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This year on the 6^th June we commemorate 82 years since the D-Day landings and the battle of Normandy. Along with the airborne operations, it’s a day which marked the beginning of the liberation of France and Western Europe. A huge amount of people from our region and beyond gave their all to defend what was right and in turn helped to shape the world which we have all been lucky enough to enjoy since.

At Wallsend Boys Club, we thoroughly believe in helping to create and shape excellence through sport and wellbeing, but we also feel that it’s much more important to play a part in helping to shape good humans & citizens who appreciate the society they are part of. A strong part of this process is often found by understanding the generations that have gone before and the incredible effort and hardship they went through to shape the world we all live in now.

This is why we’re incredibly proud to say that this year marked our 7^th trip with a record breaking 54 players from our under 13 representative teams to Ypres in Belgium. We’ve been arranging the visit for 10 years, but it was interrupted by covid and we’ve always found it to be an incredibly moving experience for all involved.

We were joined by Ronnie Collins and Graham Heron as representatives of the 5^th Fusiliers based in Newcastle, a long-standing partnership between both organisations and the tour was both life-skill building, life changing and historical, with many of the young people being away from home and learning about the war for the first time in such depth.

During the trip young people visited the Menin Gate where the ‘last post’ is played and a wreath was laid from both Wallsend Boys and Girls Club and the 5^th Fusiliers. They also visited prominent landmarks such as Tynecot Cemetery, The Canadian War Memorial, The German War Cemetery and The War Museum based at Passchendaele. It was particularly eye-opening to read letters home from soldiers, including one from a boy who lied about his age to join the war effort. He was only 15 and thought he was going to something completely different until he got there. Our young people were amazed to think that he was only a couple of years older than themselves when he joined up. We also visited the Knotts brothers’ graves who were from the region, which highlighted the harsh realities and tragic consequences of war.

But the trip wasn’t just a history lesson, there was plenty of football of course… mixed with a little history! The children were introduced the World War 1 ‘Game of Truce’  between England and Germany and were shown where the actual game took place alongside the trenches, which are still visible along with a memorial statue.

The trip was then topped off with football matches at the Truce Stadium, which was set up by the Premier League, in which The Boys and Girls Club played games against a host of local teams.

As we took the long journey back to Wallsend it was with a greater understanding of what had gone before. Each child was a lot more tuned in to the efforts of others in protecting what was right for all.

We aim to run this trip every year for our young people. We need to keep the connection to the past and appreciate the history of those very tough days over 82 years ago. This is why D-Day commemorations are important for all. We often say Wallsend Boys and Girls Club is about more than football, in this case it really is.

‘Lest we forget’ everyone who gave their lives so that we could enjoy the future we currently have.

A truly life changing weekend experience!