Anne rededicates First World War Menin Gate memorial to ‘remembrance and unity'
The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence during commemorations for the reopening of the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres (Aaron Chown/PA)
'The Menin Gate has long stood as more than stone and inscription. It is a threshold between past and present, silence and memory, sacrifice and gratitude.'
She added: 'This restoration reminds us of the duty to remember those who gave their lives for peace they would never see.
'A duty to teach new generations that the cost of war is measured not only in history books, but in the poignant sadness of the Last Post each evening.'
Anne points at one of the names of the fallen on the Menin Gate (Aaron Chown/PA)
Anne, who was joined by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, concluded: 'The Commonwealth War Graves Commission pledge to the families of the fallen that this memorial will continue to stand as a testament to the courage, sacrifice, and enduring peace for which they fought. This restoration is for you.
'We rededicate the Menin as a place for remembrance and unity.'
Princess Claire of Belgium greets the Princess Royal, left, as she arrives ahead of the ceremony (Aaron Chown/PA
During her one-day visit to Ypres, the princess also opened the CWGC visitor centre and visited the grave of Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Maurice von Battenberg, who was killed fighting with the British Army in 1914 and was buried at Ypres Town Cemetery.
He served as an officer with the King's Royal Rifle Corps and was fatally wounded in October 1914 when a shell burst next to him as he led his men across open ground, dying before reaching a field dressing room.
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Western Telegraph
40 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Veteran, 100, witnessed official ceremony marking Japan's surrender
Reg Draper was a stores assistant on Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York, which was sailing off the coast of Japan in August 1945 when the country surrendered. His memories of his time at sea include rationing out a daily tot of rum for every member of the crew and coming off worst in a hockey tackle with Queen Elizabeth II's future husband. Mr Draper, who grew up in Leeds, West Yorkshire, said the crew cheered when news of Japan's surrender came from the captain. He said: 'All the ships mustered in Tokyo Bay with the USS Missouri, which was the American ship, and it was on the Missouri where they signed the peace treaty. Reg Draper pictured in 1944 whilst serving with the Royal Navy (Royal British Legion/Private Collection/PA) 'Then we all came back down to Australia and we went and celebrated – we went down to Tasmania and everybody had four days leave in Hobart. 'Everybody wanted to take us to their home and there were a couple of dances in the dance hall.' Mr Draper witnessed the signing of the Japanese instrument of surrender document firsthand when he went on board the USS Missouri to assist his friend, the ship's official photographer. The 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day is being marked on Friday with a commemorative event organised by the Royal British Legion at the National Memorial Arboretum. Mr Draper is planning to watch the ceremony on television from his home in Elton, Cheshire. He volunteered for the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday and said the worst part of joining up was having all his teeth removed after a medical examination found he had problems with his gums. He completed his training at the Butlins holiday camp in Skegness and was sent to HMS Ambrose, on a submarine base in Dundee, Scotland, before serving on HMS Duke of York. One of his duties on ship was rationing out the rum for everyone to have an 11am tot. Chiefs and petty officers were served theirs neat, while the rum would be watered down for the rest of the crew, he said. HMS Duke of York passing through the breakwater at Portland Harbour, Dorset, in 1948 (PA) 'I've drunk Navy rum since I've joined up, whenever I could,' Mr Draper said. Asked if that had contributed to his long life, the 100-year-old said: 'Well, that's the only thing I put it down to.' Mr Draper served on HMS Duke of York when it carried out Arctic convoys to deliver supplies to Russia, and in 1945 when it sailed to Sydney, Australia, before joining the East Indies Fleet. He said: 'We started going up to the islands, kicking the Japanese out of the islands as we went.' Japan surrendered on August 15 1945 after the US dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki earlier in the month. Mr Draper said: 'We didn't hear much about it until it got to the captain.' HMS Duke of York was escorted by two Royal Navy destroyers including HMS Whelp – which Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, served on as first lieutenant. Mr Draper said he had a lasting memory of Philip coming on board when the ship was docked. He said: 'We used to have deck hockey on the quarter deck and it was murder playing deck hockey. Reg Draper's certificate of service, confirming his presence as a member of the company on board HMS Duke of York during the Japanese surrender at Tokyo (Royal British Legion/Private Collection/PA) 'He knocked me over once and then the next time he came round he hit me, there's still a mark there, he gave me a clout with his hockey stick. 