Pilgrimage to Menin Gate Begins Saturday

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 422, 2 August 1928, Page 9

Pilgrimage to Menin Gate Begins Saturday

Prince Will Lead Eleven Thousand YPRES CEREMONY British Official Wireless. RUBY, Tuesday. . A great pilgrimage to the battlefields of Northern France, which has been organised by the British Legion, will start from London about midnight next Saturday, on the 14th anniversary of Britain’s entry into the war. The pilgrims, who will number 11,000, will be joined on the other side of the Channel by the Prince of Wales, who served in France with the Guards, Countess Haig, the widow of the commander who led the British Army to victory, and many distinguished oflicers, including Marshal Foch and Earl Jellicoe. Twenty special trains will convey the large party from London to Channel ports, where 12 steamers will be waiting to take them to France. They will then travel in special trains to various points of the old battlefront, where they will stay for four days. The culminating event of the visit will be a solemn ceremony at Ypres. From their various headquarters the 11,000 pilgrims will travel to the historic town in what was the famous salient, and will gather at Menin Gate Memorial to the British soldiers who fell there. An impressive scene will be seen there. The banners of 87 British divisions will be displayed over the archway and along the ramparts. There will be a march past, in which the Prince of Wales and Lady Haig will take part, followed by a religious service at which an address will be given by the Archbishop of York, Dr. Cosmo Lang, now Archbishop-desig-nate of Canterbury.

FROM NEW ZEALAND (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) Reed. Noon. LONDON, Wednesday. Twenty New Zealanders are accompanying the British Legionaries on their pilgrimage to the French and Belgian battlefields on Saturday. At the ceremony of rekindling the Arch de Triomphe Flame of Remembrance, Captain Stewart will represent New Zealand, all participating in the ceremony at the Menin Gate. Indignation is expressed that the Socialist Mayor of Lille refuses the Municipal Theatre for a concert to the British Legion. The pilgrims’ concert will be held in the open air in the Grand Place. RUSH FOR TEST SEATS (Australian and N.Z. Press Association) Reed. 10.30 a.m. CAPETOWN, Wed. IJUNDREDS formed a queue all night to book seats for the All Blacks* final test here. AM the seats were sold within an hour, with still hundreds waiting. The match will be played on September 1.