Several members of the group went on the trip to Ypres from the 3rd to the 5th of September, with Major Graeme Cooper as our guide. During the three days we visited many of the sites associated with the battles of the Western Front, including on the Sunday before we came home a visit to Passchendaele which has become synonymous with the misery of grinding attrition warfare fought in thick mud, at an estimated cost of some 310,000 allied casualties.
Members of the group were also able to visit cemeteries where relatives lay buried and pay their respect (see the story of Fred Cearns in this Journal). On the Saturday evening we attended the very moving ceremony of the Last Post at the Menin Gate, where several wreaths were laid by members.
This is our second trip with Graeme (previously to Waterloo), and we look forward to our next.
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Sadly I have to report the sudden death of one of our members, Martyn Kindred, who died recently. Martyn had been a member for several years. His funeral took place on the 30th September at Hainault.