We’ll never forget heroes’ sacrifice, vows May

THERESA May will honour the British dead of the First World War in Belgium and France today, declaring: “As the sun sets on one hundred years of remembrance, we will never forget their sacrifice.”

The Prime Minister will visit war cemeteries with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and French President Emmanuel Macron.

And at the St Symphorien Military Cemetery in the Belgian town of Mons, she will lay wreaths at the graves of John Parr from London, and George Ellison, from Leeds, the first and last of some 750,000 British soldiers to be killed in the conflict.

Boy soldier John Parr died aged 16 on August 21, 1914, near Mons.

Private Ellison, 40, was killed in the town just 90 minutes before the 11am ceasefire on November 11, 1918. The two are buried yards from each other.

She will then travel to France to meet President Macron in Albert, the town in the heart of the Somme battle region.

Speaking at the beginning of the day in Belgium, Mrs May will say: “A century ago British forces fought side by side with our allies in Europe on the Western Front.

“Today in France and Belgium we reflect on our shared history, but also look ahead to our shared future, built on peace, prosperity and friendship.

“At St Symphorien I will have the honour of laying a wreath on behalf of a nation at the graves of both John Parr and George Ellison, the first and last UK soldiers to die during the war. “That their graves lie opposite each other is a fitting and poignant symbol that brings home the eternal bond between them, and every member of the Armed Forces who gave their lives to protect what we hold so dear. “We remember the heroes who lost their lives in the horror of the trenches. As the sun sets on one hundred years of remembrance, we will never forget their sacrifice.” At Albert, she and President Macron will hold a private meeting before a wreath-laying at the nearby Thiepval Memorial. It bears the names of more than 72,000 soldiers who died in the Somme battle and holds an annual commemoration for those whose bodies were never found. A special wreath combining poppies and cornflowers, the British and French national emblems of remembrance, has been made. Tomorrow Mrs May will be in the audience at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall. And on Sunday she will be laying a wreath at the Cenotaph in Whitehall before attending the national service of remembrance at Westminster Abbey.

‘They gave their lives to protect what we hold so dear’