Un honneur

This week we have a blog post by John Sheen.

Those of you who read the blog regularly will recall the events I recorded last year when the village of Saint Seurin de Cadourne, France, honoured the memory of Colour Sergeant Gawin Wild MBE MM, 26th (Service) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers (3rd Tyneside Irish). Those that are not familiar with the story can read it here:

http://ww1countydurham.blogspot.com/2017/05/gawin-wild-honoured-in-france.html

Exactly one year on, my wife and I returned for a further two ceremonies in the village. The Mayor of Saint Seurin de Cadourne had agreed that a plaque should be mounted on the cemetery wall.

The plaque on the cemetery wall tells the story of Gawin Wild in French and English (photo by John Sheen)

Unlike last year, when we had a perfect day, it rained cats and dogs, but no one was put off and quite a crowd turned out to both events. Furthermore the owner of the chateau where Gawin lived in retirement also agreed to a plaque being placed on the wall of the chateau next to the front door.

The British effort improved by two, not only my wife and I, but the British Consul from Bordeaux, Madam Dominique Olley, and the Chairman of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (Northumberland), Major Chester Potts, also attended. 

Major Chester Potts, RRF Association, reads a letter of thanks, next to him is Mr Gérard Roi (Mayor of Saint Seurin de Cadourne), Madam Dominique Olley (The British Consul), and the trumpeter, also owner of the chateau, Mr Bernard D'Halluin (photo by John Sheen)

Once again we were greeted with enthusiasm and at the chateau the owner took everyone in out of the rain. Then after the unveiling of the plaque, back in for a glass or two of champagne and some food. 

John Sheen and Major Chester Potts after the unveiling of the plaque. The blue flower in our lapels is the French equivalent of the poppy. The cornflower, ‘Les Bleu’ was said to grow in abundance in the trenches around Verdun and as such was adopted as the sign of remembrance (photo by Mrs Sheen)

Then it was back to the local restaurant for a traditional French ‘long lunch’. Here we had a nice surprise as we were presented with a bottle of six year old local wine which had been specially labelled for the occasion. 

A commemorative bottle of wine with a photograph of Gawin Wild on the label (photo by John Sheen)

David Devigne, who started the work to have Gawin Wild honoured, is a talented artist and presented me with this drawing of a Tyneside Irish soldier resting on his rifle along with the words of the ‘Minstrel Boy’. 

The drawing by David Devigne