St Peter Port and Masnieres twinned in 2019, and are hoping to take the next step by involving young people from both locations.
‘2017 marked the 100th anniversary of a major battle in Masnieres, where the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry held the line for the Allies and lost 40% of its men,’ said Chris Oliver, chairman of the RGLI Trust.
‘We installed a memorial there, and the RGLI ride visited a couple of weeks ago, and so for our third stream we wanted to involve young people through an exchange scheme for students in Guernsey and Masnieres to experience the other.’
Mr Oliver said the scheme will contribute to turning commemoration into culture. The island representatives will meet members of Masnieres education services and of Jacques Prevet school.
‘It is really important to us to establish the relationship after the twinning in 2019, as Covid prevented this from happening for the past two years,’ said Mr Oliver.
‘We are really looking forward to pushing this initiative onwards.’
The group leaves for France next Thursday, and during their trip will also be meeting with local historians and the Mayor, having tours of battlefields and other notable locations which the students may visit, and most importantly sorting out the logistics for an exchange scheme.
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