On Tuesday 17^th September Mrs Jackson and Mr Tarling, along with 3 children represented the school at the city centre war memorial for the 80^th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, the Battle of Arnhem. 

They were joined by local civic dignitaries as arranged by the mayor’s office and officials from the Dutch and Polish embassies, the Garrison Commander, soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade, and the public.

             

Since 2019 mirroring the tradition by Dutch children who since 1945 have laid flowers on the graves in the Airborne Cemetery in Oosterbeek, Colchester children from our local schools and colleges have laid their own flowers at the war memorial.  

Continuing this meaningful part of the service, children were invited during the service to lay sunflowers.  The sunflowers were kindly grown and donated by Abberton Rural Training, a local charity who support a raft of community projects including support to veterans and our Wounded, Injured and Sick Service personnel. 

 

Following on from this, Mrs Simpson, Mr Tarling and 3 children visited Merville Barracks to see the presentation of a statue given by a member of The Parachute Regimental Association to the ‘Colchester Flower Children’ in their appreciation of keeping the memory alive of the bravery and sacrifice of those who fought and died during the Battle of Arnhem.  The 25^th of September marks the last day of the battle before surviving troops were evacuated across the River Rhine to safety. 

They were given the opportunity to visit the Dakota aeroplane and explore various firearms. It was a fantastic experience for all involved.