A press release for LSA Express, submitted and published following a visit by 7 representatives of the Twinning Association, from 10 – 13 March 2017,
CAUDRY – QUELLE SURPRISE
Links between Great Britain and French town Caudry already existed but we didn’t know it.
The first link between our towns is right on our doorstep as the packaging for Caudry’s locally produced sweets is supplied by Preston-based Sabre Triad Limited.
The second and most important link is Caudry’s long history of lace-making – with all the machinery derived from Nottingham. The machines weren’t exported – it was more a case of they fell off the back of a lorry as strike action in Nottingham in the 1800s saw machineryremoved fromNottingham and relocated to Caudry in the Norddepartmentin northernFrance.
Prior to the visit, the messages from Caudry emphasised the role of industry in that town but on arrival there, the twinning delegation were surprised to find a very clean urban environment with old-style architecture blending well with the modern new developments. Lace production is still in full swing well hidden among the buildings of the town yet Caudry lace is worn by such famous names as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Angelina Jolie and Amal Alamuddin/Clooney
The first loom was installed in 1826 with parts smuggled from England. By 1913 there were some 650 looms employing several thousand workers. The population expanded from 1,926 in 1804 to 13,360 in 1911.
Today Caudry remains, withCalais, the only town in France where lace is still made.
The purpose of the recent visit was not only to meet up with Caudry’s civic leaders and twinning members but also be part of the official opening of a photography exhibition with images from here supplied by members of the LSA Photographic Society and twinning members.
“Everyone we met during our weekend visit was kind, thoughtful and proud of what they had to show us.”
Twinning Chairman Cllr. Tony Ford who initiated the visit said “We were impressed with the large modern spaces available for use often for free by the local community, such as the Cultural Centre where the photographic exhibition was displayed, and the Salle des Fetes where a Wedding Fair was in full swing.” Finding affordable venues with the right facilities for events and activities can be a problem for us in St Anne’s and Lytham.”
Caudry’s Mayor Guy Bricout is very keen to develop education links with Lytham St. Annes and as part of the trip visits to two schools had been planned.
Former Arnold school teacher Robert Fielder who was also on the trip said “The 6 year olds were having their first language lessons and the 7 year olds were introduced to English. The local primary school also went to a lot of trouble to show us by class visits how their pupils developed their reading and writing skills and their learning of English. Their rendition of "Hello Goodbye" by the Beatles was an excellent finale to that visit!. The pupils really enjoyed showing their English skills to the English visitors, and are keen to set up a link with a school here.”
“I can’t get over the lovely young children learning English from the age of 6!” said French teacher Carol Thorn, one of the twinning committee on the trip.Our primary school visit was a delight.”
The First World War drapes an emotional blanket over the town and the gently rolling green environs as many battles were fought in and around Caudry. In the town’s War Graves Cemetery, many unidentified soldiers are buried alongside their named comrades in both the German and the Allied sections.
All members of the English delegation planted small memorial crosses next to the headstones of soldiers from Lancashire regiments who had fallen defending Caudry or had helped to retake it in 1918.
Former soldier John Regan who is the twinning association’s treasurer said “We all placed a poppy cross on various graves and in the local tradition we cast poppy leaves up to the wind by the memorial headstone. It was an emotive visit for us all.”
WW1 poet Wilfred Owen died near Caudry just prior to the ending of hostilities.
Our memories of the Caudry visit centre around the superb hospitality, generosity, and friendliness of our hosts, plus the unexpectedly vibrant and forward-looking nature of a town.
Where to next? An exhibition of photographs from Caudry collated by their Photographic Society are to go on display in Lytham and St. Anne’s in June
We want to have the Caudry photographs on display perhaps in empty shop windows in St Anne’s and Lytham so that they are seen by a wider audience.
A delegation from Caudry’s Comitie de Jumilage (Twinning Association) could visit the Fylde later in the year and we hope to formalise our link at the same time. Invitations have been extended to Caudry for a visit during key events in Fylde calendar of events and activities but no date has been fixed yet.
The Twinning Association are working closely with AKS to strengthen educational links by developing an electronic pen pal scheme and there are opportunities to exchange pupils’ art work between the two towns.
We are also keen to attract new members especially those with an interest in France, French life and French culture. With Caudry only 2 hrs from Calais and an hour from the Eurostar station at Lille it is easily accessible to all and with an early start it can be reached from here in a day!”