Crossing the channel and hundreds of Cornishmen with no known grave

A big day today - setting off to France and Belgium to make last minute preparations on the ground for Camborne Youth Band's historic trip to the Western Front which starts tomorrow.  Tyne Cot cemetery near Ypres is an overwhelming sight: 12,000 graves - 8,300 of them unidentified.
And then  - looking for Cornishmen with no known grave - we find very many familiar names of men who served in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry.  Lesley Carlyon of Rinsey Cross died this very day, aged 23, in 1917. So did his comrade at arms, James Roskruge, also of the DCLI (place of birth unknown).
Maurice Treloar of Chynale, Sithney, died on 24 August 1917 - tomorrow will be the 101st anniversary of his death.
And very close indeed to home for me - John Trevenen of Crenver Farm, Crowan, just a few miles from Chynale, died aged 21 in October that same year.
So many familiar names - so far from home. The bodies of these men have never been found. They made the ultimate sacrifice and their families didn't even have a body to grieve over.
The Band will visit this cemetery this Sunday before playing at the Menin Gate at the daily evening ceremony. They will take a Cornishman's 100-year-old bugle back to the battlefields: what a moving tribute to those who died.

History comes alive as Camborne Youth Band travels to the Western Front

Camborne Youth Contesting Band will follow in the footsteps of Cornish miners who signed up in 1914 and travel to France and Belgium this weekend - taking a 100-year-old bugle back to the Western Front. 

This is part of our Heritage Lottery funded project, Heart of Conflict, marking the centenary of World War One.

On Saturday 25 August, the Band will visit the French town of Estaires where the Cornish miners were stationed from 1914-16 and play the historic bugle. In the Band is Corey Williams, aged 13 from Baripper - the great great grandson of Fred Negus, the original owner of the bugle.

“This is a trip that the Band will never forget,” says its conductor and musical director Alan Pope. “We’re honoured to remember the Cornishmen and countless others who served so bravely.”

Fred was one of a group of Dolcoath miners who joined the 25th Field Ambulance in 1914 after war broke out and went straight out to the Front.

Ralph Williams, Fred’s great grandson, has been one of a number of people raising funds with his wife Tina for the trip. He agrees that it will be of great significance.

“It’s important for us to remember those men who put themselves in great danger throughout the war,” he says.

The trip will also mark three historic rugby matches that the men played at the Front in 1915 after Camborne Rugby Club sent out a ball. The Field Ambulance organised games between Cornish and Devon teams – and descendants of men who played still live in Cornwall now.

“When they wrote back to the local paper, the men said that one of the matches was played on Whit Monday – but instead of the music of the Band in Camborne, they had the music of the guns,” says Ralph. “One hundred years on, we’re taking a Band from Camborne out to play in Estaires.”

On Sunday 26 August, the Band will play at the Menin Gate, Belgium, where tens of thousands of men who died in World War One - but have no known grave- are remembered.

We'll be staging an exhibition about the trip at Heartlands, Pool, this autumn – reporting back on everything that happened.

Music and movement in Hammersmith

Wonderful first dance class at the Masbro Centre, Hammersmith, with inspiring workshop by Simone Sistarelli. This was just the warm-up... More coming soon - watch this space.  All this is thanks to a small grant from the Postcode Community Trust.

Camborne Youth Band featured in 4barsrest

Great to see Camborne Youth Band's imminent trip to France and Belgium featured in the top brass band website 4barsrest..... To read the article, click here.
We're travelling to France and the Menin Gate, Ypres, with the Youth Band and staging an exhibition about the trip at Heartlands, Pool, Cornwall from October-November 2018.

Talking to Camborne Youth Band tonight

...about their trip to France and the Menin Gate. Interesting to talk about the history but when they played - so exciting to think this music will travel out to the Western Front in just a couple of weeks.

An unexpected connection at Brea Show

Lovely to see Valerie Grigg presenting the prizes at Brea Show, at Pool in Cornwall, yesterday. Valerie has worked so hard on our World War One project Heart of Conflict, looking at the war years in Cornwall.
She has also worked hard at Brea Show over very many years to make it such a huge success!
This year there was an unexpected WW1 connection - a flower arrangement with an Armistice Theme.  Here's Valerie's entry.

I just looked back through the blog to remember all of Valerie's contributions to Heart of Conflict - these are just the things I wrote about! There were many more.

-  a visit to Newquay Museum

- talking to Helston Museum group

- a talk on nursing at the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro

FANFARE BRITANNIQUE JOUERA D’UN CLAIRON HISTORIQUE SUR LES CHAMPS DE BATAILLE DE LA GRANDE GUERRE

Des jeunes musiciens du comté de Cornouailles en Angleterre vont suivre les traces d’un groupe de soldats britanniques de la Grande Guerre : ils feront un pèlerinage à la France et à la Belgique du 25 au 26 août, apportant un clairon qui date de 1914.

La Camborne Youth Band (la Fanfare des jeunes de Camborne) se rendra à Sailly-sur-la-Lys (Pas-de-Calais) et Estaires (Nord), où les soldats étaient cantonnés. Ils joueront aussi à la Porte de Menin.

“C’est un voyage que les jeunes de la fanfare n’oublieront jamais, » selon Alan Pope, directeur de musique de la fanfare. « Nous sommes fiers de saluer le courage des hommes de Cornouailles et des milliards d’autres militaires qui ont participé à la Grande Guerre. »

Corey Williams, 13 ans, membre de la fanfare, est l’arrière-arrière-petit-fils du propriétaire original du clairon, Fred Negus.

Fred faisait partie d’un groupe de mineurs d’étain de Cornouailles qui a rejoint la 25e Ambulance de campagne en 1914. Ils sont partis directement en France, dans la ville Estaires, où les écoles et les lycées étaient transformés en hôpitaux. Plusieurs étaient logés chez des familles de la ville, dont les descendants ont gardé le contact.

Le voyage a aussi pour but de commémorer trois matches de rugby joués près d’Estaires en 1915 après l’envoi d’un ballon par le Club de rugby de Camborne.  Le 25^e Ambulance a organisé les matches entre les équipes des comtés de Cornouailles et Devon.

« En 1915, ils avaient envoyé un rapport sur les matches au journal local. Ils racontent que, pendant un des matches qui s’est déroulé le lundi de Pentecôte, au lieu de la musique de la fanfare à Camborne qu’ils avaient l’habitude d’entendre, il y avait le son des canons, » selon Alan Pope. « Cent ans après ces événements historiques, une fanfare de Cornouailles jouera à Estaires. »

Samedi 25 août

Cimitière de Sailly-sur-la-Lys

o   11h00 La fanfare dépose une couronne sur la tombe de Thomas Penhorwood, tué en 1915 entre les 1^er et 2^ème  matches de rugby

Estaires

o   13h45 La fanfare présente un ballon de rugby à la ville d’Estaires

o   14h00 La fanfare joue au monument aux morts d’Estaires

o   14h30 La fanfare donne un concert au parc municipal Watine

Dimanche 26 août 2018

Ypres

o   20h La fanfare joue à la porte de Menin

Pour plus d’informations –

Courriel: info@bridgingarts.com 

Tel: +44 7772 128 014 

Site Internet: www.heartofconflict.org.uk