Former Royal Marines thank cadets for work on grave
FORMER Royal Marines have visited the island to tour its historic relics and to present a thank you plaque to the local Royal Marine Cadets.
After hearing about some of the renovation work of the cadets, ex-Royal Marine Peter Caulfield arranged a trip to Guernsey with some of his former colleagues and friends to present the award.
‘We’re all ex-Royal Marine members and call ourselves “the old and bold”,’ he said. ‘We visit different bases two or three times and year, and this time came to Guernsey.
‘I learned that Matt Hill had renovated a grave that I knew about in the Fort George cemetery, and so I got hold of him and arranged to meet up.
‘I wanted to do a little thank you and give him a plaque for the Royal Marine cadets and touch base.’
Sergeant Matt Hill, 38, has been with the Royal Marine Cadets for 25 years, and was saddened by the condition of the grave.
‘It was in a very poor state when I found it and it needed to be renovated in his memory,’ he said.
‘He was a Marine and I’ve been with the Marines since I was 13, so it was a bit of a choke moment when I saw it was dilapidated.’
The plaque was presented to the Cadets at the Foulon Cemetery.
During their trip, the ex-Royal Marines visited many of the fortifications in the island, and had tackled the north of Guernsey before visiting war graves and meeting the cadets to present the plaque in the afternoon.
Mr Caulfield knows Guernsey well as he lived in the island in the 1960s, but said that coming over with the group meant he learnt a lot more about the island’s history.
They visited various Napoleonic, British and German sites, as well as dolmens.
Following the recent anniversary of Operation Basalt in Sark, the group also paid a visit to the island, where they met Lt Colonel Reg Guille who trained with the Royal Marine Commandos.
Lt-Col Guille gave the group a tour and also told them more about Operation Basalt.
