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FUN, FUND-RAISING AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR - COLDSTREAM GUARDS' BIKE RIDE
by Colonel D D S A Vandeleur
formerly Coldstream Guards
Regimental Adjutant
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The cyclists gathered at The Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne,
just before boarding the ferry to France
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Following the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards’ return from Kabul in August, and three weeks of post tour leave, a fund-raising bike ride was planned from Wellington Barracks to Bennecourt in France. The outline plan was to involve all elements of the Regiment, serving soldiers, the Band, veterans, families and supporters, setting out to raise a little money for the Regimental Charity, have a bit of energetic fun and to combine the bike ride with a First World War commemoration, following the route that all three Coldstream Service battalions took when they deployed to France in 1914. Bennecourt is a small and unremarkable town near Paris on the banks of the River Seine, twinned with the town of Coldstream, and with a very anglophile and hospitable Mayor.
Not unsurprisingly, the original intention did not catch-on like wildfire amongst members of the 1st Battalion whilst serving in Afghanistan. Most of them did not relish the idea of pushing out 90 miles a day, through rural France, when they could be on an extended post-operational tour leave in more exotic spots in southern Europe. However, as the Regimental Adjutant became increasingly anxious that it might be just him and the Regimental Lieutenant Colonel on their bikes in France, the numbers enrolling for the ride began to build-up. Supported by a solid squad of officer veterans, plus the 1st Battalion Regimental Sergeant Major, WO1 Steve Taylor, who had single-handedly done some heroic fund-raising and bike training in Kabul, together with 94 intrepid riders, dressed in immaculate matching lycra, the group set off from Horse Guards on 17th September 2014, bound for Folkestone. George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Major General, families, supporters and friends waved off the riders in excellent weather conditions.
The Regimental Band deployed to Maidstone and greeted the riders as they arrived with stirring regimental marches and spirits remained high. P&O Ferries generously moved the riders, 20 support vehicles, 50 support crew and the Regimental Band to Calais at very little cost. Sainsbury’s donated 50 crates of fruit to sustain the riders. On the other side of the Channel, and in blazing sunshine, we set off through bands of illegal immigrants for Hesdin, some 55 miles to the south. The Band ensured a big turn-out in Hesdin and Gisors, with very popular evening concerts. Tired riders were ferried to 19 different gîtes and local hotels in Gisors, testing the organisational talents of Charlie Birch-Reynardson, our organiser. All the riders arrived safely in Bennecourt on the Saturday in glorious weather conditions, with the Regimental Band and several thousand spectators lined up to greet us. The hospitality and enthusiasm amongst the mayors and citizens of the French towns through which we passed was memorable. The citizens of Bennecourt laid on an amazing reception, a memorial service with the Prefect in their Memorial Garden, plus a full turn-out from our affiliated Regiment, the 2e Bataillon Garde Républicaine, a First World War exhibition in the Town Hall, speeches by the Prefect, the Mayor, Monsieur Didier Dumont, the Military Attaché, Colonel Geoff Wright, a drinks reception followed by an enormous feast of the finest French food and wine.
Maj Oliver Biggs and the serving element of the ride then departed back for Windsor, via a short battlefield tour and a party on the banks of the Seine. A more senior group of veterans, headed up by the Colonel of the Regiment, departed on a 48 hour journey covering the 1914 Retreat from Mons. We visited the Guards cemeteries at Landrecies and Villers-Cotteret. Brian Barttelot was able to tell us how his grandfather had been very severely wounded during the Retreat from Mons, virtually standing on the same spot; and Fergus and Alexander Matheson were able to stand by the memorial stone, commemorating the hasty defence of the village of Landrecies by their father and grandfather in 1914.
The effort that went into organising such an event should not be underestimated, for anyone thinking of imitating this formula. Major regimental events, involving an operational 1st Battalion, a Band which has been prized out of London District, and hard pressed ceremonial troops, can mean that any one element can drop out as the selected date gets closer. RHQ operates on the goodwill of those that wear the cap-badge, but there is always an element of doubt right up to the last minute. Furthermore, many of our very generous donors have been repeatedly asked to contribute to the Colonel’s Fund and other Service charities over the last five years or so, and so there is an element of ‘donor fatigue’ setting in amongst the British public. Nevertheless, our donors were extremely generous, as were ordinary members of the British public, including those not connected to the Regiment or the Household Division.
Having paid for the costs of the bike ride, the Regimental Charity has been able to increase the capital under management by £375,000. This is a very significant achievement and will enable Trustees to be able to be more generous in meeting the welfare and other needs of Coldstreamers in the future. Regimental funds have dealt with 126 applications for support in 2014, both from the serving and veteran communities, paying out a total of £68,500 in welfare grants; most of these grants were supplemented by further grants from other Service charities, but particularly ABF The Soldiers’ Charity and the Royal British Legion. The largest payment was for the re-surfacing of ex LCpl Ben Hilton’s driveway, enabling him as a double amputee to get about his property more easily. The total cost of the works came to £21,000, the sum being provided in equal shares by Regimental Funds, Help for Heroes, The Soldiers’ Charity and Poppy Scotland. This is a good example of how a regiment works effectively with the big Service charities, and demonstrates that the effort and the fund-raising have been worthwhile.
The finish - huge support and worthy of a stage of the Tour de France! 300 miles later and … at last for some very tired but totally elated cyclists |
The parade. The transition from the finish of Bike2Bennecourt to the very moving First World War memorial service which included the Garde Républicaine, the Pompiers and Flamme brought from the Arc de Triomphe for the service. There was a religious commemorative service in the afternoon conducted by the Bishop of Versailles.
Both services were led by the Regimental Band
of The Coldstream Guards |
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