Today, with around 30 people in attendance, we ran the long ceremony. The Mayor of Woking, Cllr Will Forster was in attendance for the third time during his mayoral year for which we are grateful.

We remembered Ronald William Poulton Palmer of the 1st/4th Bn Royal Berkshire Regiment. Son of Professor Edward Bagnall Poulton and Mrs. Emily Palmer Poulton, of Wykeham House, Oxford. Captain of the England Rugby Football XV in 1914. He was 25 years old when he was killed on 5th May 1915. He is buried in plot B.11 in the Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery, Hainaut, Belgium.

Mr Rob Bennett was our reverend, Mrs Sue Stallard, our Standard Bearer, Mrs Ruth Moore, out bugler and for the first time, Mr Ian Cartwright our Parade Marshall.

Afterwards we retired to the Trench Experience and caught up with a troop of Czech Republic Scouts that had attended a ceremony elsewhere in the cemetery.

Today we were joined by Beavers, Cubs and Scouts from Horsell who brought with them two Standards and were impeccable on parade. There were seven Standards on parade and we had around 40 people in total.

Paul McCue from the Secret WW2 Learning network read the poem ‘After the soldier’s funeral’ by Samuel Francis Smith (1808 – 1895) and performed the Individual Remembrance.

We remembered Charles Milne Skepper, born on 26 February 1905 in Richmond Surrey. He was a gifted linguist, speaking German, Spanish, French and Chinese.

In 1939 he volunteered for military service in Britain and was later in charge of the propaganda broadcasting station of the British Ministry of Information in Shanghai. In 1942 he applied to join the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Skepper was flown into occupied France by a Lysander of the RAF’s 161 (Special Duties) Squadron, from RAF Tangmere, on 17 June 1943 to work with the French Resistance. He organised a number of significant acts of sabotage, but was arrested with others of his team, and local French helpers, on 23 or 25 March 1944.

It is not known precisely what happened to Skepper but a year after the war had ended, Skepper’s death was officially recognised by the War Office on 28 October 1946, where it was recorded as ‘Presumed died while in enemy hands on or shortly after 1 April 1944’.

Our padre was Bert Steed, our bugler was Mrs Ruth Moore and our Standard bearer was Mrs Sue Stallard.

Afterwards most of us went round to the Trench Experience for refreshments.

Original biography of Charles Skepper by Chris Husbands, Emeritus Reader in the Department of Sociology at LSE. Photos by Kevin Barker.

Today in the heavy rain, we held a short ceremony with just under 40 people in attendance. We remembered Dennis Edgar Hayes, service number A/6038. Son of Georgina Hayes, Dennis was a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment and died on 3rd March 1944, aged 25. He is buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery.

Mrs Ruth Moore sounding the Reveille

Paul McCue reading the poem ‘Soldier’s Dream’ by Wilfred Owen

Standard Bearers Eddie Jones and Alan Lopez

Paul Iverson remembering Explorer Scout Jodie Chesney

There were around a dozen adult Scouters from Woking District in attendance.

Paul McCue read the poem ‘Soldier’s Dream’ by Wilfred Owen. Our bugler was Mrs Ruth Moore and our Standard Bearer was Mrs Sue Stallard. Photographs by Tony McCallum of WyrdLight Photography.

Afterwards we went round to the Trench Experience for some refreshments.