CYCLISTS and former service people are heading to the battlefields of World War One to mark the end of the conflict a century ago.

For one of the cyclists, Fiona Greaves, from Little London near Longhope, the ride has special poignancy as her great-grandfather George Allan died from wounds incurred on the first day of the third battle of Ypres in 1917. 

She and members of Longhope’s Royal British Legion will be undertaking a challenging 200-mile sponsored ride of remembrance to Mons in Belgium in aid of the Poppy Appeal.

Also as part of the centenary commemoration, members of British Legion branches across the Forest and Wye Valley will be taking part next month in a re-enactment of the Great Pilgrimage of 1928, when family and friends travelled in their thousands to honour those who lost their lives.

The sponsored bike ride will visit Ypres and the Menin Gate, where a wreath will be laid to commemorate the known and unknown soldiers who fell in the First World War. 

Fiona, who has seen first-hand the effect of recent conflicts on service personnel as a physiotherapist for the Ministry of Defence, said: “My great-grandfather was with the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) when he was wounded on July 31.

“He thought he was going home to his wife and four children, but died of infections to a foot wound on August 7 and never saw any of his family again.” 

Fiona and her husband Robert attended the Passchendaele 100 commemorations last year and cycled from Calais to the Wimereux Communal cemetery to be at George’s grave on the centenary of his death.

Fiona will be joined by her husband Robert, who served in the military for 25 years, on the 200-mile ride, along with Bill Reay from Longhope, Adrian Eggleton from Huntley and Alice Lowe from Mayhill, plus her uncle Graham Ingram and Jim McConnell from Perthshire in Scotland.   

The ride starts on Friday, July 27, at RBL Village in Kent. All donations will go directly to the Poppy Appeal, as the costs are being met by team members and through sponsorship from Vantage Point Business Village, Nextec and Forest Physiotherapy in Mitcheldean.

To donate, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/mons2018  and to follow the team on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com>monscycle.