Liverpool Scottish
Journey to Belgium and
France 2005
Ypres/Ieper
Erquinghem-Lys Bois Grenier
4th/5th/6th
June 2005
Memorial Cairn and Plaque
for 2nd Battalion The Liverpool Scottish
Dicky's Dash Trench Raid -
29th June 1917
Those
travelling independently should click here to ensure they do not miss important
events that will require a ticket
General
Cost Booking
Historical
Note Itinerary Garden
of Peace Independent
Travellers
If
you have medals, you are requested to wear them
General
The
Liverpool Scottish will be visiting Ypres/Ieper in Belgium in June 2005. A coach
will leave from Liverpool on the morning of Saturday 4th June and will return on
Monday evening, 6th June. Accommodation will be in the ancient town of
Ypres/Ieper in Belgium, a central point on the Western Front of the First World
War. The focus of the trip is the activities of the 2/10th (Scottish) Battalion,
The King's (Liverpool Regiment), more generally known as the 2nd Battalion the
Liverpool Scottish. A cairn with a commemorative plaque will be unveiled
near to Liverpool Scottish front line positions south of Bois Grenier and we
will be entertained by both the Mayor of Erquinghem and the Mayor of Bois
Grenier. We are to be accompanied by Colonel and Mrs Alan Waterworth; Colonel
Waterworth is President of the Liverpool Scottish Officers' Association and Her
Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Merseyside. 
A
photo of the site is to the right and the local community intend to landscape it
with a minor deviation of the road around the cairn to create a Garden
of Peace. This project has not been possible without the hard work,
co-operation and generosity of a number of people.
The provision of stone, transport from Liverpool, liaison with the French
community and civic authorities and reconnaissance visits to the site have
played their part.
General
Cost Booking
Historical
Note Itinerary Garden
of Peace Independent
Travellers
Return to
Main Museum Site
Cost
The
inclusive package for accommodation (two nights bed and continental breakfast)
and coach travel to and from Liverpool is £120. Travel
insurance is the responsibility of individuals, all of whom should carry a
passport and an E111
General
Cost Booking
Historical
Note Itinerary Garden
of Peace Independent
Travellers
Booking
Contact
Major Gordon McConnell (0151 521 5198) or Major Mike Brimage (01744 886386) for
more detail or e-mail visit2005@hotmail.co.uk
with details of how we can contact you by telephone or mail. Bookings can not be
made on-line. Those interested are asked not to contact the museum either
by e-mail or telephone in connection with this trip unless in a case of urgency (mainly for reasons
connected with the continued sanity of the Honorary Secretary) but to
speak to Majors McConnell or Brimage.
General
Cost Booking
Historical
Note Itinerary Garden
of Peace Independent
Travellers
Return to
Main Museum Site
Historical
Note
The
2/10th (Scottish) Bn The King's (Liverpool Regiment)
served in France and Flanders from February 1917 until its amalgamation with the
1st Battalion in Spring 1918. For much of 1917 they served in the Bois Grenier
Section near Armentières with their operating base in the small town of
Erquinghem some few kilometers to the West.
Although a relatively quiet sector
of the front, there are 45 Liverpool Scottish graves in Erquinghem Churchyard
Extension Cemetery, maintained by the Commonwealth
War Graves Commission. In all there are 680 graves in this churchyard,
listed here.
Many of those graves result from the company-sized daylight trench raid known as
'Dicky's Dash', named after Captain Alan Dickinson MC, one of three brother who
served with the Liverpool Scottish.
The Dicky's Dash raid
took place just south of Bois Grenier on the afternoon of 29th June 1917 along
the line of the 'Old Bridoux Road' from a point in the British front line known
as the Bridoux Salient. It met with determined resistance from the enemy
and although successful in gaining a foothold in the German line, met with heavy
casualties in the enemy trenches and on the return to the British front
line. Much research has been done by Mr. John Dickinson and he will be present
with members of his family.
Frank
Macdonald, serving in this area with the 2nd Battalion and standing on top of
the battalion Headquarters, witnessed the detonation of the mines under Messines
Ridge, an explosion reputedly heard in London, and heard the gas bombardment of
Armentières, both recorded in his diary. This
link will open some of the pages and sketches in Frank McDonald's diary in a
new window but please note that the page is designed to be part of the main
museum site. The diary describes how the trenches were built up as breastworks
rather than dug-down into the earth as a result of the wetness of the land, a
feature of the area today
Basil
Rathbone, the actor later famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, served
with the Liverpool Scottish in this area, and is recorded as being billeted at
La Rolanderie Farm near to Erquinghem. He later gained an MC as the Patrols
Officer with the 1st Battalion elsewhere after the amalgamation on early 1918
General
Cost Booking
Historical
Note Itinerary Garden
of Peace Independent
Travellers
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Itinerary
We will be visiting
-
Erquinghem-Lys, a small
town near Armentières in France, about 40 minutes away from Ieper. Here we
will visit the graveyard and attend the opening of M. Jack Thorpe's new
museum, Erquinghem et Son Histoire. There will be a lunch hosted by the Mayor of Erquinghem Lys (those
travelling independently who wish to attend the lunch must have contacted
Major Gordon McConnell )
-
Bois Grenier and the old
front line near the Bridoux Salient, the scene of the Dicky's Dash 
Trench
Raid of June 1917 (involving C Company and part of A Company of the 2nd
Battalion). Here we will unveil a memorial cairn and plaque to commemorate
the service of the 2nd Battalion in the First World War, take part in a
battlefield walk to follow the course of the Dicky's Dash Trench Raid and
will march through Bois Grenier to a Vin d'Honneur hosted by the Mayor of
Bois Grenier (those travelling
independently who wish to attend the Vin d'Honneur must have contacted Major
Gordon McConnell)
-
the Menin Gate in
Ypres/Ieper for the Last Post Ceremony on Sunday 5th June. It is hoped that
we will be able to march to the Menin Gate. The Menin Gate is the memorial
to 55,000 of the men who were missing in the Ypres Salient and who have no
known grave. The Last Post Ceremony has taken place there every night at 8pm
since 1927 (apart from the German occupation during WW2) and the Last Post
is sounded by buglers from the local Fire Brigade.
