Parkrunners pay tribute to fallen soldiers on route through ‘no man’s land’

A group of Lynn parkrunners once again made the pilgrimage to France to take part in what has become the annual ‘Somme Poppy Run’.The run, organised by local parkrun director Gary Walker, follows a route through what was, at the time, ‘no man’s land’, separating the British Army from the Germans, who had already occupied the area for two years.The group, who meet each Saturday in The Walks and Sunday mornings as part of the Globe Trotters running group, took little persuading to take part, although the nature of the terrain did take them a little by surprise.

Far from being the flat French countryside that many expected, it was quite undulating, and tackling the steeper slopes was challenging.The thought of running up the hills was, however, tempered by the memory of British soldiers tackling the same slopes on a hot summer morning, each of whom would have been loaded with more than 60 lbs of equipment, under fire from well-positioned German machine guns.The run finished at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, which contains the names of around 72,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers from the battle who have no known grave. The Lynn group laid a wreath commemorating those who died in the battle, several of whom were from the town.

Mr Walker said: “It was fitting that we should commemorate those who fought and died during the battle, in particular those from West Norfolk who answered the call to arms never to return.”

The run was also part of a fund-raising event for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund. Anyone wishing to donate can do so at the following link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/gary-walker-1714757392193Got a story? Email newsdesk@lynnnews.co.uk