MONDAY, August 4, 2014, marks the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War.
On August 4 until Saturday, August 9, I will lead a coach party from the North of England to the First World War Battlefields in Belgium and France.
En route, we will visit the Shuttleworth Collection of First War aircraft. In London, we will have dinner in the Lloyd George Room, in Whitehall, and hear the chimes of Big Ben at 11pm marking the centenary. We will also visit the tomb of the Unknown Warrior, the Cenotaph and the special Centenary Exhibition at the Imperial War Museum.
In Belgium, we will visit Mons where the British Army fired the first (and the last) shots in the war. We will follow the retreat of the “Old Contemptibles” from Mons through Le Cateau, Landrecies, St Quentin to the Marne. We will see the Armistice Carriage at Compienge, visit the grave of Wilfred Owen, see the trench lines of the Somme and Flanders, and attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.
We will visit sites associated with the northern Regiments and a full explanation will be given of particular battles and events.
It will be possible to pay personal respects by visiting a family members’ grave or memorial.
We have a few places left on the trip and I will be happy to supply full details to your readers if they contact me at 2 Eden Gate, Warcop, Appleby-in-Westmorland, CA16 6PL or phone me on 01768 341060 or on my mobile on 07710 270640.
David Raw, Appleby-in-Westmoreland
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