If you are interested in more information on the 1918 Zeebrugge raid, you should be aware of the recent publication of a special edition of Britain at War magazine that is titled ‘Zeebrugge 1918: The Greatest Raid’. It comprises 98 extensively-illustrated pages and can be ordered through most newsagents for £6-99.

The April and May 2018 editions of Britain at War include shorter Zeebrugge-related items.

2018 Special edition of Britain At War Magazine

(photo and text supplied by Nick Weekes)

The Douglas Morris Award is presented to a member of the Society who has contributed to furthering its aims through exceptional service, or by dedicated research and publishing related articles. The chosen recipient could be selected for outstanding service to the Society in any one of these three criteria.

For 2018, the Council of the Royal Marines Historical Society unanimously voted that its 2018 Douglas Morris Award should be presented to Mr Bill Butler for his drive and determination in conceiving and creating the Royal Marines Heritage Trail in Deal.

Bill energetically created a charity and obtained Heritage Lottery and other funding to support his project. Furthermore he has developed an informative website and produced a comprehensive guide that was sent out to all members with the last newsletter. The booklet is rich in historical facts describing the involvement of the Corps in Deal from 1665 to 1996 when the Royal Marines Band Service finally left the barracks and relocated to Portsmouth. The trail starts at Deal castle and passes through the former East, North and South Barracks with the guide highlighting key facts as the tour progresses including, of course, the Memorial Garden commemorating the site of the bomb planted by the IRA that tragically killed 11 Royal Marines Bandsmen in 1989.

On Monday 23rd April this year – appropriately the Zeebrugge Day centenary as it was in Deal that the 4th Battalion formed and trained before that memorable operation – the Trail was launched at Deal Castle by its Captain, the Commandant General, in the presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Kent, and the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Admiral of the Fleet the Lord Boyce. The ceremony included a parade from the former South Barracks to Deal Castle by the Band of HM Royal Marines Collingwood, a guard from 42 Commando RM and detachments from the Royal Marines Association, Royal British Legion, Cadets and former WRNS. Following the launch ceremony, the Royal Marines continued to exercise their right to march through the town to Deal Town Hall.

Bill Butler is to be congratulated for his initiative and tenacity in bringing, with his team, this important historical project to an extremely successful conclusion and in so doing continued to sustain the close relationship between the Corps and the town of Deal.

Initially a personal project that was born in 2015, Al , who had served as a Royal Marines Commando for many years wanted to look at the experience of the men and women returning home from conflict zones and how they adjusted and looked at the society they left behind, and also how they were treated once their service was complete as well as how they interacted with the people around them. He had the idea of putting an old soldier in a modern day environment and capturing the reactions of the public as they went walkabout. Al spoke to his best friend Dan who suggested that it had to be a soldier from the Great War and that it should be done to raise awareness for a veterans charity. Around this time Jamie Sanderson, Co-Founder of Rock2Recovery, got in touch with Al to talk about a campaign to raise awareness around PTS injury and R2R’s Old Soldier was born. The team originally planned a one day shoot, however The Old Soldier resonated with both Veterans and serving members of the forces and it soon became very apparent that he was a character they could all relate to and turn to . What had only been a short personal project grew into an on going project for R2R. The team’s involvement has led directly to Al working with some of R2R’s coaches and helping him to quieten the ghosts of his past.

Since September 2015 Old Soldier Media has been deeply involved with every aspect of the work Rock2Recovery does. The team has provided awareness campaigns , self-financing shoots across the UK , France & Belgium and providing support for fundraising, talks and events around the UK.The team brings an important historical context to the modern veterans experience of PTS injury by looking at the way mental health issues have been dealt with from Shell Shock in WW1 , through the Battle Fatigue diagnoses of WW2 and Korea and ultimately to today and PTS injury as a result of service in Ulster, The Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The team also assists in triage support for the organisation. The team has directly helped many veterans, serving men and women as well as the families and friends of those affected by Trauma to get the support they need to change their lives. The Old Soldier is a presence that has created a sense of security and comfort for people looking for help and he continues to be there for those who need support.

The musical programme consisted mainly of original musical compositions. The audience was taken away by Seasongs, which was a song cycle consisting of four very different interactions with the sea, reflected through a particular time of the day and through human relationships. These were linked together by the continuous spying presence of the common seagull which is musically depicted by the oboe. Seasongs was the result of a collaborative creative project in the Autumn of 2013 involving all the Deal Primary School Choirs. John Wakeman, a member of Deal Writers and Joy Spencer, Music Teacher and Composer.

Beyond the Horizon was performed on the descant recorder by Jonny Heaver, who currently attends Dover College. Jonny said, “My composition was inspired by the beautiful seaside town where I live, where I imagined the power of the sea and its differing moods; sometimes stormy and uncontrollable and other times calm and tranquil, leading me to question what lies beyond the horizon”.

