Page 138 - The Royal Lancers Chapka 2018

136 REGIMENTAL JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL LANCERS (QUEEN ELIZABETHS’ OWN)
ily gathered around private George Ellison’s grave and his Great Great Great Granddaughter, even though she will be in her pram, will be part of the remembrance and celebrations today. The me- morial service proceeded lead by the Canadian Army and British service personnel from NATO HQ. Wreaths were laid by the Bel- gium Royal Family, the Governor General of Canada, the French ambassador, the German ambassador, the British ambassador and of course the 16/5Ls. Forming up near us was a very smart Lance Guard from The Royal Lancers. I noticed that our mood had changed slightly, as our feet was walking on the ground they had walked on and our eyes were seeing what they had seen many years ago. All of a sudden remembrance was becoming very real.
We decided that we would not lay our wreath at Private Ellison’s grave on the Saturday but would return with the Ellison family on Sunday morning and have our own private ceremony at 0940 when George Ellison was shot, exactly 100 years ago to the minute. After the ceremony we boarded our coach and drove to the area of Ypres and the Salient, around ninety minute’s drive away. Our first call was to Tyne Cott Military Cemetery where over 11,000 commonwealth soldiers are buried and 30,000 names are on the rear wall, listing those who fell and have no known grave. Here we laid a wreath at the grave of a 16L who was ‘Known unto God.’ This soldier’s body was brought here from the battlefield where he had laid for some time. It was Rudyard Kipling who had sug- gested to the King that a suitable inscription would be ‘Known unto God.’ He would have been identified by his badges only. The view from the rising ground of Tyne Cott gives an excellent view back across the ridges of the Battle of Passchendaele. Various ridges and trench lines were pointed out as well as the bunkers and machine gun positions. We then moved on, driving across the ridges of Passchendaele and on to Polygon Wood, Blackwatch Corner, followed by a visit to Hill 60 where we talked of mining and underground explosions and fighting in the dark. Moving on to the Menin Road passing close by Shrewsbury Forest where the Regiments, 5L and 16L as infantry in trenches, were mined by the Germans losing a number of officers and soldiers. We would later visit their graves. We laid wreaths at Sanctuary Wood Cemetery
Roy De-St-Croix, Tony Clatworthy and Mark Roberts (who came over from Canada)
for two soldiers of the 16Ls, both killed on November 5th 1914, Lance Corporal Herbert Chapman – Private George Birmingham
We moved on to Ypres Town Cemetery where five of our officers lay. The 21st February 1915 was an unusually disastrous day for the 16L who were holding the line north of Klein Zillebeke on the edge of Shrewsbury Forest. At 0600 on the 21st one mine was fired, followed immediately afterwards by the other two. This was the worst day of the whole of the war for the 16L: when the roll was called it was confirmed that five officers and seven men had been killed, one officer and 29 men wounded and one officer and 11 men were missing.
Five Officers, four from the 16L and one from 5L, lie in this cemetery. Their names and a short biography were read at the same time as a wreath was laid at each grave. Lieutenant William Hugh Coulter of the 5L, Lieutenant Rowland Beech, Lieuten- ant Nathanial King, Major Arundel Neave, and Captain Edward Nash of the 16L. It was almost as if their ghosts were with us as we drank a toast to them with Irish whiskey and voiced the Irish blessing. We moved further into the Ypres Town Cemetery Ex- tension where three privates of the 5L lay, all killed on the same day, 25th May 1915. Private A Carter, Private L Concannon and Private M Lake. Again, during our short ceremony we drank a toast to the fallen with Irish whiskey.
We then drove into Ypres through the Menin Gate, across the Great Square de-busing behind the Cloth Hall outside the Ypres Cathedral. We had a supper booked in a restaurant and all sat down together to a very enjoyable evening meal. We concluded our meal with a number of toasts with glasses of port to “The Queen, The Regiment and the Fallen.” Once again, the group felt the history of the city all around them as we walked across the Grand Square, which was now filling with thousands of visi- tors from all over Europe. Even though we were forty minutes early for the ceremony getting a good viewing location might be difficult. We made our way through the crowds and through the barriers acting as though we should be here. As we strode along
The fallen of the 16L
The ceremony at Saint Symphorien Military Cemetery at Mons