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FLANDERS FIELDS MEMORIAL GARDEN - GRAND OPENING
by Andrew Wallis MBE
Curator, The Guards Museum
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Her Majesty laying a wreath in her colours to
open officially the Memorial
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Wreaths being laid on behalf of the Regiments of
the Household Division |
Having been closely involved with the Flanders Fields Memorial Garden at Wellington Barracks, my thoughts turned to organising an official opening to properly mark the end of a journey that had taken six and a half years to complete. It seemed appropriate that the Sovereign be asked to perform this ceremony and enquiries were made as to Her Majesty’s willingness and availability. This ceremony, which at first glance looked a relatively easy one, then took on a life of its own and involved the goodwill and hard work of a large number of people. I think the enormity of the task only really sank in when I sat in Scotland Yard at a table surrounded by 15 police and military personnel, all of whom represented a different department, to look at the security logistics for the day. My thoughts were along the lines of ‘what have I started!..?’
The project was already reasonably complex, but became exponentially ‘more interesting’ when we were informed that the King of the Belgians would like to be present, followed by the news that the Duke of Cambridge would very much like to attend in his capacity as Colonel, Irish Guards.
The already over-worked Brigade Major, Lt Col Simon Soskin, took a deep breath and heroically launched into pulling together a truly memorable ceremony ably assisted by the Superintending Clerk and the Chief Clerk at Horse Guards. The task required us to deal with four Royal Households, two embassies, the Flanders delegation in London, two government ministers, a phalanx of protection officers, the Royal Parks and the offices of a host of other VIPs. Mention should also be made of the Garrison Commander, Lt Col Giles Stibbe and his staff who effected miraculous works to ensure the areas were suitably ‘presentable’ for the ceremony.
The date of Thursday 6th November was suggested by Her Majesty’s Equerry and unsurprisingly, we all said ‘yes please’. Work then started in earnest to craft a day which would essentially be a private visit by the Sovereign, accompanied by the King of the Belgiums and two Dukes, witnessed by 300 specially invited guests and shared by the world’s press … easy!
The location of the Garden made it impossible and inappropriate to have a major military presence but, nevertheless, all seven regiments were represented by Guardsmen and Troopers, two State Trumpeters, two Drummers from 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, the Band of the Grenadier Guards and the six Regimental Lieutenant Colonels or their representatives.
The day dawned bright and clear and developed into a cold, crisp ‘Guards Depot’ morning. Our good friends from the Met Police arrived at 7am and searched the Museum, the Chapel and Chapel Square for explosive devices; thankfully, all they discovered was a huge dog fox sleeping in one of the flower-beds who loped away to the relative peace and quiet of St. James’s Park.
The dais and VIP chairs were duly deployed and the reception marquee was dressed and fuelled with food and drink. There then followed the ‘battle of the leaf-blowers’. Royal Parks’ employees had been tasked with making the pavements of Birdcage Walk look nice and tidy … which they achieved by blowing the autumn leaves through the railings into Wellington Barracks. However, they had not bargained for the presence of young Mike Steer of the Quartermaster’s staff who resolutely blew them all back with his new and very powerful ‘Nimbus 2000’ air broom!
Unsurprisingly, security was tight and guests were closely scrutinised as they entered the barracks for a warming cup of coffee before taking their places on Chapel Square. The Band of the Grenadier Guards set a respectful atmosphere by playing a selection of music appropriate for a solemn occasion.
Ministerial guests, both British and Belgian, arrived just before 11.15am and the King of the Belgians was greeted by the Belgian Ambassador and the Major General at 11.28am. Right on cue, Her Majesty, accompanied by the Senior Colonel and the Colonel, Irish Guards arrived at 11.30am and were greeted by the Major General and escorted to the dais. There then followed a slightly awkward moment as the Sovereign had not, as expected, sat down to receive the General’s address but remained standing which meant that everyone remained standing. At the conclusion of his speech, the Major General, very deftly and very respectfully, suggested that the Royal guests might wish to sit … problem solved!
I then gave a short overview of the project and concluded by thanking the Sovereigns and the Princes for doing us huge honour through their presence at the opening. This was followed by a prayer of dedication and blessing from Padre Kevin Bell, the Senior Chaplain to the Household a Division, on his last day in the Army, and that was followed by a Belgian schoolboy and British schoolgirl reciting the exhortation from Laurence Binyon’s poem For The Fallen in their respective languages. The minute’s silence was heralded by the Last Post sounded by the two Drummers from the Grenadiers’ Corps of Drums and the Reveille was sounded by two State Trumpeters, both calls delivered perfectly.
The Major General then escorted Her Majesty while she laid a wreath in her colours to open the Memorial and repeated this duty for His Majesty when he laid his wreath side by side, a reflection of the way in which the two nations stood in the trenches in Flanders 100 years before.
It was then the turn of the Regimental Lieutenant Colonels or representatives to lay wreaths on behalf of their respective regiments which they did in a ‘smart, soldierly like and uniform manner’ as befits their appointments. The Senior Chaplain offered a closing prayer which led into the playing of the two National Anthems after which the royal party was shown into the narthex of The Guards’ Chapel where they were to meet key members of the project team and major supporters. The Sovereign and the Senior Colonel then met the three ‘Founding Fathers’ of the Memorial Garden, Nic Van Der Marliere, Piet Blanckaert, and Andrew Wallis. Presentations were then made to the Sovereign and the Senior Colonel of solid silver reliquaries containing a glass phial of Flanders soil from the battlefields and the King was presented with a silver port cup all duly inscribed.
After meeting all the nominated guests, Her Majesty and the Senior Colonel took their leave and the King and the Duke of Cambridge joined the excellent reception in the marquee on the main square where a speech was made by the Flemish First Minister.
This was an incredibly special day for the small project team who had worked hard to deliver this lasting memorial to the supreme sacrifice made by the Guards in defence of freedom 100 years ago. It could not have been achieved without the generous financial support of a small number of very kind people and to them we offer our grateful thanks.
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Presentations to HM The Queen and the Senior Colonel of a solid silver reliquary containing a glass phial of Flanders soil from the battlefields |
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