Friends of 36th visit World War One sites

The focus of the trip was to find and remember the men from the borough “who went off to fight for king and country, leaving family and friends never to return”.

George Watson, of the Friends of the 36th, takes up the story: “This Association believe we owe a great debt of gratitude to all those who took part in World War I. The war to end wars.

“On this occasion we had the pleasure not only of members travelling but the company of a number of visitors from the town who had indicated their desire to find members of their families and others who just wanted to have the opportunity to pay their respects.

“We are grateful to Kristof Demey our tour guide who went the extra mile to make the visit a complete success. We are also grateful to Carrickfergus Borough Council and the Good Relations department who kindly accepted our application for grant funding to help with the travel arrangements.

“We had an extremely busy four days. We started off visiting the German soldiers graves at Langemark and then on to John Condon’s grave. John is reported to be the youngest Irishman to die during the war age 14. We visited Tyne Cot, Polygon and Bedford House Cemeteries as well as the Hooge Crater and the Caterpillar Crater where Irish engineers worked.

“We visited the Black Watch Memorial and paid our respects to those members of the famous Scottish regiment and acknowledged their sacrifice. We also had the privilege of standing as guard of honour as the Friends of the 36th Ulster Division Carrickfergus Association laid a wreath on behalf of the Carrickfergus men and women who made the supreme sacrifice, as well as visitors from all over the world who lay their wreaths on behalf of their country and the Commonwealth at the Menin Gate.

“Respect was also paid by visiting the memorial stones in Wijtschates to the Irish Divisions as well as Sergeant Wortley’s grave in Spanbroekmolem Cemetery and Carrick men Sydney Allcock in the Canada Farm Cemetery, William Powers and David McQuitty in nearby cemeteries. The visitors were able to find their relatives and paid their respects, while a number of wreaths were laid during our visit. Great interest was also shown when visiting the area of the Christmas truce.

“We left Flanders to travel up to France stopping off at the Albert museum, then to Heart of Midlothian Memorial, or as it is also known McCrae’s Battalion War Memorial, next the Thiepval Tower and then a tour of Thiepval Wood where the heroic deeds of the brave soldiers will live in history. Finally we finished our tour with a visit to the Ulster Tower built as a lasting memorial to those brave men and women of the 36th Ulster Division.

“This was a fantastic trip and one we believe people should experience. With this being the 100th anniversary of WWI it would be a great time for the schools to get involved and learn a part of their history. It would be an experience of a lifetime for the students to experience as schools from all over Britain are continually making these trips.”

In his concluding remarks, Mr Watson thanked everyone who supported the trip.