Twin town makes special donation to mark armistice
L-R: Jacinta Smith, MP James Cleverly, Verberie mayor Michel Arnould and Ann Hooks in front of the stone donated by Verberie. Picture: JAN MOLLER - Credit: Archant
A rock from a quarry close to where the First World War armistice treaty was signed was unveiled in Rayne on November 3 in front of hundreds of people.
The rock was donated by French town Verberie, which has been twinned with Rayne for nearly 25 years.
The occasion was an opportunity to remember the 33 soldiers from Rayne who died in the Great War, with Braintree MP James Cleverly and the mayor of Verberie, in attendance.
The one-tonne stone was unveiled by residents whose relatives were soldiers from Rayne and are remembered on the village memorial.
Leading up to the centenary of the armistice, two wooden models of soldiers were placed in Rayne, next to crosses bearing the names of the soldiers who died in the first and Second World War, and laid by students.
Across the village posters were placed where the soldiers lived, with information about their lives.