As Chairman of the WW1 Commemorative charity Step Short, Damian Collins, alongside Trustees Ann Berry and Paul Emden, attended a meeting at 10 Downing Street to present their plans to the Prime Minister’s advisors on the First World War Centenary.
Damian explained: “For me, the important thing about Folkestone is that it touches the experiences of probably almost every fighting family in the country. At some point, their ancestor was in Folkestone during the war, and it is a site that can mean something to people across the country as they consider the centenary of the First World War.
“In Folkestone, we have embraced that idea by creating a memorial walk tracing the last steps of the men as they marched from the town down to the harbour where the boats waited to take them to France, and we are raising money to create a new memorial arch to stand over that route, or close to the site where a memorial arch was put up between the wars to mark the silver jubilee of King George V and the coronation of King George VI. It bore the simple message ‘In our rejoicing, we still remember them.’ The road down which the men marched was rededicated after the war as the road of remembrance.
“I believe we have the opportunity to create something next summer which will be a fitting and lasting tribute to the sacrifices of the soldiers, and put Folkestone on the map as a major centre for these important national commemorations.”