Our Whitsuntide Arras Pilgrimage.
THE YPRES TIMES
213
MEANTIME Capt. de Trafford was assembling the Ypres party ot some
fifty to sixty pilgrims at Victoria Station, his Chief-of-Staff was piloting
a party of twenty-five persons to the coast en route to Arras. The
programme mapped out for this particular party was very ambitious since the
many graves and memorials to be visited were so widely scattered. The tour on
the Sunday necessitated a trip of at least 150 miles.
Punctual to the time fixed overnight by the conductor, Mr. Vyner produced
a very excellent 22-seater charabanc and also kindly arranged for Mr.
Joe Harris, one of his henchmen
and an extremely popular fellow with
all League pilgrims, to accompany the
party as a guide. Leaving head
quarters at the Hotel Moderne about
8.30 a.m. the party, numbering nine
teen, commenced their long trek north
wards. Making for the Bethune main
road, the first cemetery to be visited
was at Anzin St. Aubin where a lady
member, recently over from Canada,
paid her respects at the grave of one
of three brothers apart from her hus
band who were all killed in the Great
War. From Anzin the following three
cemeteries were visited, where at least
one of the party had a relative buried
Cabaret Rouge Military Cemetery,
Souchez, Maroc Military Cemetery at
Bully-Grenay and Loos (Dud Corner).
The line was then taken to Estaires via
Vermelles, La Bassée and Neuve
Chapelle, crossing the Belgian frontier
at Le Seau and so on to Ypres via
Locre and Dickebusch.
The party by this time were quite
ready for the splendid lunch awaiting
them at the Skindles Hotel, where
Mdme. Bentin, who personally super
vised the service, must have found the V
conditions with this influx rather SOME OF THE PARTY AT THE AIR
tropical. Quite an hour was spent FORCE COLUMNARRAS MEMORIAL,
after lunch visiting the outstanding
places of interest in Ypres, the pilgrims being particularly impressed by the Ypres
British Church and, of course, the Menin Gate. The intense heat did not improve
matters for the conductor in his efforts to reassemble the party at the Grande Place,
but on the eventual report all present the charabanc proceeded at a rapid pace to
Passchendaele to enable the pilgrims to view the beautiful Tyne Cot British
Military Cemetery, and the largest British Line Cemetery. From there the return
journey was commenced via Voormezeele, St. Eloi, traversing the Wytschaete
and Messines Ridges and on to Plug Street Wood where a stop was made
to allow a member to visit his son's grave at the Rifle House Cemetery. This
