K&K are going to
Ypres again for
11/11/11membership of 'The Last Post' gives us 1st row tickets at the Menin Gate for the celebrations.
Delegation of Belgian, British, French and German Olympic Medal Winners to be Present on the Armistice Commemoration 2011
On November 11th, 2011, it will be exactly 93 years since the end of the Great War. In the presence of prominent international and national delegates from Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, India and New Zealand, the fallen and missing of the First World War are to be commemorated in an appropriate way. Within the sphere of the Olympic Games of London 2012 and in addition to the above prominent delegates there will also be present at the Armistice commemorations a delegation of Belgian, British, French and German Olympic medal winners.
Every year, before and on the 11th November, the town of Ieper welcomes thousands of visitors from all over the world who commemorate the end of the First World War. For the local people of Ieper this date to represents a very special occasion. Various events - with the Last Post Ceremony on November 11th at 11:00hrs as the focal point - commemorates the Armistice that was signed 93 years ago. The presence of a delegation of Belgian, British, French and German Olympic medal winners thus making Armistice even more special.
On the initiative of the BOIC (Belgisch Olympisch en Interfederaal Comité), an important Olympic delegation will attend the Armistice programme in Ieper on November 11th, 2011. The delegation will consist of around 50, among them many Olympic medal winners from Belgium, France, Germany and Great Britain. The delegation is to be led by IOC-Chairman Jacques Rogge. Among the Belgian representatives present will be: Eddy Merckx, Gaston Roelants, Robert Van de Walle, Frederik Deburghgraeve and Pierre-Olivier Beckers, Chairman of the BOIC. The British delegation will consist of around 20 representatives.
The British delegation will arrive in Ieper on Thursday 10th November and will visit the In Flanders Fields Museum prior to attending the Last Post Ceremony at 20:00hrs under the Menin Gate. On the 11th the four participating countries will be present in the commemoration programme which includes the ceremony under the Menin Gate at 11:00hrs. In the afternoon a visit to the frontline areas is planned.
The Last Post Association is genuinely pleased to welcome this important delegation at the occasion of the Armistice commemorations in Ieper; especially in the run-up to the Olympic Summer Games in London 2012. Ieper is a town of remembrance where never the very high toll of human lives of soldiers and citizens of the First World War may be forgotten.
We remember the following sportsmen who took part in the Olympic Games and who are buried in Flanders Fields:
ANDERSON, GERARD RUPERT LAURIE
Second Lieutenant
09 Nov 1914
Age: 25
Cheshire Regiment United Kingdom
Panel 19 - 22. YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL
Hurdling champion of England. Set a World Record of 56.8 seconds for 400 yards hurdles at Crystal Palace, 16 July 1910. Hurdles finalist at the Stockholm Olympics in 1912.
Gerard Anderson attended Eton and Oxford University. An outstanding athlete, Anderson was the AAA champion at the 120-yards hurdles in 1910 and 1912. He also broke the world record holder at the 440-yards hurdles.
Anderson also represented Britain in the Stockholm Olympics in 1912. Unfortunately he suffered a freak accident in the final and finished without a medal.
After leaving university Anderson became a manager at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead. On the outbreak of the First World War he immediately abandoned his career and offered his services to the British Army and was granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant.
Gerald Anderson went to France with the Cheshire Regiment and was killed in action at Hooge, near Ypres, on 9th November, 1914.
CHAVASSE, NOEL GODFREY
Captain
04 Aug 1917
age: 32
Royal Army Medical Corps United Kingdom III.
B. 15. BRANDHOEK NEW MILITARY CEMETERY
Represented Great Britain in the 400 yards at the 1908 Olympic Games in London.
The most decorated British soldier of the Great War.
HAWKINS, G A
Gunner 96501
20 Sep 1917
Age unknown
Royal Garrison Artillery United Kingdom IV.
H. 25. BARD COTTAGE CEMETERY
Placed fourth in the 220m at the Olympic Games in 1908, the first Briton to reach an Olympic sprint final.
