APRIL 30, 2015 Reflections on the 2015 Connecting Spirits journey…Sutton Veny

The Anzac children's service at Sutton Veny school. Our day at Sutton Veny school is one the students just adored. 

Our group was the only other Australian school taking part in this unique and long standing tradition in this tiny English village of honouring the Anzac men and women buried  in  this corner of the UK. 

Many of their headstones have dates that come after November  11, 1918….they had survived the war but not the peace. Ravaged by the Spanish flu, millions lost their lives post war and here these war survivors were some of its victims. 

 Each year the children  of Sutton Veny show that they haven’t forgotten these people from our country with a beautifully  child centred service. In the morning 180 posies are made with the three elements of flowers from the village. …rosemary for remembrance….and greenery for victory.  

This year our students worked with the SV kids and after recess our group showed them how to make traditional Ngarrindjeri feather flowers. It was a perfect day and another layer of friendship was created across the globe.

APRIL 19, 2015 Tuesday April 14 to Saturday 18…..am losing the blogging battle!

The relentless pace of being on tour has resulted in a tardy management of my blog….sad but true. However on this glorious day off in my most favorite place in the world Ypres, i have a little spot of time to cast over the last few days and focus on a few highlights.

For the first time we stayed in the beautiful city of  Arras and it did not disappoint.  Several major squares make up the town centre with many gorgeous  shops and eateries.  A mild night saw us enjoying dinner outside watching the world go by. Quite magical.Wednesday was the Vimy Ridge , Flunch, Fromelles and onto Ypres day…lots to pack in and by the time we entered the elegant town I adore I was ready for the luxury of a 6 night stay. Oh how I love this place…my soul home.

The next few days had many high points starting with our group witnessing the re internment of 6 unknown British soldiers at Prowse Point Military cemetery.  What an experience that was…it joined many dots for the group. Yesterday we learnt about the lost soldiers of Fromelles known unto God for over 90 years and here we were witness  to the re burial of 6 such men. Seeing real coffins lowered into he graves was a sobering experience. That day ended with Dries Chareles unique music night he wrote called “Goodbyee” a dedication to one English solider John Gamble who lies in the Lijssenthoek Military  cemetery  near Poperinge. A perfect ending to an intense day.

Friday and Saturday were the days of Marty Neagle and the Ngarrindjeri Anzacs and as always  they challenged us all to keep emotions  together.  By this stage of the tour tiredness makes commemoration even harder however this is not meant to be a holiday. …it is a serious pilgrimage of Remembrance and Connecting Spirits has always placed that at the centre of all we do. So to end last night with the group at the Menin Gate was the best. Today's day off was just at the right time.

Do not forget Australia….

Day two on the Somme and the weather gods were on our side today. The Somme was just glorious...brightly bathed in spring sunshine made a perfect backdrop for our emotional roller coaster. 

Our first commemoration was in Adelaide cemetery at Villers Bretonneux where Sophie told the story of a young Findon man, Ralph Drummond. The impact of this experience on young ones like Sophie is always moving and today was no exception. No Australian visitor can visit this village without seeing that iconic sign at Ecole VICTORIA .....'Do not forget Australia '....symbolising the close bonds formed between France and Australia because of the war. 


From there we made our way to the Australian national memorial that dominates that part of the landscape. Gordon Rigney, Francis Varcoe and George Grinter are just three of the 11,000 Australians whose names adorn the memorial to the missing. ...men with no known grave. ...'Known Unto God'. Our group were so fortunate today to have a friend of Mal Jurgs with us who played The Last Post to complete our ceremony. Despite the expectation that many tour groups will come to Villers Bretonneux, we had this spiritual place to ourselves. I don't think that will be the case in a week or so.  
The final part of the day after lunch at Hamel, at Heath cemetery belonged to Kiera Walker a wonderful young student who proudly shared the stories of three indigenous men one her own direct relative Thomas Walker and two famous Military Medal winners Harry Thorpe and Reginald Rawlings. To all who did commemorations today...thank you for your dedicated tributes.

APRIL 11, 2015 Commemoration on the Somme

Ngarrindjeri Anzac remembered.

Saturday April 11…today we began the process of immersing the group into the tragic story of the First World War and no better place to start but on the open spaces of the Somme valley. 

Jackie Bedford would be with us for this sector of the tour expertly and passionately recounting this
massive narrative. Our sunny spring days were replaced by and cool windy conditions which stayed with us all day. The famous locations associated with loss and grief such as Pozieres, Thiepval, Mouquet Farm, Lochnagar crater were our focus.

