Memorial Services
Saturday Afternoon - 5:00 PM
We hope you have planned to include in your camporee itinerary one of the 3 memorial services planned for Saturday afternoon at 5:00 PM. All 3 services will be conducted simultaneously, at 3 different locations.
The Scouts and Guides of France have coordinated a ceremony at the Kieffer's Commandos Memorial in Ouistreham.
Leaders of the British Scouts Overseas have organized a ceremony at the Bayeux War Cemetery.
The German War Graves Commission (Volksbund) has invited our camporee participants to participate in a ceremony at La Cambe German War Cemetery. This is a unique opportunity to visit and pay tribute to the soldiers and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice, just as those on the opposing side of the war. Previously it was announced that participation in this ceremony would be by invitation only. That restriction has been lifted and all participants of the camporee are welcome.
These memorial services offer a unique occasion to incorporate the activities you and/or your unit are doing as part of the Messengers of Peace program. Consider creating a banner or peace poster, which can be used after the ceremony to take pictures with your unit, to display later and bring the Message of Peace to other people’s attention. Social media posts, hometown newspaper articles, and telling others of your camporee experiences can also be a way to express your Message of Peace.
It is very important to bear in mind that those visiting these cemeteries and memorials must do so with the highest level of respect. Remember each point of the Scout law, so there should be no running, no loud voices, and behavior in a respectful manner that is appropriate for the final resting place of those who made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives in war.
With the very recent events of the war between Russia and Ukraine we are confronted with the fact that peace is not yet in everybody’s heart. Our Message of Peace needs to be heard.
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”
Constitution of UNESCO, 1945