briefing Cadets take part in moving tributes during Belgium trip

Oxfordshire ACF sent 55 cadets and CFAVs to Belgium on the Eurostar. The trip included the laying of a wreath to the fallen at the Royal Engineers grave at Railway Wood. Cadets also learnt about the Battle of Passchendaele at the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 and visited the site where it took place. A highlight was when cadets joined the parade to the Menin Gate with the Last Post Association (pictured).

After three years of planning, cadets and CFAVs from both West Lowland and Glasgow & Lanarkshire Battalions ferried to France for a Second World War battlefield tour.

Visits to historic memorial sites, beaches, museums and battlefields proved to be a meaningful experience: ‘The most memorable part of the trip was the USA Normandy Cemetery,’ said Cadet Company Sergeant Major Scott Connor of Glasgow & Lanarkshire Battalion’s Invictus Company. ‘We always hear about how many people died during the war … [when you] see the endless rows of headstones, that number takes on a much greater significance.’