Cambridge University Officers' Training Corps (OTC) are working as part of Operation REFLECT, the Army’s First World War commemoration initiative, to bring communities together in remembrance of those who have dedicated themselves to the protection of our country.
Lieutenant Colonel G A Macintosh OBE, Commanding Officer of the OTC, explained: “It would be great if, in a small way, we were able to shine a spotlight on local individuals who died in the Great War; creating links that connect the past and present, young and old, county and University.”
A significant number of individuals from Cambridge University lost their lives in WW1 and they are remembered by various memorials across the Colleges.
Young cadets will be visiting these memorials in the city centre, encouraging members of the public to do the same, before attending a service taking place at 1.30pm at the War Memorial on Hills Road, opposite Station Road.
Members of the public are invited to the service, and to visit the memorials in Clare, Downing, Pembroke, Peterhouse, Westminster, King’s, St Catharine’s, Corpus Christi, Gonville and Caius, Sidney Sussex, Christ’s, Jesus and Magdalene Colleges.
Many of the College memorials commemorate the losses of more than 100 fallen men, with Pembroke’s memorial representing the sacrifices of 319 individuals. The Colleges will be open between 9am and 1pm.
Elsewhere in the county, members of the Officers' Training Corps, current Army soldiers and the county running team will be visiting memorials in the surrounding towns and villages.
They will be taking photographs and collecting postcards of thanks from local schools to be displayed in the service at 1.30pm, connecting together war memorials and the brave individuals they represent.
Cambridge University OTC is formed by the students of the University of Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge) and the University of East Anglia (Norwich).
The leadership development program is set to the same standards of military training that all Officers must undergo at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
The first of a series of Cambridge events commemorating the centenary of the First World War takes place this Saturday 8 March, bringing together the University, the City and the County.
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