2025 will be a busy year for our colleagues in the Royal British Legion (RBL) Brussels branch with the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Ahead of the VE (Victory in Europe) Day on 8 May, RBL Brussels is inviting members and friends to the ‘British Day’ commemorations in Hotton and La Roche on Sunday 4 May 2025.
This annual event marks the contribution of more than 55,000 UK and Commonwealth troops who fought in the Battle of the Bulge – the final German offensive in the west in the winter of 1944-45. Hotton marks the western limit of the German offensive through the Ardennes and the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery there contains 666 burials.
A memorial above the town of La Roche-en-Ardenne commemorates 54 men of the 51st (Highland) Division who lost their lives during the Ardennes Offensive. The town itself was liberated on 11 January 1945 by the 1st Black Watch, supported by the Derbyshire Yeomanry.
The programme for the day starts at 9h00 with a welcome coffee or drink at the Café Le Jacquemart, opposite the Church in Hotton where a bilingual Mass led by Père Herman Kusola and Rev Canon John Wilkinson will take place at 9h45.
This will be followed by a wreath laying ceremony outside the Church, followed by a procession to the Hotton Commonwealth War Cemetery led by La Fanfare Royale des Joyeux Travailleurs for a further commemoration event.
After lunch events move on to La Roche-en-Ardenne where a short commemoration ceremony will take place at the 51st Highland Division Memorial.
For more details, including how to book and pay for an optional lunch in Hotton etc, please contact RBL Brussel’s Joint Hon. Secretary Andrée Ferrant via this email.
