It’s six years since the team at Bramshill Scouts made an autumn half-term trip to Belgium and France so the time has come for another visit with a new group of Scouts and Explorers.
This time, there are still some spaces on the coach. Join them between the 30th October and 3rd November on this remembrance trip to Ypres.
Those interested should drop the Bramshill District Lead Volunteer an email for further information – [email protected]
On the journey from Calais, the expedition hope to have time to stop at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, where a hospital had been located and pay our respects to the 33 former Scouts who lie there.
On our first evening in Ypres, we will parade our flags at the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate and lay a wreath. More than 140 former Scouts are commemorated on the memorial.
Our trip will include visits to Essex Farm Cemetery, the Passchendaele Museum and trench system, and then a cross-country walk to Tyne Cot Military Cemetery. This is the largest Commonwealth war graves cemetery, where we will have a battlefield guide help our young people learn as much as possible about the history and relevance of the site’s location. More than 115 former Scouts are buried or commemorated here. We’ll also visit the German Military Cemetery of Langemark.
Friday 1st November is a public holiday in Belgium, and the Ypres Scout Group is visiting us and we’ll entertain them with some ‘English’ games like ‘Shove-halfpenny’, dominoes and tiddly winks! Afterwards we’ll take a meal together and have a badge swap.
On Saturday we are heading down into France to visit Vimy Ridge, where there are memorials to the Canadian troops who fought alongside us in WWI and a visitor centre.
On the return trip we will visit the town of Poperinge, an important staging post and rest area in WWI. We will explore the town and its association with the men who were ‘shot at dawn’.
