The Somme

Today was all about the 1916 battle of the Somme, the worst defeat in British military history.

On July 1, 1916 the British generals sent their armies over the top against a much better prepared fighting force. By the time the battle ended on 18 November, over 1,000,000 men were killed or wounded. Making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. On the first day alone, 19,240 British and allied soldiers were dead. Many Canadians were killed and the Newfoundland Regiment was particularly hard hit. July 1 is still known as Memorial Day in Newfoundland.

We had some bad luck today. The Newfoundland park at Beaumont-Hamel was totally closed and so we could not get into see the impressive monument there. Also, the monument to the Somme missing at Thiepval was under construction and we were not allowed to enter. Thirdly, the monument to the South African forces at Delville Wood was being cleaned and we couldn't get close to it, either. All this work of course is related to the 100th anniversary of the Armistice coming up in 2018.

Pictures from Delville Wood:

The Somme Museum:

Thiepval, monument to the Somme missing:

This marks the end of the Battlefields Tour.  It has been both interesting and a great time spent with Scott.  I'm truly glad we were able to do this together. It is something I'm sure we will both remember forever.

Vimy and Northern France

Today was like a pilgrimage within a larger pilgrimage.  We set off early in the morning with several stops lined up. Our first visit was to the large French cemetery at Notre Dame de Lorette. There was no country more effected by WWII than France. Well over 1.15 million casualties and that's just the military. This cemetery holds the remains of 40,000 French soldiers.

Some interesting names on the memorial here. It hosts the names of all who died near Arras, including Germans.

After this cemetery it was on to the Wellington Quarries near Arras. The British used New Zealand miners to develop a network of huge tunnels around 20 metres under Arras to prepare for the 1917 springtime offensive.  We took an elevator down and we're given a guided tour.

Next stop was Vimy - the pilgrimage within a pilgrimage. I felt very proud of those incredibly tough Canadian soldiers. It was truly an honour to see this and to pay our respects.

The park at Vimy is staffed only by Canadians, mostly college students I believe.

There is a preserved set of trenches at Vimy and some ground that still shows the devastation.

This picture is looking towards the German front line from the Allied front line. Distance: about 20 yards.

A machine gun bunker on the German side.

Trees growing through land that was never re-levelled after the war.

We ended the day at the Arras Memorial. Arras is a beautiful place now but was mostly rubble after the war.

That was the end of our "official" day of touring. One of the gentlemen on our bus asked if it would be possible to make an unscheduled stop at a churchyard  so that he could visit his father's grave. Of course the staff were honoured to do so. This guy is probably in his late 70's. Out of respect for him, I didn't take any photos. It was without a doubt the most moving, poignant moment of this trip as he said "I'll  never be back here again". Our tour guide recited "For The Fallen" and it's safe to say there was not a dry eye. His Dad was killed in 1940 during the run-up to the Dunkirk retreat when he was just a young boy.

"They shall not grow old,as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them"

Flanders, Part 2

These photos are from a place called Vancouver Corner. You can see the Canadian impact everywhere here in Flanders.

Tyne Cot is a massive British Cemetery:

And finally, the Menin Gate.

Every single day since the end of the first war (with the exception of the time of German Occupation during WWII ), the city of Ypres,  the location of 4 major battles during WW1, puts on a ceremony at the British memorial known as the Meningitis Gate. Inside the memorial are the names of every British Unknown Soldier. There are thousands and thousands of names from every corner of the British Empire.

Here'she a bit of the ceremony:

Flanders, Part 1

When someone mentions the word Flanders, it will no doubt conjure up John McCrae's famous poem from World War 1. It's been running through my head all day as we visited many of the most important monuments and cemeteries here in the Flanders region of Belgium.

Our first stop today was at Hill 62, otherwise known as Sanctuary Wood. Sanctuary Wood was a place slightly behind the front lines where Canadian troops rested before rejoining the battle.  The first photo shows the Government of Canada sign. The second shows the memorial area and the 3rd shows Scott sighting the visitor's log.

Above photos are from the Hill 62 cemetery.

The photos above show a massive crater - the result of an underground explosion. Allied miners tunneled under the German front lines and simultaneously lit 19 explosions up and down the western front. The explosions were heard as far away as London.

The second photo shows some of the land that still has the undeniable scars of battle.

The front line is marked by the markers in the third picture. Blue markers show the allies positions and red markers show the German lines. In this case the German marker was maybe 30 yards away.

More in the next post.