This first started in 1997 when Lutterworth Royal British Legion asked the band if we would lead a parade they were organising to the Menin Gate in Ypres (Belgium). With some trepidation we agreed and the success of that weekend has led the squadron to going ever year since.

We leave in the early hours of a Friday morning in March and travel via the Channel Tunnel to a youth hostel in Westoutre (Belgium).

 

In the evening the band plays a Last Post Ceremony outside Talbot House in Poperinge

 

 

 

 

It then goes into Ypres to lead the parade to the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. This ceremony is held by the local townsfolk in remembrance of the thousands of soldiers killed in WW1 in and around Ypres (Flanders) many of whom have no known grave.

Words cannot adequately express the feelings as you march into the archway of the Menin Gate, the sound of the band reverberates round the arch, the names engraved on walls stand out starkly against the white stone.

 

 

 

 

 

A wreath is always laid by the cadets along with many other groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Saturday involves visits to various WW1 battlefield sites and cemeteries and can take us as far afield as Vimy Ridge. Flt Lt Standish acts as our guide for this part of the trip and the visits are varied so each year there seems to be always something new to see or hear about.

 Sunday morning always includes a visit to Tynecot cemetery the largest Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in the world and Langemark, a German WW1 Cemetery. The contrast between them can hardly be more dramatic and it certainly brings home that terrible losses were inflicted on all sides in the War.

 

Tynecot Cemetery

 

 

 

Sunday afternoon and the band plays in the carnival in Poperinge. Totally different to English Carnivals and for once the band can let its hair down and really join in the fun occasion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Monday sees a final visit to Ypres to buy presents for home and then back to the Tunnel for our trip home.

 

 

It is not all work though, on Saturday the staff run a great disco and karaoke evening and on Sunday it is party time and the games liven up the final night.

 

 One cadet described her first visit as 'a roller coaster ride of emotions' and cadets often go several times, one has made it six times and still finds something different each year.

This was written by a cadet after his third visit to Belgium -
"This was my third year to Belgium. This meant I was quite accustomed to the events and the things we did. The first time I visited Belgium, everything just flew by, I was not able to fully experience the atmosphere around me. The second year was a lot more emotional for me. From the sadness and loss at the Menin Gate and Tyne Cot, contrasting to the celebration and jubilation of the Poperinge Carnival.
 This year, I wanted to get something different out of it. I had a hunger to learn more about the events that took place between 1914 - 1918 in the Ypres Salient. And that hunger was fed by Flight Lieutenant John Standish.
He put a tremendous amount of work in before Belgium researching World War One in the Ypres area. As a result, this meant the visiting of a lot of cemeteries, but they were not just a resting place for the dead - they were a bloody battle site some 85 years past. Each cemetery has its heroes; each has a story to be told.
The words 'We Shall Remember Them'  will go down in 20th Century history, and so they should. Everyone should know what sacrifice these men, some of them forced into war against their will, gave, so that we could have our today.
There are two things that I shall always remember about Belgium 2000. The first being the reaction of a cadet, who found a grave that could possibly have been their Great Grandfather. The way this normally level headed cadet broke down shows how the deep scars of pain left in the wake of the Great War, still have not healed.
 The second memory I will always have is the finding of a soldier by the name of Claridge. Of all the British cemeteries we visited with nearly 100,000 graves and names between them, it was to be the smallest of cemeteries where I found a Private Claridge. It is extremely unlikely that I am ever related to this man, but just to see your surname on a war grave out of the thousands you've seen is something to be experienced.
The carnage, death, torture, suffering and sacrifice of the Great War will never go away, we can only imagine what the soldiers of both sides gave for what they believed in. For this reason, we must always remember the dead".

See the Belgium photo gallery for more pictures and for a good web site (of which there are many) for more information on WW1 click here