Rathcoole Friends of the Somme

HISTORY OF RATHCOOLE FRIENDS OF THE SOMME

Rathcoole friends of the Somme were originally formed in 2002 by a group of men from the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey but after a few months they decided to reform at a later date.

In 2005 a group of 25 men from the Rathcoole area held a brief meeting into forming Rathcoole Somme Society. After a few months it was agreed that the society should be formed and be a constituted group and the constitution was signed by the Chairman then Mr Hugh Frampton and Secretary Mr Philip Hamilton on the 28th September 2006.

The group then planned it`s first pilgrimage for August 2007 to the Somme and Belgium Battlefields. The Somme Society stayed at the Peace Village at Messines near Ypres in Belgium. The group’s tour guide was Councillor Thomas Kirkham and everyone who attended the pilgrimage had a great time and had an emotional experience that would never be forgotten.

They also became a member of Friends of the Somme association and the Last Post association in Ypres. The highlight of the year was being part of the 36th Ulster Division Memorial association. The Society also at donated items and money to both the Children’s Hospice and Ulster Tower.

The Somme Society also found it`s self engaging more in community issues such as interfaces, anti-social behaviour, Bonfires and other relevant community issues in 2007. It was agreed that the Somme Society would work closely with young people who are at risk of engaging in sectarian violence and anti-social behaviour.

Members of the group attend training to build their capacity to have the skills to allow them to work with young people. These courses were child protection and restorative justice. Members also engaged with the statutory agencies to hold festivals within the Rathcoole Community and sourced funding to work with the disengaged young people around the area. T

he group also found that they needed to network and work with other groups within the local area. The group joined a few forums but always found that other groups and statutory agencies would not fully engage with them. Rathcoole Somme Society always encouraged members of the Rathcoole community who have been previously excluded to get more active within the community to make a better community for all. In 2007 the Society joined the 36th Ulster Division amalgamation which meets once a month and shares information between Societies across the Uk.

In 2008 the group was growing in their numbers of members, this was because of the good work that the society was doing on the ground and now the Somme Society started to use the local media to inform the local community of the work it was engaging in. The Society also agreed to become a reregistered Charity, this was achieved in 2008. The group held a festival around the signing of the Armistice and had an education night on the 36th Ulster Division in the Great War and also a presentational display of Arafat’s used during the Great War.

In 2009 Rathcoole Friends of the Somme received support from the Community Support and Development Partnership community development Officer which is a three year part time position. It has advised the group immensely by aiding them to fill in funding applications and working on action plans as well as building the group’s capacity by analysing their needs and finding the right courses to enable the society to grow from strength to strength.

Rathcoole Friends of the Somme members have completed first aid training, mental first aid training, suicide prevention training, drug awareness, event stewarding, event management, Antisocial behaviour course, mediation, Act programme, child protection, community development and various other health awareness course to name but a few.
 

It is also appropriate to name and thank various people and organisations who have helped us over the years and who have funded us to deliver community based projects;
 

• Community Support and Development Partnership
• Rathcoole People`s group
• Mount Veron Community house
• South East Antrim Federation
• Dunnanney Centre
• Rathcoole Neighbourhood Renewal
• Monkstown Outreach Programme
• New Mossley community House
• Newtownabbey Borough Council
• All the community development team
• South Antrim Rural Network
• Public health agency
• NEELB and the area youth office
• Somme heritage centre Conlig
• Newtownabbey Times
• Matrix Project
• Housing executive
• Community Police in PSNI Newtownabbey
• DPP
• Good relations Newtownabbey
• And everyone who has advised helped and supported us.