The various organisations were well represented at the commemoration which always impresses our friends from Longpré, I won't list them all for fear of forgetting and upsetting anyone but it is quite a spectacle to see all the uniformed groups and sections marching in and gathering around the cenotaph in the churchyard. 

Guests from Longpré gather before the parade.

Representatives from the various organisations join the parade.

The standard bearers lead the people into church.

There was a presentation of a hassock (kneeler) to Longpré and Bill Clague lit the WW1 lamp donated to us by René Bilhaut in 2012.

Patricia lays flowers at the cenotaph.

Presentation of the embroidered hassock.

Bill lights the WW1 trench lantern.

One for the album, in front of the cenotaph.

Michel Bonneval from Longpré receives a gift from the RBL.

We met up with a fleet of cars travelling from Longpré-les-Corps-Saints and made our way to the town of Péronne, ~midway between Amien and Saint-Quentin approximately 100 km from Longpré. Lunch had been arranged for us in an eatery attached to a hypermarket a little way short of our destination, and very enjoyable it was, hearty portions of boeuf bourguignon and French fries was one option (which I chose) and I don't remember the other but everyone seemed happy with their choices.

The venue for our trip to Peronne was a very interesting museum of the history of the Great War, in the Château de Péronne. We had a few hours to explore the large array of artefacts in the museum before heading back to Longpre via the memorial at Thiepval.

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,195 missing British and South African men, who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. We arrived just before sundown and it was very moving to see all the thousands of names, arranged alphabetically in regiments, engraved on the many faces of the monument as the sun set over the site.

Tuesday 11th November

With another change to the traditional routine we gathered early to join the neighbouring village of Bettencourt -Riviére for their Armistice parade, it is a small community barely a couple of kilometres away from Longpré. This routine may normally take place but as we usually have to leave the UK at 05:00 in order to get to Longpré by ~10:00 we have never arrived early enough to participate.  We gathered in the small car park there and then processed the short distance to the memorial. Speeches were made, wreathes laid and flags lowered before heading off to the small function room for coffee and cake - or more accurately gateau battu, a speciality of the Somme department. We then had to hurry back to visit the British cemetery before the church service began at 11:00.

We made our way back to the Hotel de Ville to join everyone else for the service in the church. After the church even more people joined in for the procession around the village, stopping first at the 'Monument to the dead 1914 -1918' where representatives of the community read speeches to honour the fallen, flowers and wreaths were laid and several Longpré children read out messages. The second stop is at the 'Monument to the 5th and 6th of June' (see http://www.eastrytwinning.co.uk/memorials.htm ) where the procedures were repeated, and finally returning to the Hotel de Ville and Mairie for a vin d'honneur.

Below - The procession around the village from church.

Everyone waiting to join the procession.

The Eastry wreath layer -(L) Teresa, Tony, Bill, Jan (R)

With the formal part of the ceremony over and drinks and 'nibbles' provided at the Mairie, we were then taken to the neighbouring village of Hangest-sur-Somme and the 'Restuarant du Canard' for a very enjoyable meal - of several courses, and with dancing to accordion music. This has been a traditional venue for a few years now and at least 3 other communities come together to share the restaurant for this event.