Deputy Lord Mayor Councillor Jessica Johnston, together with fellow elected members, recently attended the Battle of the Somme memorial and commemoration services in France and Belgium to honour and remember those who served.
Joining Deputy Lord Mayor Johnston on the four-day commemorative visit were Aldermen Ian Burns, Mark Baxter, Gordon Kennedy, Councillor Peter Haire and the council’s Director of Development, Community and Wellbeing Paul Tamati.
“It was a profound honour to join fellow elected members in paying tribute at the Battle of the Somme memorial,” reflected Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Jessica Johnston.
“Participating in the commemoration services allowed us to reflect on the courage and resilience of those who fought in the Battle of the Somme. We are committed to preserving their memory for generations to come.”
On the first day (Sunday 29 June) the delegation visited the Sir John Monash Centre, a state-of-the-art museum and interpretive centre that honours Australian servicemen and women who served on the Western Front during the First World War.
On Monday 30 June, the group toured Vimy Ridge, a significant site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in the Battle of Arras. They also visited Ancre Cemetery, the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial and the Somme Museum. The day culminated with a poignant wreath-laying ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, which bears the names of over 54,000 missing soldiers.
On Tuesday 01 July – commemorating the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme’s commencement – the delegation laid wreaths at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, dedicated to over 72,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known graves.
Paying tribute to the members of 36th (Ulster) Division and 16th Irish Division who fought in First World War, the delegation also laid wreaths at the Ulster Memorial Tower and Ginchy Cross, Guillemont remembrance services.
The visit concluded at the Pozières Memorial and Cemetery, which commemorates those who lost their lives during the Battles of Pozières and the Somme in 1916.
