The Passchendaele Salute 2017, under the patronage of Mrs Janice Charette, High Commissioner for Canada will take place on 10 November 2017 at the Fort de Seclin, near Lille in France to hold a service of remembrance and fire 100 rounds to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Battle of Passchendaele.
It will consist of at least 10 Great War guns drawn by horses:
4 x 18pdrs; 3 x 13pdrs; one 4.5 Howitzer, 2 French 75s and a 13pdr A/A gun on a Pierce Arrow 1917 lorry, and guns from a French museum. The guns will be manned by teams from UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium and France.
Participants are all volunteers.
Combat Stress is the beneficiary charity.
There has been a change of plan with regard to the venue for the Salute because of the ongoing security issues in Belgium, our partners there have advised that the location cannot be guaranteed.
The owners of Fort de Seclin have kindly offered us the opportunity to hold the salute there and the French authorities are in full agreement.
We think this is an excellent alternative to the original plan and will enable us to press ahead with arrangements with greater confidence.
In all other respects details of the Salute are unchanged and I will keep you informed as things progress.
Further information here.