'He came to see me just to see how I was. They just put a stitch in and it was alright.' The pair met again years after the war, when Mr Draper was in the Royal Navy Reserves and training sea cadets in Wirral and Cheshire for the Duke of Edinburgh awards. He said Philip saw his medals and remembered he had been part of the crew which escorted his ship, but there was no mention of the hockey games. Mr Draper turned 21 on the return journey from Japan, with more than 2,000 people on board the ship because they were carrying prisoners of war home. The father-of-two, who went on to work as an insurance salesman, said it took time to adjust back on dry land. He said: 'When we went through the Bay of Biscay at one time it was that rough that the ship's bows would go 24ft up, 24ft down, just like that. 'You get used to it. Especially if you're in your hammock, it rocks you to sleep. 'One of the most comfortable sleeps I've had is in a hammock!'
The Herald Scotland
44 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Veteran, 100, witnessed official ceremony marking Japan's surrender
His memories of his time at sea include rationing out a daily tot of rum for every member of the crew and coming off worst in a hockey tackle with Queen Elizabeth II's future husband. Mr Draper, who grew up in Leeds, West Yorkshire, said the crew cheered when news of Japan's surrender came from the captain. He said: 'All the ships mustered in Tokyo Bay with the USS Missouri, which was the American ship, and it was on the Missouri where they signed the peace treaty. Reg Draper pictured in 1944 whilst serving with the Royal Navy (Royal British Legion/Private Collection/PA) 'Then we all came back down to Australia and we went and celebrated – we went down to Tasmania and everybody had four days leave in Hobart. 'Everybody wanted to take us to their home and there were a couple of dances in the dance hall.' Mr Draper witnessed the signing of the Japanese instrument of surrender document firsthand when he went on board the USS Missouri to assist his friend, the ship's official photographer. The 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day is being marked on Friday with a commemorative event organised by the Royal British Legion at the National Memorial Arboretum. Mr Draper is planning to watch the ceremony on television from his home in Elton, Cheshire. He volunteered for the Royal Navy on his 18th birthday and said the worst part of joining up was having all his teeth removed after a medical examination found he had problems with his gums. He completed his training at the Butlins holiday camp in Skegness and was sent to HMS Ambrose, on a submarine base in Dundee, Scotland, before serving on HMS Duke of York. One of his duties on ship was rationing out the rum for everyone to have an 11am tot. Chiefs and petty officers were served theirs neat, while the rum would be watered down for the rest of the crew, he said. HMS Duke of York passing through the breakwater at Portland Harbour, Dorset, in 1948 (PA) 'I've drunk Navy rum since I've joined up, whenever I could,' Mr Draper said. Asked if that had contributed to his long life, the 100-year-old said: 'Well, that's the only thing I put it down to.' Mr Draper served on HMS Duke of York when it carried out Arctic convoys to deliver supplies to Russia, and in 1945 when it sailed to Sydney, Australia, before joining the East Indies Fleet. He said: 'We started going up to the islands, kicking the Japanese out of the islands as we went.' Japan surrendered on August 15 1945 after the US dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki earlier in the month. Mr Draper said: 'We didn't hear much about it until it got to the captain.' HMS Duke of York was escorted by two Royal Navy destroyers including HMS Whelp – which Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, served on as first lieutenant. Mr Draper said he had a lasting memory of Philip coming on board when the ship was docked. He said: 'We used to have deck hockey on the quarter deck and it was murder playing deck hockey. Reg Draper's certificate of service, confirming his presence as a member of the company on board HMS Duke of York during the Japanese surrender at Tokyo (Royal British Legion/Private Collection/PA) 'He knocked me over once and then the next time he came round he hit me, there's still a mark there, he gave me a clout with his hockey stick. 'He came to see me just to see how I was. They just put a stitch in and it was alright.' The pair met again years after the war, when Mr Draper was in the Royal Navy Reserves and training sea cadets in Wirral and Cheshire for the Duke of Edinburgh awards. He said Philip saw his medals and remembered he had been part of the crew which escorted his ship, but there was no mention of the hockey games. Mr Draper turned 21 on the return journey from Japan, with more than 2,000 people on board the ship because they were carrying prisoners of war home. The father-of-two, who went on to work as an insurance salesman, said it took time to adjust back on dry land. He said: 'When we went through the Bay of Biscay at one time it was that rough that the ship's bows would go 24ft up, 24ft down, just like that. 'You get used to it. Especially if you're in your hammock, it rocks you to sleep. 'One of the most comfortable sleeps I've had is in a hammock!'
