No one knew what to expect in 1914 when, borne on a wave of patriotic optimism, more than 500,000 men signed up to help “plucky little Belgium”. By the time the first world war had ended, 6 million British soldiers had served their king. Of these, 700,000 never came home. Now, to honour their enormous sacrifice, the Woodland Trust is planting millions of trees to stand as living monuments to those who lost their lives.
Planted on sites in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the four Centenary Woods will fill out and connect existing patches of beautiful woodland, creating new habitats for a huge array of wildlife. They will also serve as dedicated sites of remembrance for the soldiers of the British Isles and Ireland, and civilians from the first world war.
In a dedicated section of the Woodland Trust’s website, you can read some of their stories, such as that of Joan Burbidge, the six-year-old girl who sent a box of chocolates to the trenches and struck up a pen pal friendship with the lonely soldier who received it; or Dorothea Crewdson, the mortally wounded nurse who refused help in order to tend to the fallen during a German bombing raid.
Then there’s Captain Noel Chavasse, the British Olympic runner who sought out and saved 20 soldiers in no-man’s land, before dying of his injuries; and not forgetting Jack, the brave terrier who struggled on despite being badly hurt by falling shells to get a message to the British HQ in France, and in doing so, saved an entire battalion.
“I think it’s a fitting way to remember the sacrifices made all those years ago by so many,” says Woodland Trust director Patrick Cregg, who helped plant new areas of Brackfield Wood, near Derry. The 21.5-hectare site stretches alongside the beautiful Faughan river, and will eventually incorporate wildflower meadows of poppies, ox-eye daisies and yellow rattles as well as a community orchard.
By 2018, it is hoped that another 25,000 trees will bolster the plantation, which links the existing Killaloo wood in the south with Oaks and Burntollet woods in the north.
To plant millions of trees is no mean feat, but thanks to public generosity, combined with a £4m commitment by Sainsbury’s, the four woodlands are well underway. Already, thousands of schools and communities have helped the Woodland Trust plant nearly 1 million trees alone at the flagship woods across the UK.
By 2018, the Trust aims to have planted 90,000 trees in Coed Ffos Las near Carmarthenshire, Wales; at least 50,000 trees in Dreghorn Woods near the Pentland Hills in Edinburgh, Scotland; and 200,000 trees at Langley Vale near Epsom, Surrey.
“On a personal level”, says Sainsbury’s representative Charlie Sonnex, who helped plant the latter centenary site, “my great-great-grandfather served in the Somme – he was injured there. It’s good that we’re remembering the first world war, because it shaped the world we live in today.”
In fact, it is still being shaped. Here, it is hoped that all 260 hectares of Langley Vale will be transformed into a peaceful wooded haven for owls, dormice and pipistrelle bats. And by investing in the future of Britain’s native woodlands and the life it supports, we continue to preserve the land that, a century ago, our forefathers gave their lives to protect. What better way could there be to say thank you?
To dedicate a tree, donate any amount, or find out more, visit: woodlandtrust.org.uk