 However as often happens on these tours, an unexpected and powerful moment drew us tightly together. …and this was because of a fine young man, Trae Rigney.

Proudly representing his Ngarrindjeri people, family and community, Trae moved us all to tears with his heartfelt and eloquently delivered commemoration to his Ngarrindjeri soldier Arthur Walker. Here in front of our group was all that Connecting Spirits has been and achieved over the last decade.

 For Mal Jurgs co founder of the CS project and myself, it was a special moment one we will both treasure. Thank you Trae.

APRIL 10, 2015 Paris in the spring

Our Parisien experience may have been brief but the city the world adores really turned it on for us in the last two days.

Thursday was a full day of taking in all the sites so well known including a cruise on the Seine. Yesterday though was a contrast as we devoted the morning to amble down the famous Champs Eleysee taking our time to soak it all in.

As I waited for the group I found myself parked on a bench…ipod in place….sunning myself and just watching the world go by in all its rich diversity. Divine.

The group had a bit of retail therapy then soon it was off north to the city of Amiens and the beginning of our WWI commemorative journey. It was a sleepy coach as we left for our Somme base for the next three days.

Connecting Spirits pilgrimage begins…

Spike takes in the sights of Singapore river

Day 2 /3….Singapore to Paris. ……The Connecting Spirits journey has begun and after a full day in Singapore on Wednesday 8th, it was time for the long haul flight to Paris.

Our Singaporean experience was rich with cultural immersion of all the senses as we shared in the story of this amazingly resilient and innovative nation.

The Malay and Indian sectors filled our morning with a superb Indian lunch with all the gorgeous tastes and smells of its rich cuisine.

 The afternoon changed focus to the stories of WW2 and as we made our way to our first commemoration at Kranji war cemetery, the true purpose of the tour became apparent. In the afternoon heat Nigel shared the story of his relative Colin Treloar a young air airman shot down in the prelude to the Pacific war.

Finishing the day at Changi museum the group was not left in any doubt about the horrors of war….something they will continue to feel for the next 3 weeks.  

Joan North says:

)

My husband and I went to Villers Bretonneux and I saw your card on Francis Alban Varcoe. I stood still and had him in my thoughts.
What a wonderful project you are doing.

APRIL 4, 2015 ‘Brothers in Arms’…we DO remember them.

    

THEO PFLAUM                                                                         RAY PFLAUM

In just two days time the fifth ‘Connecting Spirits’ group from Meningie Area School will travel to the other side of the globe to begin their 2015 commemorative journey. In this centenary year, the founding school is joined by four new partners; Findon High School, Mannum Community College, Unity College and Lameroo Regional School. 

Over 40 W.W.1 and W.W.2 soldiers will be commemorated by the group with each man’s story shared with the group and recorded in film, photography and social media. As in previous Connecting Spirits tours, each veteran has his story told on the project website each with a dedicated page to their memory. (go tohttp://www.connectingspirits.com.au to follow the project) The 2015 CS soldiers are relatives of our group or have some local connection which enhances the impact of the commemorative process.

On some occasions students have selected ‘their’ soldier for other reasons which are of interest to the person doing the commemoration. As in previous years a number of brothers are remembered and the Pflaum boys from Birdwood have a special place in Connecting Spirits history. Ray and Theo born in Birdwood came from a family of 14 children. The Pflaum family home is now the admin centre for Birdwood Primary School and has a unique link to Connecting Spirits.

If ever there was an example of the power of our project’s name it is with these two soldiers’ stories. When Ray was killed in the Battle of Fromelles on July 19th 1916, his family would have to wait for nearly a century before they would learn of his fate. As one of the 250 men’s remains in the Pheasant Wood pit, Ray Pflaum was finally located and positively identified in 2010 and reburied in a proper grave with his name and identity returned.

In that year former Birdwood High student and CS member in 2006, 2008 and 2010, Ms Flo Bourke wrote a song dedicated to the young man who had been ‘Known only Unto God’ up to that point. When Flo wrote her evocative piece she was 19 ….Ray was 19 when he died…two young Aussies from the same town but a century apart. And to add to the Connecting of these spirits….the room where Ray was actually born in, was the very same room where Flo learnt music as a Yr 7 student at Birdwood PS.

When we play Flo’s song ‘Known Only Unto God’ on Wednesday April 15 in the early afternoon at the grave of Ray Pflaum in the Pheasant Wood cemetery at Fromelles, these two will once again be connected.

LEST WE FORGET.

THE PFLAUM SISTERS ALL WORE A LOCKET CONTAINING THEIR BROTHERS’ IMAGES