Local representatives to travel to battlefields

The trip culminates in a parade and ceremony in Ypres as part of the end of the First World War centenary commemorations.

The event, known as The Great Pilgrimage 90 (GP90), takes place between August 5 and August 9 and will be one of the largest in the charity’s history.

GP90 will mark 90 years since the original Royal British Legion Pilgrimage in 1928, which saw 11,000 World War One veterans and war widows visit the battlefields of The Somme in France and

Ypres in Belgium, a decade after the conflict ended.

Legion member Gavin Eastwood and Branch Secretary Dennis Chirgwin will represent the Ballyclare Branch and the local community at the event as Standard Bearer and Wreath Bearer respectively.

Gavin and Dennis will tour some of the battlefields and cemeteries visited by those on the 1928 pilgrimage, before marching along the original route through Ypres, to the Menin Gate on August 8, bearing their Branch Standard and a wreath.

For more information about GP90 or your local Royal British Legion, visit the Ballyclare Branch website or contact Amanda Pollock or Dennis Chirgwin at the Legion Club on Avondale Drive Ballyclare.