, the National Arboretum in Staffs and all the events coming over the next four years clearly shows the scars of WW1 run very deep(perhaps deeper than any other military event) in the collective memory and the growing Remembrance day movement under the stewardship of the Royal British Legion and the great British public point to a nation who not only acknowledge the losses this country suffered but are increasingly going to length to pass on the baton of remembrance to the next generation.

The Battlefields of France and Belgium now play host to tens of thousands of British visitors every year and even more pleasing is that school trips to these areas are growing more and more as we begin the run in to the centenary. The IWM has always had many school trips on a regular basis but when it fully re opens next year it will see a veritable flood of them. This is all good news as the last of the veterans has now left us the flame of memory burns bright.

This is a great idea to have soil from our Flanders cemeteries in a garden of remembrance in the heart of London and look forward to visiting it when open next year.

http://memorial2014.duo.be/en/memorial_garden

I was quite shocked as they read out the cemeteries as I had forgotten just how many of them I've visited!{eek3}


We will remember them.

Best to all
Rob

 

[Guy]

Watched this live yesterday and it was very moving. To hear the seventy cemeteries read out really brings home the enormity of what we are remembering here and the sacrifice this country made in standing by Belgium. As I was just saying to Jack, in this country there is often uproar about public spending and infrastructure, but we certainly do know how to remember our fallen. This new Garden at Wellington Barracks , the rebuilt Imperial War Museum, the forthcoming National memorial near Dover, the National Arboretum in Staffs and all the events coming over the next four years clearly shows the scars of WW1 run very deep(perhaps deeper than any other military event) in the collective memory and the growing Remembrance day movement under the stewardship of the Royal British Legion and the great British public point to a nation who not only acknowledge the losses this country suffered but are increasingly going to length to pass on the baton of remembrance to the next generation.

The Battlefields of France and Belgium now play host to tens of thousands of British visitors every year and even more pleasing is that school trips to these areas are growing more and more as we begin the run in to the centenary. The IWM has always had many school trips on a regular basis but when it fully re opens next year it will see a veritable flood of them. This is all good news as the last of the veterans has now left us the flame of memory burns bright.

This is a great idea to have soil from our Flanders cemeteries in a garden of remembrance in the heart of London and look forward to visiting it when open next year.

http://memorial2014.duo.be/en/memorial_garden

I was quite shocked as they read out the cemeteries as I had forgotten just how many of them I've visited!{eek3}


We will remember them.

Best to all
Rob

Unfortunately Rob there are plenty more cemetries, small ones, just having 20-30 graves or less, in places never visited , in the middle of a field, next to a farmer's shed etc...
guy

 

[Rob]

Unfortunately Rob there are plenty more cemetries, small ones, just having 20-30 graves or less, in places never visited , in the middle of a field, next to a farmer's shed etc...
guy

That's very true Guy, unfortunately some of these are off the beaten track and as such would be pretty unknown to the average member of the public. Hopefully the centenary will see more road signage installed to direct folk to some of these areas as it's often the smallest cemeteries that are the most peaceful and moving. Also anyone wanting to visit the more remote cemeteries should get a copy of a Major and Mrs Holts Guide and a Rose Coombs' ' Before Endeavours fade' guide, these two will help you visit any cemetery you can access. It's a sad fact that many of these young men who lie in cemeteries in less known areas will never get many if any visitors, but at least the sacrifice as a whole is being remembered.

Rob

 

[Jack]

Sorry Jack but I have to put this right: this is a Belgian initiative . Part of the Belgian commemorations of WW1 and out of respect for the British nation and more in particular for the British soldiers who lost their life in Flanders Fields defending my country; The Brits were the first who stood by the Belgians right from the start of the war when the Germans invaded my country.The sandbags were filled by Belgian school girls and boys and handed over during the Menin Gate ceremony to British school children and it is the Belgian Navy that will take care of transporting the sandbags to London where they will be handed over during a ceremony to the London authorities ..
guy

Guy

My apologies!! I had meant to write 'No one does commemorations like the Brits except the Belgians'!!:salute::

Jack

 

[Guy]

Guy

My apologies!! I had meant to write 'No one does commemorations like the Brits except the Belgians'!!:salute::

Jack

Jack,
Let's settle for a compromise and say that it is a joined effort from the Brits and the Belgians . The main thing is that there will be a new memorial in London to honour the British war victims for all those people wanting to pay their respect to the dead and never have the opportunity to travel to Flanders .
guy

 

[Martin Tabony]

Jack,
Let's settle for a compromise and say that it is a joined effort from the Brits and the Belgians . The main thing is that there will be a new memorial in London to honour the British war victims for all those people wanting to pay their respect to the dead and never have the opportunity to travel to Flanders .
guy

And the Household Division appreciates it!

Martin

 

[Rob]

Can't wait to return to Ypre next year. ^&cool I am actually containing my disbelief as I write this. Last night I explained to my better half that over the next four years I'd like to visit the Somme, Ypre, Verdun , Mons, Normandy and Arnhem. Expecting her to burst into mocking laughter at the mere thought of it...........she agreed{eek3}{eek3}{eek3}

So we start next year with Ypre , Somme and hopefully Normandy:salute::

Rob

 

[PanzerAce1944]

wow, Definitely an awesome and remarkable story.