Lions to unite with ‘Pride’ in Gibraltar branch

FRIENDS will be reunited later this month as Ballymena Lions Club travel to Gibraltar to twin with the local Lions Club.

Local members will head to ‘The Rock’ on May 27 for a special event that celebrates the connection between the two communities.

The link dates back to World War II. As war broke out, the civilian population of Gibraltar was evacuated to safety in England, the West Indies and Northern Ireland.

Several hundred Gibraltarians settled in Ballymena and surrounding villages in 1943, and stayed until it was safe to return to the Rock in 1948.

The two Borough’s were twinned to commemorate this event and now Ballymena and Gibraltar’s Lions Clubs are going to twin to continue the link between the two regions.