Page 18 - AGC Journal 2018

AGC JOURNAL 2018

100th Anniversary

of the end of the

First World War

By Major (Retired) Joseph Bright MBE

The 11th of November 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of the end of
the First World War and the signing of the Armistice. It coincided with
Remembrance Sunday.

Commemoration Services unable or unwilling to do anything to improve the lives of
ex-servicemen, he would do something about it himself. This
The main Remembrance Service was at the Cenotaph in eventually led to the formation of The British Legion.
London where the nation remembered. Members of the
Corps were on parade and a number of our retired members In 1971, The British Legion was granted ‘Royal’ status and in
marched past the Cenotaph to pay their respects to the fallen 1981 extended the membership to serving members of Her

of many conflicts. Other members of the Corps attended Majesty’s Armed Forces, as well as ex-service personnel. Now,
services throughout the country and overseas. The service anyone can become a member of The Royal British Legion.
at Winchester Cathedral was attended by the Corps Colonel,

Colonel Frances Castle, and other officers and soldiers from Remembrance 2018 Members of the Corps who were

Worthy Down. invited to take part in the Service at
In 2018 The Royal British Legion led the nation in saying the Thiepval Memorial in France
A number of our members attended the Remembrance Thank You to the First World War generation, all who served,
Service at the Thiepval Memorial in the Somme, France at the sacrificed and changed our world. The Military played a huge

invitation of Captain Terry Twining MBE who is chairman of the part in this year’s Remembrance service as it was also 100th
Somme Branch of The Royal British Legion. year of Armistice. As the Chairman of the Somme Branch of The
Royal British Legion, I invited members of the Corps to attend
Somme Branch of The Royal British Legion the service in France, as I have done so over many years. The
Service was both moving and poignant as the Somme was the

By Captain Terry Twining MBE scene of some of the fiercest fighting of World War One.
The British Legion was formed on 15 May 1921, bringing Battle of the Somme
together four national organisations of ex-servicemen

that had established themselves after the First World War. The first day of the Battle of the Somme, in northern France,
The main purpose of the Legion was straightforward, to was the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army and one
care for those who had suffered as a result of service in of the most infamous days of World War One. On 1 July 1916,

the Armed Forces during the war, whether through their the British forces suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240
own service or through that of a husband, father or son. fatalities. They gained just three square miles of territory. One Veterans assembling on Horse Guards

The suffering took many forms, such as the effect of a war of the deadliest battles in history, the Somme came to embody before the Cenotaph march past
wound on a man’s ability to earn a living and support his all the horror of the First World War. The Somme became a
byword for senseless slaughter as the Allies gained just six
family, or a war widow’s struggle to give her children an miles over 141 days of bloodshed.
education. Even those who had come through the war
relatively unscathed struggled with employment. As a
result of the war, Britain’s economy plummeted and in 1921
there were two million unemployed.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Formation of The Royal British Legion
Captain Terry Twining has organised the
Over six million men had served in the war of which 725,000 Remembrance Services on the Somme on the
never returned. Of those who came back, 1.75 million had 11th of November and the 1st of July for the past
suffered some kind of disability and half of these were 15 years. Seeing in the 85th, 90th, 95th and 100th

permanently disabled. Added to this figure were the families Anniversaries. As well as this he also assists with
who depended on those who had gone to war - the wives and the organisation of the D-Day commemorations
children, widows and orphans as well as the parents who had in Bayeur, France. Another milestone will be
lost sons in the war, who often contributed to the household in 2019 as it will be the 75th Anniversary of the The Corps Wreath is laid alongside
income. D-Day landings. the wreath of the President of the Captain Laurence Hall and twelve members of the Corps
Republic of France at the rehearsal for the Cenotaph Parade
The situation so moved Lancastrian Lance Bombardier Tom
Lister, that he decided that if the government was either
18 19