Bons amis with Contalmaison
The Rt Hon Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Frank Ross, has signed a Friendship Agreement with the northern French village of Contalmaison.
This formalises already cordial relations between Edinburgh and the final resting place in France of many Edinburgh born soldiers. These were the men of McCrae's Battalion who fought at the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916.
The Lord Provost said: "This is a historic event. I know this has been pushed for for many years. I had a long conversation with Jack Alexander, who is
Vice Chairman of the McCrae's Battalion Trust, earlier this year when he again pressed the case for recognising or formalising the relationship between Edinburgh and Contalmaison in relation to the Somme. And that interlinking between the two communities goes back over 100 years now.
"Since the cairn was unveiled in 2004 in Contalmaison there has been an annual pilgrimage to the town to commemoration those lost. It is integral to Edinburgh's history and it gives me great pleasure to be here today to carry out the formal signing following council's decision to enter this formal agreement."
Laurence Païs, Consul General for France, who is hoping to visit Contalmaison next year, told The Edinburgh Reporter: "It is a very important moment in the First World War, The Battle of the Somme and the role played by the British Army, especially by the Scottish soldiers in Contalmaison. They helped save this village from the German Army.
"I am really glad that we have this agreement now to memorialise and show the next generations how important the relationship between France and Scotland is.”
Jack Alexander addressed the small audience in the City Chambers, saying: "I know that the men who served in the battalion wanted to build a memorial. It took a long long time to do it and they wanted to have some kind of understanding with the locals because there are 500 or more young lads from this general area buried next to their village. They care for them and their memory in a way that has been overlooked by us for decades.”