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St Peter Port and Masnieres will host memorial services for the lost men of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry at the same time, tomorrow.
The services will mark the 105th anniversary of the Battle of Les Rues Vertes which saw the RGLI defend the British Line against overwhelming enemy odds.
The Guernsey event will be held at the island's war memorial at the top of Smith Street. A short service will be led by the Dean of Guernsey before wreaths are laid by the Lieutenant Governor and the Bailiff in their joint roles as patrons of the RGLI Trust.
His Excellency, Lieutenant General Richard Cripwell and Richard McMahon will be joined by representatives from the States of Guernsey, France, St Peter Port Parish, Veterans Associations, standard bearers, the Boys' Brigade Band and the RGLI Trust for the service which will include the sounding of the Last Post and a two-minute silence.
Pictured: Former Lt Governor Sir Ian Corder laying a wreath in Masnieres in 2017.
The French service will be held in Les Rue Vertes, Masnieres at the same time. Wreaths will be laid there on behalf of the town and the people of France, the French veterans association and for the first time representatives from the RGLI Trust will also be present to lay wreaths on behalf of Guernsey.
Chris Oliver of the RGLI Trust said:
"The RGLI Trust invite all islanders to join in this short act of remembrance to specifically commemorate Guernsey’s own regiment and the men and families of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry."
Pictured: Images of the RGLI in action were published by The War Illustrated News.
The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry was offered to the Crown as a British Regiment by the States of Guernsey and formed in December 1916.
The men left Guernsey in June 1917 and sailed for France, via England. In France they served in some of the areas whose names are synonymous with World War One.
Following the Allied Winter offensive at the Battle of Cambria designed with the first use of tanks to capture the German logistics centre at the Northern French city of Cambrai, the regiment was retired to the small town of Masnieres, southwest of Cambrai, in late November 1917.
The German Bavarian army launched a counter offensive on 30 November to regain the lost ground, which came across the RGLI positions in the south of Masnieres in a suburb called Les Rues Vertes (The Green Lanes), two small roads beside a river.
Against constant shelling and hand to hand combat over three days the RGLI were the only British regiment to hold the line, whilst those around them withdrew, and therefore prevented the German counter offensive from being successful.
Their losses were so large – over three hundred for one thousand men - that, unable to provide sufficient reinforcements from Guernsey, the RGLI would never be made up of just Guernsey men again. Those losses were immediately felt in Guernsey with telegrams arriving just before Christmas 1917 informing families of the fate of their loved ones.
Their exploits were recorded in the media of the day: The War Illustrated News, including the action where Captain Robert Gee won a Victoria Cross in leading men of the RGLI to defend Les Rues Vertes.
Despite this The RGLI went on to fight at the Battle of Lys, the last big German offensive of the war, in April 1918 and again their losses were horrific. Out of a compliment of 1,000 only 57 officers and men were able to answer the roll call at the end of the Battle after several days of extreme fighting.
Effectively ceasing to exist as a regiment, they were put on guard duty at the headquarters of the Commander in Chief, General Douglas Haig, and honoured during a visit by the King in late 1918.
Pictured: Images of the RGLI in action were published by The War Illustrated News.
The RGLI returned to Guernsey in May 1919 aboard the same cross channel steamer on which they left in 1917, the SS Lydia.
The last time RGLI uniforms were officially worn was at the unveiling of the Smith Street War Memorial in the 1920’s.
The RGLI Charitable Trust (RGLI Trust) was formed in 2016 by two local men, Chris Oliver & Colin Vaudin. They wished to commemorate the history and impact of the regiment and its part in Guernsey’s history by raising the first ever memorials to the RGLI in Guernsey and France.
This was done in early 2017, by public subscription, under the successful ‘Guernsey’s Finest Hour’ campaign in 2016 where over three thousand islanders made individual contributions, often dedicating this to remembering their relatives.
The RGLI Trust went on to twin Masnieres with St Peter Port in 2019 before the recent lockdowns and they run an annual event from Guernsey to Masnieres continuing links between the communities.
They are currently involved with arranging education exchange visits and exploring the possibility of a permanent historical presence for Guernsey in Masnieres.
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