OUR MAYFLOWER MORRIS MEN GO TO YPRES

WE  DID  REMEMBER  THEM 

On 11/12 October our famous local Mayflower Men based in Billericay together with enough friends and family to fill a coach, travelled to Ypres in Belgium.The purpose of the visit was to lay a wreath commemorating the many Morris Men who fell in the Great War. Members of the wreath-laying party had relatives who were killed in the area. A very moving ceremony was held at the Menin Gate at which all the visitors attended and at where number of wreaths were laid. The Last Post and Reveille were sounded, as has been since 1923, except when Ypres was occupied during the Second World War. Amongst the party were several Morris Men from Blackmore Morris, Thames Valley Morris Men and Albury Morris Men, in total there were 12 dancers and a musician. Dances were performed in the Grote Markt on Thursday in two sessions, and beer was taken! Visits were also made to the Sanctuary Wood and the In Flanders Fields museums by members of the group.

The visit was proposed by the late Tony Motley, a great Morris dancer, ex King’s Trooper and British Legion standard bearer. The visit was also in honour of Tony.

Our wonderful friend from Mayflower Morris Men, the late Tony Motley from Billericay