The ‘Step Short Project’ has been set up by the Go Folkestone Action Group in England to preserve and promote the ‘Road to Remembrance’ in their town.
Step Short was set up in 2008 when members of the GFAG decided that their town needed to improve the setting of the Road to Remembrance. This is the name given to the hill (known as ‘The Slope’) that members of the Folkestone community walked down to the harbour when they were getting ready to be taken to France and the Western Front. The route is now known as the ‘Road of Remembrance’. It is estimated that 10 million men left for the Western Front and only 8 million made the return journey.
The title of the project, ‘Step Short’, refers to the order the soldiers were given whilst marching to shorten their stride so as not to topple forward over one another.
The group wants the path that these men and women took to be renovated in time for the 2014-2018 Centenary. As well as restoring the condition of the road, the group wants a WW1 timeline highlighting major events during the war to line the path of the road.
To find out more about the Step Short project, click here.
Images courtesy of the Step Short Project.