WW1 holy soil

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NEWS

THE HOLY SOIL

2014: Britain honours sacred soil of dead soldiers who died in world war one.

BBC: Queen leads rememberance events

The Queen laid a wreath of poppies at the memorial garden at Wellington Barracks in central London. The garden was made with soil collected by children from 70 battlefields and war cemeteries in Flanders, where millions died in World War One. This project is about honouring the fallen of the Great War. The design of the garden is full of meaningful features. It includes a circular grass bed which holds the "sacred" soil collected from Flanders, which is inscribed with the words of John McCrae's famous wartime poem In Flanders' Fields. The garden also has a bench made from Flemish bluestone and trees indigenous to the battlefields.

Photograph on 6 Nov 2014:

Prince Philip, the Queen, King Philippe of Belgium and the Duke of Cambridge at the opening of the Flanders Field Memorial Garden.

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Background reports from 2013

2013: Soil is taken from Belgium to Britain

25 November 2013.

The official inauguration of the new Flanders Field Memorial Garden.
The ceremony will begin with the arrival of a Belgian naval frigate in London carrying 70 sandbags filled with soil gathered from First World War military cemeteries in Belgium. The sandbags will be transported on a military gun carriage through the streets of central London to their final destination near Wellington Barracks. The soil will then be deposited in a the memorial garden to serve as a "lasting memorial of hope, peace and international solidarity".

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'Sacred soil' taken from Flanders Field delivered to London for First World War memorial

'SACRED soil' gathered from First World War battlefields in Belgium were delivered to London today for a memorial garden marking the centenary of the Great War.

Fri, November 29, 2013

Belgian Navy frigate the Louise-Marie passed through London Bridge as it transported seventy sandbags filled with the soil taken from Flanders.

The cargo will be buried at the Wellington Barracks garden, located close to Buckingham Palace, and a ceremony will be held tomorrow to mark its arrival.

The garden, designed by Belgian architect Piet Blanckaert, will be opened officially on Remembrance Sunday 2014.

After sailing along the River Thams the the ship docked alongside the HMS Belfast where the sandbags were moved to by Belgium navy members and British sea cadets.

Lance Sergeant Michael Moran, who helped move the 'sacred soil', said: "It was amazing and such a great honour to be involved in the ceremony today.

"This is a once in a lifetime event, and I found being part of it almost overwhelming.

"Tomorrow I will help carry the sandbags off the ship and on to the King's Troop gun carriage for the procession through London.

On Saturday the sandbags will be loaded on to a gun carriage of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

A casket which contains soil from all the battlefields will be placed with the bags on the gun carriage before departure.

A short ceremony will also be held in the presence of the Minister-President of Flanders, Kris Peeters, and Defence Minister Lord Astor.

Mr Moran added: "An event like this gives us all a sense of closure. I've done two operational tours of Afghanistan but what those soldiers went through in the First World War was far worse.

"Those were real men. When the garden is complete it will be a quiet place to go and pay respects to all those lost in the Great War fighting for our freedom."
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World War I battlefield soil laid at London memorial

Dec 1, 2013 6:22 AM

LONDON (AFP) - Soil from World War I battlefields in Belgium was laid in a memorial garden in London on Saturday ahead of the 100th anniversary next year of the start of the conflict. Seventy bags of "sacred soil" gathered by more than 1,000 British and Belgian schoolchildren earlier this year arrived in Britain by Belgian warship on Friday. On Saturday, a horsedrawn army gun carriage took the bags past landmarks including Buckingham Palace and St Paul's Cathedral to the new memorial garden at Wellington barracks in central London. The soil was blessed in a ceremony at the Guards' Chapel before eight-year-old schoolboy Patrick Casey was given the honour of pouring a crucible of soil taken from all the battlefields into the heart of the garden.

Photo:

Soldiers stand guard next to sacks of "sacred soil" taken from First World War battlefields, as the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment prepare to take part in the ceremonial procession to transport it to the site of the Flanders Fields memorial garden in Wellington barracks, central London on Nov 30, 2013. Soil from World War I battlefields in Belgium was laid in a memorial garden in London on Saturday ahead of the 100th anniversary next year of the start of the conflict.
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Links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29929463

http://www.xpats.com/flanders-field-memorial-garden-set-open-london

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world-war-1/445916/Sacred-soil-taken-from-Flanders-Field-delivered-to-London-for-First-World-War-memorial
 
http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/world/story/world-war-i-battlefield-soil-laid-london-memorial-20131201

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