We will remember them

A group of LVC’s veterans had the honour and privilege of joining McCrae’s Battalion Trust’s Annual Pilgrimage to Contalmaison from 29th June to 4th July. Jack Alexander, a historian and author, and Eddie Dalgliesh, both members of the Trust organise these annual pilgrimages and are authorities on all things to do with McCrae’s Battalion and the First World War. They could not have made our group feel more welcome and included from start to finish. Of course, we must also thank Tam Douglas BEM, who recently retired from Legion Scotland, for the introductions and his help in making this happen for LVC’s veterans. This was an especially poignant, and emotive pilgrimage, not least because my great-grandfather, Richard Cherrington, was one of the first volunteers for McCrae’s Battalion and this was to be Tam Douglas’ last pilgrimage as part of the Royal Scots Standard Bearers Party.

Day 1 consisted of an early departure from Edinburgh City Centre and a convivial coach journey to Hull where we boarded the overnight ferry to Rotterdam. There were many familiar faces on the trip as well as some new ones, including well-kent faces from the Royal Scots, members of McCrae’s Battalion Trust, and descendants of soldiers in McCrae’s Battalion. Our group soon started to get to know everyone, and we enjoyed lots of camaraderie, laughs and libations both on the coach and ferry!

Day 2 consisted of a coach journey to Zonnebeke, Belgium, where we visited the Museum of Passchendaele which offered an insight into the history of the Battle of Passchendaele and was enriched by personal stories and authentic objects from the First World War. We had the chance to walk through reconstructed British and German trenches that presented a powerful insight into life at the front, and the museum also had a dugout that we walked through that showed how British troops lived underground in 1917. In another room we saw projected historical images of the Battle of Passchendaele and the landscape of 1917 which depicted the horrors that so many young men had to endure. After our walk around the museum, we boarded the coach to take us to our hotel in Arras, France. It was a very hot day, so we were grateful for our air-conditioned Bibby’s Travel coach and comfortable journey, a stark contrast to that of so many young men during the Great War. After checking into our hotel, we were able to explore the beautiful city of Arras with its large square and array of restaurants and bars.

Day 3 (Tuesday 1st July) was the day of the ceremony at Contalmaison, a small, picturesque village in France surrounded by lush green fields. On 1st July 1916 those fields were anything but; they were filled with young men of the 34th Division of the British Expeditionary Force and at the front was Lieutenant Colonel Sir George McCrae’s Battalion, the 16th Royal Scots – the Pals Battalion. The battalion was made up of players from Heart of Midlothian football team, who were at the top of the league in 1914, their supporters, players from other teams including Hibernian and many local men from Edinburgh and surrounding areas, each man volunteering following an appeal by McCrae to the young men of Scotland’s Capital City in November 1914. On 1st July 1916, the opening and bloodiest day of the Battle of the Somme, British and Commonwealth casualties totalled 57,470. Of that number 19,240 were killed and 2,152 missing or captured. Entire battalions of pals, brothers, cousins, neighbours and workmates were wiped out in a matter of minutes. Amid the carnage it was the heroic men of the 16th Royal Scots that penetrated furthest into the German’s defences. Almost three quarters of their fighting strength became casualties, including several of the Hearts players and their pals from other football clubs, despite this, a small party pressed on to reach the tiny, ruined village of Contalmaison, deep inside the German trench system.

In 2004 a commemorative Cairn was raised in Contalmaison in memory of McCrae’s Battalion. It was constructed by Scottish craftsmen using Scottish materials and has become the centrepiece for Scottish pilgrimages on the Somme ever since. The ceremony was on the hottest day of the pilgrimage with the temperature reaching a sweltering 40 degrees, and it culminated in the laying of wreaths and singing the French and British National Anthems. The Royal Scots Standard Bearers Party did well to stand for so long in such a heat! Afterwards, our group made the short walk to the Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery to pay our respects to the fallen before enjoying an afternoon of delicious food, drinks, singing and speeches.

Day 4 consisted of two visits, the morning visit being to The Underground City at Naours, France. The original chalk mines were used as shelters for people and their property and then became underground hiding places. The Underground City was dug by hand and at its peak, there were 28 galleries and 300 rooms. These were occupied from the Middle Ages until the 17th century when they fell into disuse until they were rediscovered in 1887. The Underground City became a very popular local curiosity after its rediscovery, especially during the First World War. Many Allied soldiers visited the site when they were back from the front lines, and many wrote their names on the walls. The graffiti was discovered in 2014 and no less than 3,200 graffiti have been catalogued, making this the largest known concentration of Great War graffiti.

The afternoon visit was to Vignacourt, France, which was the site of an important military base behind Allied lines during the Great War. Two local farmers, Louis and Antionette Thuillier owned their own camera, which was rare at that time, and they turned their farm into a studio. Civilians and soldiers would come to the farmhouse to have their photographs taken. When the war ended the photographic plates (negatives) were stored in the attic of the farmhouse and forgotten for over a century. They now form the Thuillier Collection, a unique set of images displayed in their original farmhouse. The faces in the photographs tell their own story of the Great War.

Day 5 saw us checking out of the hotel and taking the coach to Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing for the dead of World War I in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world, for any war and is located, near Zonnebeke, Belgium. There are German concrete pill boxes on this site which formed part of a fortified position of the Germans and played an important tactical role during the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917. It is such a tranquil place that it is almost impossible to discern the grim horrors of war that once happened there.

In the afternoon we headed for the beautiful city of Ypres, Belgium, which was almost entirely destroyed during the Great War. The city was rebuilt using the original medieval plans and it’s hard to believe that you’re not walking through a genuine medieval townscape. While there we visited the Menin Gate which is dedicated to the nearly 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. The memorial is located at the eastern exit of the town and marks the starting point for one of the main roads that led Allied soldiers to the front line. Then it was onwards to Rotterdam and the overnight ferry to Hull.

Day 6 was our return journey to Edinburgh where we said our farewells to everyone.

LVC is grateful to McCrae’s Battalion Trust for allowing us the privilege to join them on this poignant and thought-provoking pilgrimage to commemorate the heroes of the 16th Royal Scots. McCrae’s Battalion Trust is the world’s first registered charity to be inspired by the sacrifice of an infantry battalion of the Great War. It was established to ensure the long-term care and maintenance of the Contalmaison Cairn and its associated commemorative works. An educational purpose was also incorporated into the Deed of Trust to ensure that the story of Sir George McCrae and his wonderful battalion would not be forgotten.