Uplifted was performed on the trumpet by Ellie Williams, who is studying for her A Levels  at Sir Roger Manwood’s School. Ellie said, “I wrote this piece as part of my GCSE coursework, with the theme of flying. Although I’m not a big fan of birds, I’ve always liked the idea of flying myself”!

The Collingwood Band and 42 Commando left South Barracks from Jubilee Gate and marched to Deal Castle where the parade was reviewed by The Lord Lieutenant of Kent, accompanied by the Commandant General Royal Marines. Welcome address by The Lord Warden and Admiral of The Cinque Ports followed, culminating in a presentation of a Royal Marines Heritage Trail Marker Plaque to Mr Nic Van de Marliere, General Representative of the Government of Flanders in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Admiral of the Fleet and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, The Lord Boyce, KG GCB OBE, thanked the hundreds of spectators for coming to the event which marked the opening of the Trails.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome you all here today in the sunshine to be part of this event. In particular I’d like to thank the visitors from Zeebrugge, who themselves have been commemorating this week with ceremonies to mark the Zeebrugge Raid centenary. This event has played a major part in the history of Deal as the Royal Marines 4th Battalion was formed and trained here before the Daring Raid, in 1918.”

“The Royal Marines connection with Deal, Walmer and the surrounding area is so strong,” said Major General Charles Stickland OBE, Commandant General Royal Marines. “Back to February 1665 when the Duke of York and Albany’s Maritime Regiment of Foot, the forbearers of the Royal Marines, took up duties in the Castle at Deal to protect the Fleet.”

“I’m delighted and honoured to be here with you today to launch the Royal Marine Heritage Trails, in front of the magnificent Bastions of Deal Castle.. I’m enormously fortunate also to be the patron and I can only marvel at the hard work and efforts which have gone into this wonderful community project.”

Lining the streets of Walmer and Deal were thousands of well wishers who had supported the project. They cheered the Royal Marines and their Bandsman throughout the Town as they proudly marched with their ‘Bayonets Fixed, Bands Playing and their Colours Flying’. This included 22 year old Royal Marine Ryan Littler-Laing who is from Deal. The former Downs Primary School and Walmer Science College pupil completed his training in June last year. He was honoured to be back here marching with a rifle, through the town in which he grew up in.

As we move closer to the launch on April 23rd 2018 we are engaging further with the community, finalising trail booklets, the web site and social media campaigns. The final task before officially opening will be to install bronze commemorative plaques at each point on the trail.

With their firm support we are now in a position to launch a professionally presented and researched trail, with the ability to participate in engagement with local communities and schools.

• The Heritage Lottery Fund
• The MOD Covenant Fund
• Kent County Council
• Dover District Council
• Deal Town Council
• Dover Town Council
• Walmer Parish Council
• The Deal Sgts Mess Pantomime
• The Drapers Company

We’d like to express our deep gratitude to all concerned, both with those that have funded us directly, and those that helped secure the funding. Thank you!

That structure came in the form of a Charitable Incorporated Organisation which is a registered charity, but such organisations have to show that they will provide a benefit to the whole public. A small team gathered to prepare an application to the Charity Commission, which had to be written in a way that demonstrated the public benefit that the project would provide. Many pages of guidance were studied to make sure that we phrased our aims in a way that showed how we complied with their requirements to be a charity.

On the 29th October 2016 we submitted our application and were told not to expect any response for 8 weeks but much sooner than that we received a reply that our application would be acceptable with a very minor change of wording. We made that change and on the 12 December 2016 we were registered as a charity.

Being a registered charity brings some tax advantages, but the main benefit is that it shows funders that we are a bona-fide organisation which can be trusted to use grants to bring positive change in the way we present our heritage. The response from funders has been all we could have hoped for, and the registered charity status will ensure that we report how we have spent the money each year.

The Deal Learning Alliance consider that the RMHT is something that not only is a physical link between the streets and schools in Deal but is also an emotional link celebrating the pupils’ heritage in the area. Discovering the history on our doorstep has genuine cross-curriculum benefit and always invigorates the pupils by helping them understand some of the unique assets of their locality.

Thinking more about this Bill set himself a challenge to produce a simple 6-page trail guide called the ‘Globe and Laurel Trail’ to maintain some important background history to these iconic buildings despite their modern use.

Within days Bill had shared his thoughts with various people at the Dover Museum who agreed it was a very interesting idea and agreed to help in any way they could. With interest growing especially from Walmer Parish Council, Deal Town Council and the then-Editor of East Kent Mercury the project gathered pace.

Momentum and enthusiasm grew in May 2016 when the Mayor of Deal offered his support and on the 9th July 2016 the ‘Globe and Laurel Trail’ was officially supported by Deal Town Council. Over the next few months support and interest grew for what had now become known as ‘The Royal Marines Heritage Trails’ – often simply abbreviated to ‘RMHT’.

The Commandant General of The Royal Marines, Major General Robert Magowan CBE RM, offered his full support and accepted an invitation to become the Patron.