Guild Events 2015
Secretary writes:
The schedule of Guild events for 2015 is now up on the
website - see http://www.gbg-international.com/event_2015.html.
This is a strong programme and we hope that members will participate.
Naval & Military Press
Battalion Records
Andy Thompson writes:
We have around 14 members interested in buying the DVD &
thus Guild members can qualify for the pre-publish price of £250 +VAT. If there
are any other members interested can they contact Andy Thompson on
Info@eyewitnesstours contact by Friday 19th December.
Those who have already expressed an interest will be contacted
later this week with further details.
Contact Andy at andy.ewt@gmail.com
Validation at Swindon –
7/8 March 2015
Alison Hine writes:
The following candidates have asked to validate Assignment
One at the Swindon weekend: Anthony Rich, Emma White, James Dinsdale,
Derek Armitage and Chris Cherry. Thank you to all those shown for signing up so
quickly as this fills the five validation slots available and now enables us to
plan event(s) around the validations. If anyone else wishes to attempt
Assignment One that weekend I will open a Reserve List.
Validation Secretary Email
Address
Alison Hine writes:
Please note my BT Mail email address is defunct! For
validation matters please use the new valsec@gbg-international.com
Somme Validation Day 30th
January 2015
Secretary writes:
A validation day has been arranged in the Somme area on the
30th January 2015. Those wishing to undertake assignments 1, 5 or 6 are asked
to send their details to Alison Hine asap. The event is open to all - not just
members based in France. If there are enough people form the UK interested in
attending, group transport will be arranged.
If you would like to attend please contact Alison Hine at valsec@gbg-international.com
Guide Wanted
Secretary writes:
I have received the following request for guiding support:
I am trying to organise a day tour for my parents in Feb
2015 to see the Marfaux memorial as my father’s uncle is commemorated on it.
They are staying in Reims and would need to be picked up from there and dropped
back after the tour. They would like to see anything else relevant in the area.
Could you possibly ask your members if anyone is in the area at the time and
can help – and quote a price?
If you can help please let me know.
Cuban battlefields
Andrew Roberts writes:
Please could you ask the membership if anyone’s visited the
Cuban battlefields that Churchill reported from in 1895, where I’m going in
February? The places I’m particularly interested in are Arroyo Blanco, Spiritu
Santu and La Reforma. Could you ask anyone who’s been to any of them to contact
me on andrew@roberts-london.fsnet.co.uk
Despatches - the Next
Edition
Secretary writes:
The next edition of Despatches is scheduled for March 2015.
If you have an article that you would like to put forward please send it to me
before the end of February 2015.
Christmas Truce Memorial
Simon Lougie writes:
I wanted to give you an update on the new Christmas Truce
Memorial which was unveiled last Saturday by Mildenhall College Academy (UK)
and Gymnasiums Theodorianum from Padderborn (Germany). The ceremony, put
together by the pupils themselves, was beautiful and a nice reward for all
their hard work. The icing on the cake was the tying of two scarfs by the
ambassadors, symbolising the bonds between the schools. Below you can also find
several links to newspapers, videos and photos of the event.
Almost 100 years ago, a unique event unfolded at several
locations along the frontline. Around Christmas 1914, the weather had made
warfare impossible, and both armies became deadlocked in the trenches. The
well-known "Silent Night! Holy Night! resounded and an atmosphere of “live
and let live" arose. In the valley in front of Messines too, the so called
"Christmas truce" spontaneously took place. For several years now, a
British and German school have come together in the Flanders fields to reflect
on the horror of the Great War and in the remembrance of the Christmas Truce.
To physically anchor their Christmas Truce remembrance and their commitment to
the Flanders Fields region, both schools worked together on a memorial. The
emphasis of the project was on the pupils who designed the memorial and put
together the whole ceremony. On 6 December 2014, this symbol of hope for the
future was unveiled by the German and British Ambassadors by tying two scarfs
together to symbolise the ties between the two schools and their countries. The
memorial is located outside the Peace Village Hostel, accessible to all groups
passing by in the area.
The two schools hope that their memorial will be visited now
by many other schools who walk in their footsteps and leave their own souvenirs
behind. It is not a just a memorial to the historic Christmas Truces but also a
symbol of hope to the future and an everlasting reminder of this international
project. They would be very happy if the memorial could be included in guide
books, website overviews, social media and articles which would all help promote
it. we hope you can help us with this.
Through this link, you can access some of the photos taken
at the event: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.645889902188114.1073741832.173727099404399&type=3
The local television (WTV) made a nice video report on the
event with some interviews in three languages: www.focus-wtv.be/video/kerstbestanden-herdacht
Below you can find some interesting articles, I’ve picked
one per language:
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to
contact me. Simon Louagie simon.louagie@peacevillage.be
The Ring of Memory - new
memorial at Notre Dame de Lorette
Andrew Thomson writes:
This new memorial was opened on 11 November by President
Hollande - and visited by me on the 15th! It's high quality, original,
and a 'must' for any visits to the Arras area. Called "L'Anneau de
Memoire" - the "Ring of Memory" - it's an oval-shaped enclosure
on the hilltop overlooking the slopes up to Notre Dame de Lorette* where the
French were fighting in the autumn of 1914 and spring of 1915. You walk
around the ring - cut into the ground where you first walk in, but suspended
above the hillside as you make your way around - and see panels and panels
listing in alphabetical order ALL those who died in the Nord / Pas-de-Calais
region in 194-18. 580,000 names, of all nationalities - 40 nationalities
in fact. 290,000 - i.e. around half - are British Empire, representing
almost all our 'non-Ypres' and 'non-Somme' Western Front losses: Loos,
Festubert, Neuve Chapelle, Arras, Cambrai, much of the 100 Days, etc.
Names are strictly alphabetical, with no mention of
nationality. This gives a surprising and original perspective - it is so
different to the CWGC's Lists of the Missing since on this new memorial there
is no distinction by regiment. Thus, ALL the J Smiths are together, as
you see in one of the attached photos. You see blocks of names that are
clearly French or German or British - then swaths of names where all
nationalties are all jumbled up.
You see famous names - John Kipling, Wilfred Own (warning:
there are two Wilfred Owns: the poet is Wlfred Edward Salter Owen!) - and, the
reason I was there, the names of relatives of UK clients. It's an amazing
complement to a Vimy Ridge visit too - obviously, all those Canadians are
listed here.
It's smart, respectful, simple, stimulating, and quality -
the materials used are first-class.
Members can see some pictures of the Memorial at http://gbg-international.blogspot.co.uk/
Best Regards
Tony Smith
Guild Secretary
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