THE site in Northern France where almost 100 Worcestershire soldiers played a decisive role during a battle that ended in a notorious Second World War massacre will be visited by a coach party later this year.
Faced with overwhelming odds in the spring of 1940, the British Army was retreating when a number of regiments were ordered to fight a rearguard action at Wormhout.
Among them were members of the Worcestershire Yeomanry, the 8th Worcestershires and the 2nd Royal Warwickshires.
After hours of desperate fighting and with no ammunition left, the depleted British surrendered. And that was when the full horror really started.
More than 90 men were herded into a tiny barn on the outskirts of Wormhout and taken out in groups of five and shot.
After a while, the Germans decided to throw grenades into the barn.
Nearly all the men were killed, with only a handful escaping to give evidence to a war crimes tribunal after the war.
This autumn, Midlands-based organisation Battlefield Memorial Tours will visit the site of the massacre from November 10 to November 12.
For more information call Brian Long on 01629 650780 or visit http://www.battlefieldmemorialtours.co.uk
