Two days of commemorations are planned in Mons on November 10 & 11 to mark the centenary of the Belgian city’s liberation, and the end of the First World War.
Events include a remembrance service at CWGC St Symphorien Cemetery – where the first and last Commonwealth soldiers killed in action are buried, together with many other British and German troops.
Private George Price, a Canadian soldier shot minutes before the Armistice came into effect on 11 November 1918, rests close to Private John Parr, a British soldier who died on 21 August 1914 as the German army approached Mons.
Buried opposite John Parr is Private George Ellison, the last British soldier to be killed before the November 11 ceasefire.
A new memorial will be dedicated to George Price close to where he fell at Ville-sur-Haine, east of Mons.
Canadian troops entered Mons in the final hours of the Great War. In 1914, the outnumbered British Expeditionary Force was forced to retreat from Mons after its first Western Front clash with the Germans.
Despite the Armistice agreement, the armies of all sides are estimated to have suffered thousands of casualties on 11 November 1918. Fighting continued along the Western Front in the six hours between the ceasefire being signed at Compiègne and its implementation at 11 o’clock.
For details of Mons 2018 Centenary events, see VisitMons.