-
On
Monday morning, 6th June, we will visit the Liverpool Scottish Stone at
Hooge 
(Bellewaarde
near Ieper/Ypres) which is 3km East of Ieper on the Menin Road (K112). It is
located just below the 'double l' in Bellewaarde on the map to the
right. Much fuller details of the Liverpool Scottish Stone can
be found here (this is a page of
the main website so be careful not to confuse yourself by opening the main
museum page over again).
If travelling independently, please do
not drive onto the farmyard of Bellewaarde Farm unless you are disabled and
unable to walk up the hill. We have permission for a maximum of three cars
to go up to the farmyard from the Menin Road (Speak to Major McConnell or
Major Brimage). There is now a barrier at the East end of Railway Wood with
hard standing for a very few cars. It is not possible to drive all the
way up to the Liverpool Scottish stone.
-
A outline programme
as at 29th May 2005 is found here.
This is, as always, subject to change but is provided to give some idea of timings
General
Cost Booking
Historical
Note Itinerary Garden
of Peace Independent
Travellers
Return to
Main Museum Site
The
Garden of Peace
The
Liverpool Scottish cairn is to be placed at the junction of the D22 and D62 seen
on the map (Copyright of the French IGN). This is south of Bois Grenier and
about 200m south of the White City CWGC Cemetery. The land has been set aside by
the local community as a Garden of Peace. The community intends to landscape
this area and introduce a minor deviation to to roadway. The stone for the
cairn has been provided by Mr. Bill Washington of the White Moss Garden Centre,
the transport from Merseyside has been provided by Mr. Tony McVey, an ex-member
of the Liverpool Scottish. The Rev Harry Ross (of St Luke the Evangelist in
Walton and whose father served in the area with the Liverpool Scottish) ) and
his sons, Philip and Andrew, have worked tirelessly with M. Jack Thorpe, a
local historian of Erquinghem. 
The
Dickinson family have shown a great interest and Mr. John Dickinson has done a
considerable amount of research using Captain Alan Dickinson's original
material. We have
had excellent support from the local Mayors and their communities without whom
nothing would have been possible.
Colonel Chris Davies has made several visits to Erquinghem and Bois Grenier and
on the home front Gordon McConnell and Mike Brimage have put in a lot of
work. Last but not least, Mr. John Archer has held one end of the 50 metre tape
measure (with the Museum Secretary dangling on the other end) and has dived
selflessly into ditches alongside the Bridoux Road to investigate dubious
battlefield relics (Qu: "How do we know this rifle grenade is
unexploded?" Ans: "Er ... it's in one piece" - moral to this tale
"Pick up nothing")
General
Cost Booking
Historical
Note Itinerary Garden
of Peace Independent
Travellers
Return to
Main Museum Site
Independent
Travellers
If you
are travelling independently and you wish to attend any of the following you
must ensure that you have confirmed this with Major Gordon McConnell. Places are
limited for the two events hosted by the French Mayors. The French
communities are very anxious to provide hospitality and all are welcome if
expected but
obviously they need to plan their numbers in advance. Queries about the
Officers' Association Dinner can be addressed to Mike Brimage (ensuring that
Gordon McConnell is aware)
-
Lunch
at Erquinghem hosted by the Mayor of Erquinghem-Lys (venue to be notified)
Sunday 5th June
-
Vin
d'Honneur hosted by the Mayor of Bois Grenier afternoon of Sunday 5th June
following the unveiling of the memorial and battlefield tour
-
Liverpool
Scottish Officers' Association Dinner at the Trompete in Ieper on Sunday
evening
General
Cost Booking
Historical
Note Itinerary Garden
of Peace Independent
Travellers
Return to
top of page Return to
Main Museum Site Contact
the Museum
The
Liverpool Scottish will be visiting Ypres/Ieper in Belgium in June 2005. A coach
will leave from Liverpool on the morning of Saturday 4th June and will return on
Monday evening, 6th June. Accommodation will be in the ancient town of
Ypres/Ieper in Belgium, a central point on the Western Front of the First World
War. The focus of the trip is the activities of the 2/10th (Scottish) Battalion,
The King's (Liverpool Regiment), more generally known as the 2nd Battalion the
Liverpool Scottish. A cairn with a commemorative plaque will be unveiled
near to Liverpool Scottish front line positions south of Bois Grenier and we
will be entertained by both the Mayor of Erquinghem and the Mayor of Bois
Grenier. We are to be accompanied by Colonel and Mrs Alan Waterworth; Colonel
Waterworth is President of the Liverpool Scottish Officers' Association and Her
Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant for Merseyside. 
A
photo of the site is to the right and the local community intend to landscape it
with a minor deviation of the road around the cairn to create a Garden
of Peace. This project has not been possible without the hard work,
co-operation and generosity of a number of people.
The provision of stone, transport from Liverpool, liaison with the French
community and civic authorities and reconnaissance visits to the site have
played their part. 
