The ELMS Diary of Events
2013

 

Members of ELMS receive an annual projection of events for each calendar year in the Winter/Spring copy of the ELMS Newsletter, and are requested to register their interest in specific events with the ELMS Secretary, in order for the Committee to make provisional arrangements. Additional and updated news of events is published at the back of each quarterly Newsletter, and will also be posted on this page of the ELMS website.If you undertake any activity using information contained in this website then you do so at your own risk. ELMS bears no responsibility for the organisation or management of non-ELMS events.

Thursday March 28th 2013

Ecole Frederic De Jongh – Brussels

Visit to Ecole No. 8 – Frederic De Jongh. Short service of Commemoration – Brussels, Belgium.Organised by Comete Kinship

April 23rd – 29th 2013

ELMS Annual Reunion Week – York Area – UK

Visits, Meetings and Dinners – A Reunion for all members and their families and friends, including visits and the Memorial Week-end

  April 26th – 28th 2013

ELMS Memorial Week-end – York Area – UK

Veterans, Helpers, families and friends will gather for: Friday evening – informal Dinner; Saturday – Commemorative Service, AGM and Reunion Dinner.

April 26th – 28th 2013 

Italian Freedom Trail – Sulmona – Italy

A moderate walk through the safe-house villages of the Maella National Park, Italy. Organised by the Liceo Scientifico, Sulmona, Italy.

May [tbc] 2013

Comete Freedom Trail – Belgium / France / Spain

Cycling and hill-walking

ELMS members welcome to meet-up or participate – good fitness levels required.

Military organisation.

INSURANCE: Members are advised to ensure that they possess appropriate personal insurance when attending ELMS events, particularly those events of an arduous nature.Trail walkers should note that in addition to the European Health Insurance Card [EHIC] it is essential that they are covered by personal accident insurance – many ordinary ‘holiday insurance’ policies provide unsuitable cover for trail-walking activities.

 May 8th -12th 2013

Air Force Escape and Evasion Society [AFEES] – USA 

Reunion week for veterans, their families and friends, based in Tampa, Florida, USA. Reunions, visits, dinners and Memorial Services – organised by AFEES, USA  

June 6th – 9th 2013

Shelburn Freedom Trail – Brittany – France

A moderate walk – Brittany – France. A coastal route covering the MGB pick-up points along the Brittany coast. Commemorates the Shelburn Escape Line. Walks, commemorative events and gatherings. 

  June 2013 [tbc]

Frankton Trail – France

A moderate walk to commemorate ‘Operation Frankton’ – the raid on Bordeaux Harbour by members of the RM Commandos – ‘The Cockleshell Heroes’. Covers the route from St Genes de Blaye to Ruffec [France]. Organised by The Frankton Souvenir Association.

July 11th – 14th 2013

Chemin de la Liberte – High Pyrenees – France / Spain 

A difficult mountain trail for experienced walkers. 20th Anniversary event.

 St Girons [France] to Esterri [Spain], in the High Pyrenees. The trail commemorates the Pat O’Leary and the Dutch Paris Escape Lines. Walkers will be expected to carry kit for camping overnight in the mountains, and to be prepared for hostile weather conditions. Organised by the ‘Freedom Trail Association’ – [www.chemin de la liberte.com]

Sunday 21st July 2013

Belgian Parade Cenotaph Ceremony - London 

A  parade to celebrate and commemorate the long standing support and collaboration between the UK and Belgium and marking Belgium’s National Day. Organised by The Belgian Ministry of Defence, Amicale des Anciens Combattants Belges en Grande-Bretagne and the Belgian Embassy in London.

Sunday August 11th 2013

ELMS Family Day in ‘The Grove’ – NMA

Informal, day-long event for ELMS members and their families to visit the ELMS Escape Line Memorial, situated in the Allied Special Forces Grove at the National Memorial Arboretum – Alrewas, Staffordshire.

No fixed programme – time for quiet contemplation and remembrance, to explore the vast Arboretum – and have a picnic!

September 4th – 9th  2013

 Italian Freedom Trail – Tenna Valley

A moderate walk based on Servigliano, to commemorate the break-out from the POW camps following the September 1943 Armistice.

Three separate day-long walks and commemorations covering safe-house villages and towns.

Sunday September 8th 2013

Veterans’ Memorial Parade – Eden Camp WW2 Museum – Malton – North Yorkshire

A commemoration of the work of all members of the armed forces and civilian services who have participated in conflicts from WW2 onwards. Parade and Commemoration Service. Organised by Eden Camp Museum.

September 13th – 15th 2013

The Comete Freedom Trail – Western Pyrenees

A moderate walk, incorporating commemorative events and dinners, in the Western Pyrenees – [French Basque Region].

Commemorates the Comete Escape Line     Organised by Les Amis Comete.

September 15th - 22nd 2013

The Rossano Freedom Trail – Italy

Two routes possible – one severe, for experienced walkers only, the other more moderate. Following the SAS extraction routes to the coast, used by the SAS, the partisans and the POW escapers. Organised  by- [www.brianlettauthor.com]

12th/13th October 2013 [tbc]

Zip Slide Fundraising Event – Imperial War Museum North – Manchester

See: http://www.zipslidesuk.co.uk

Several members of ELMS have volunteered to raise funding for ELMS by being sponsored for participating in a Zip Slide of 250m across the Manchester Ship Canal from the 30m high Shard on the Imperial War Museum North and landing in front of The Lowry.

Come and support the intrepid ‘Sliders’; sponsor the event; raise funding to enable ELMS to perpetuate the memory of the Escape Lines of WW2.  Organised by Zipslides UK.

More details in the next Newsletter [July/August] or from the Secretary.

  October 19th - 20th 2013

Comete and Comete Kinship Commemorative Week-end – Brussels – Belgium 

A  week-end dedicated to the commemoration of the work of the Comete Escape Line. Visits, Dinners and Commemorative Services. Organised by Comete Kinship

December 6th – 8th 2013

ELMS Christmas Reunion – ‘Ici Londres’  - London

Annual Christmas Dinner, and a Commemorative Service in St Clement Danes Church.

2014

April 25th – 27th 2014

ELMS Memorial Week-end – York Area – UK

Veterans, Helpers, families and friends will gather for: Friday evening - informal Dinner; Saturday - Commemorative Service, AGM and Reunion Dinner

ELMS members who wish to take part in any events listed, please contact the ELMS Secretary as soon as possible.If you are not an ELMS member and would like to participate in our activities, please contact us for further information