Exning’s wreath will remember the 80 villagers who never came home

Two members of the Exning branch of the Royal British Legion have joined thousands on a pilgrimage of remembrance as part of the end of the World War One centenary commemorations.

Ally Prewett-Stansfield and Denise Rogerson will represent the branch and the local community as standard bearer and wreath layer respectively at the event which will culminate in a parade and ceremony in Ypres, in Belgium, remembering in particular the 80 Exning villagers who gave their lives in the conflict.

The Great Pilgrimage 90 (GP90), will take place between until Thursday. It will be one of the largest events in the charity’s history and will mark 90 years since the original pilgrimage in 1928, which saw 11,000 veterans and war widows visit the battlefields of the Somme in France and Belgium, a decade after the conflict ended.

It culminated with a march through Ypres to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Menin Gate memorial for a ceremony to commemorate the launch of The Hundred Days’ Offensive and in remembrance of those who never returned.

As well as touring some of the same battlefields and cemeteries visited by those on the 1928 Pilgrimage, Ally and Denise will join more than 2,200 other legion representatives and guests in a march along the original route through Ypres to the Menin Gate, where, on Wednesday, Denise will lay Exning’s wreath.