Rhyl Journal
6 hours ago
- Rhyl Journal
A-level results: Key numbers and trends
– The proportion of candidates receiving top grades has risen for the second year in a row and remains higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 28.3% of entries were awarded either an A or A*, up from 27.8% in 2024 and above 25.4% in 2019. This is the highest proportion on record outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22 (the figure peaked at 44.8% in 2021). – Some 9.4% of entries received an A*. This is also up on last year (9.3%) and higher than the figure for 2019 (7.7%). Discounting the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22 – when the figure peaked at 19.1% in 2021 – 9.4% is the highest proportion since the A* grade was first awarded in 2010. – There were 77.9% of entries that received a C or above, up from 76.4% in 2024 and above the pre-pandemic figure of 75.9% in 2019. This is again the highest percentage for this level of grade outside the pandemic (the figure peaked at 88.5% in 2021). – The overall pass rate (grades A* to E) was 97.5%. This is up from 97.2% in 2024 but below 2019, which was 97.6%. – Across the regions of England, London saw the highest proportion of entries awarded grades of A or A* (32.1%, up from 31.3% in 2024) while north-east England had the lowest (22.9%, down from 23.9% in 2024). The gap between these two regions now stands at 9.2 percentage points, up from 7.4 points last year and the largest since the present system of grading began in 2010, according to analysis by the PA news agency. – Some 30.4% of entries in Northern Ireland received A or A*, higher than the equivalent figure for Wales (29.5%) and England (28.2%). – Boys have taken a lead over girls in the top grades for the first time since 2018. The proportion of boys' entries awarded A or A* this year was 28.4%, 0.2 percentage points higher than the equivalent figure for girls' entries (28.2%). Last year, girls led boys by 0.4 percentage points (28.0% for girls, 27.6% for boys). – Boys have extended their lead over girls in the highest grade, A*. The proportion of boys' entries awarded A* this year was 9.9%, 0.8 points higher than girls (9.1%). Last year, boys led girls by 0.4 percentage points (9.5% for boys, 9.1% for girls). Boys led girls at A* from 2012 through to 2019, before girls moved in front during the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22, after which boys reclaimed a lead in 2023. – The most popular subject this year was maths, for the 12th year in a row. It had 112,138 entries, up 4.4% from 107,427 in 2024. Psychology remains the second most popular subject. It had 75,943 entries, down 3.3% from 78,556 in 2024. Biology was once again the third most popular subject, with 71,400 entries, a fall of 4.0% from 74,367. Business studies has entered the top five most popular subjects for the first time, ranking in fifth place and replacing history which has dropped to seventh. Physics has jumped from ninth place to sixth. – A total of 882,509 A-levels were awarded this year, down 0.5% on last year's 886,514.
