SUNDAY saw many remarkable events to commemorate 100 years of the Great War's end.
Malmesbury had the privilege to joined by representatives of our French and German twin towns, in particular the Deputy Mayor of Gien and Burgermeister of Niebull.
They both spoke and laid wreaths at our Service of Remembrance in the Abbey.
Both spoke again in a packed reception in our Town Hall attended by many young people. All listened in rapt attention particularly as Niebull's Burgermeister, Wilfried Bochholt told of his young Grandfather's and Father's enrolment in the German army for each World War.
As he spoke, I reflected on my own Grandfathers' experience on the Western Front and my late Father's in the subsequent Desert campaign.
Wilfried and I were the fortunate ones. We knew our Grandfathers and Fathers. Very many did not
We also dedicated five oak trees that stand in our town's park. Each for a year of that terrible war. These "trees for peace" stand in a circle.
Their plaque carries the coats of arms of our towns and an inscription in English French and German. It reads "they stand together to remind us always to do so". May that be the sentiment that guides all of us for the next 100 years.
Gavin Grant
Wiltshire Councillor for Malmesbury
Malmesbury Town Councillor
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