On Sunday, March 19, 2023 at 11:00 am Marek Sobola PhD, Secretary-General & Founder of Servare et Manere, (responsible for the International Tree of Peace Project) and Gerry Manolas Chair of MAFCSV held a special tree planting ceremony together at Brookwood Military Cemetery.
For NGO Servare et Manere association, trees are a means of expressing many thoughts and for marking important events. Throughout the ages the act of planting trees has been one of the tools of cultural diplomacy between nations.
Our late Queen Elizabeth asked us all to mark her Platinum Jubilee by planting trees as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy (QGC). initiative. Marek Sobola took this idea and approached His Excellency Nigel Baker, HM Ambassador to Slovakia and asked him to plant a Platinum Jubilee Tree in Carl Gustav Swensson Park, in Žilina. This was achieved in 2022, but unfortunately the Slovak tree could not be entered onto the official list or be marked on the official map, because Slovakia was not a commonwealth country. This then gave rise to the idea of planting a ‘sister’ tree here in the UK. One that would directly connect our three countries and commemorate this year’s 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and the independent Czech and Slovak Republics. What makes this a unique part of the QGC project, is that as far as we know, no one has planted international jubilee trees in this way.
The chosen tree was a Prunus Padus – A Bird Cherry Tree, and was planted by H.E. The Slovak Ambassador Mr. Róbert Ondrejcsák and H.E. The Czech Ambassador Mrs. Marie Chatardová, Mr Marek Sobola and Mrs Gerry Manolas.
The event was also attended by Richard Arseneault. the new Superintendent of the American Battle Monuments Commission Brookwood, John Polak Treasurer of the MAFCSV, Mr. Lukáš Macek member of Servare et Manere, Martina and Tomas Jones, Eddie Jones and Sheryl, Antony McCallum, Evandro Manolas, Monsieur Chatard, and Ambassador Ondrejcsák’s daughter.
We would also like to thank the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) for agreeing to us planting our tree at the Brookwood Military Cemetery. This site is close to our hearts as it is home to the national memorial to all the Czechoslovak Veterans who died in and around the UK, fighting for peace and democracy, during WWII. It will be near to our 13th International Tree of Peace, which was planted by Zuzana Čaputová, President of Slovakia in December 2019. Finally, another symbolic connection is that this year is the 65th anniversary of when Queen Elizabeth II unveiled the World War II Memorial at Brookwood (1958).
A special mention must be given to CWGC Regional Operations Coordinator (South East) Kev Barnes and Senior Head Gardener for CWGC Bob Thomson. Their support and help to achieve this project in the tight time scale was very much appreciated.
After the tree planting ceremony Marek Sobola presented Mr. Antony McCallum with the Servare et Manere, Friend of Peace commemorative certificate, and Mrs. Gerry Manolas with the Memorial Medal of the Tree of Peace. Both were delighted to receive their certificates and recognition for their support and work in remembering the veterans, promoting peace, and developing strong ties between our countries.
H.E. The Czech Ambassador Mrs. Marie Chatardová placed a wreath at the Czechoslovak Memorial and H.E. The Slovak Ambassador Mr. Róbert Ondrejcsák placed a wreath on the grave of Marina Paulinyova, Vice Chair of the Czechoslovak Red Cross, who is buried in Brookwood cemetery and whose birthday is remembered at the end of March.
Thank you to Eddie Jones for providing the perfect setting at his ‘’Estaminet’ for refreshments and to Martina Jones for the fabulous cakes.
Special Highlight-
After the event Marek Sobola and Lukáš Macek visited Windsor Castle and St George’s Chapel where they stayed to listen to the evening mass. After they spoke to the priest and explained about planting the Jubilee Tree today at Brookwood and the one in Slovakia. He very kindly allowed them to visit the tomb of Her Late Majesty and pay their respects in person. What a way to complete the day and this special project!
Congratulations to all those involved who helped to bring this project to fruition. Special thanks go to the Mayor of Vysoká nad Kysucou and the village church and Priest who sponsored the project. We hope to be able to welcome them in person one day soon. We look forward to showing our Jubilee Tree to all those who join us on May 14th for the next memorial event at Brookwood.
