- Title: British and Irish troops prepare for Battle of Messines centenary
- Date: 6th June 2017
- Summary: MEMORIAL CROSS WITH SIGN READING (English): "16TH Irish Division" / SOLDIERS GATHERED AROUND MONUMENT / AUDIO: TRUMPETERS PLAYING "THE LAST POST", TRUMPET CALL USED AT COMMONWEALTH MILITARY FUNERALS AND CEREMONIES TRUMPETER PLAYING "THE LAST POST" SOLDIER STANDING / AUDIO: "THE LAST POST" SOLDIERS STANDING GUARD / AUDIO: "THE LAST POST" GRAVE WITH SIGN READING (English): "An Australian soldier of the Great War" / AUDIO: "THE LAST POST" ROWS OF HEADSTONES / AUDIO: "THE LAST POST" GRAVES / MEMORIAL WITH CROSS / AUDIO: "THE LAST POST"
- Embargoed: 20th June 2017 21:19
- Keywords: Australia New Zealand World War I Belgium Duke of Cambridge britain Messines History Century Centenary battle Commemoration
- Location: MESSINES RIDGE, BELGIUM
- City: MESSINES RIDGE, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA0026K55PAF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Irish and British army regiments were rehearsing on Tuesday (June 6) amidst wider on-site set-up preparations for Battle of Messines Ridge centennial commemoration ceremonies on Wednesday (June 7).
Britain and the Commonwealth's Prince William, who is the Duke of Cambridge, as well as out-going Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, and New Zealand's Governor-General, Patsy Reddy will all be in attendance.
The Battle of Messines, 1917, saw both nationalist and unionist, Protestant and Catholic, divisions from the island of Ireland fighting side by side, giving the battle greater historical significance. It saw the Messines-Wythschaete Ridge re-captured by the allied forces.
37,000 men across both sides are believed to have lost their lives in the battle.
The Island of Ireland Peace Park was created in Messines, Flanders, Belgium where the battle took place, complete with an Irish round tower, to be a joint place of peace for the soldiers and people of Ireland, regardless of politics and national identity. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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