Rockdoc Posted 21 July , 2011 Share Posted 21 July , 2011 I've finished my web-pages on my trip with the Salonika Campaign Society to the battlefields in May 2011. http://www.rockdoc2174.net/Salonika/Page%201.htm Enjoy! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Hello Keith, Just read your account of your visit to Salonika,It was a great read, enjoyed it very much indeed. The part about your Maternal Grandfather and his War Service was very interesting.It sounded very similar to mine in a lot of areas except his posting to the Balkans.I have my GF and if would like to see it, be my guest rdgs Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 4 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2011 I'm glad you enjoyed the read. It was a fantastic holiday and wouldn't have been a patch on what it was without being in a group with guides. I normally make my own way but I wouldn't do that over there if for no other reason than the need for a good knowledge of Greek and Macedonian. I intend to return but it'll be with another group. What's the URL to your Grandfather's story? Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pighills Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Well, that was a couple of hours lost in the glory of your narrative and photos! I remember you telling me of your jaunt back at the conference and feeling envious of you then, after seeing the photos and reading your exploits I'm even more envious! The scenery is just fantastic, and it was just like I was there with you - thanks for posting the link Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 I'm glad you enjoyed the read. It was a fantastic holiday and wouldn't have been a patch on what it was without being in a group with guides. I normally make my own way but I wouldn't do that over there if for no other reason than the need for a good knowledge of Greek and Macedonian. I intend to return but it'll be with another group. What's the URL to your Grandfather's story? Keith Hi Keith, I tryed to up load the file but it's too big.As it happens I have your email address as I have just realised that we have communicated before, when I sent some Iish Times articles re AA action in the Balkans. I will sent you the PDF DOCUMENT if you like. there is a insert on his Casualty form stating that the 67 aa section became "Q" battery on re organisation 27.11 1916.I have seen a post here saying it was between june and Sept 1916 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 4 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Kim, I find myself looking at the pages about once a week myself and reliving the experience! It's been a real benefit to be able to visualise the terrain when I'm reading entries in the War Diaries I'm working on. They make a lot more sense now. Don, I'd be happy to receive the PDF. My info says that the first mention of 'Q' AA Battery the author found was for 3rd December 1916, when 15, 43, 67 and 71 AA Sections were its constituents. I would post this information in the original thread about 'Q' Battery because it will help other people with interests in this area to pick it up. By the way, the Sections did not completely lose their identities when operating as a Battery, any more than the Batteries of a Brigade did elsewhere in the RA. Sections could and did move between Batteries. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Keith That looks really good. I already had it in mind to book one of the Salonika Society tours, and this has reinforced the urge. All I need now is to work out the cash. I have a cunning plan, so hopefully it won't be too long. OtherKeith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 4 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2011 OtherKeith, The cost was very reasonable and excellent value for money. We flew by EasyJet, which we booked individually. Alan Wakefield, working with Romeo Drobarov and Adrian Wright, sorted out the hotels and we paid him for those so they could be block-booked. We got bed, breakfast and evening meals and packed-lunches for all but the last two days and we simply bought stuff for a picnic at a local supermarket then. Do not worry about going hungry! That is the last thing you'll do, especially in FYROM. There's also a distinct danger of developing a taste for rakia and ouzo! The walks are not done at a silly pace - we weren't trying to emulate the Three Peaks Challenge! - but they were on unmade roads and tracks that can get steep and the weather was hot enough to get a sweat on quite quickly. Ruth and I were very glad that we'd joined our local gym and been trained with long-distance walks (we did 9-10 km a day) in mind. You most definitely needed stout footwear, thorn-proof trousers and lightweight waterproofs. A haversack each is another necessity but we bought some that would go as hand-baggage and filled them as part of the luggage. I hope your plan is so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel! Alan's hoping to take another group for the SCS in April/May next year so the opportunity is there - and you will not regret it. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 I've finished my web-pages on my trip with the Salonika Campaign Society to the battlefields in May 2011. http://www.rockdoc21...ka/Page%201.htm Enjoy! Keith Wonderful work. Regards M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 4 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Thanks. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Tucker Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Super account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ackimzey Posted 4 August , 2011 Share Posted 4 August , 2011 What a wonderful accounting. Many thanks for the link. Enjoyed so very much. Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 4 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 4 August , 2011 Steady on! You're making my head swell! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awakefield Posted 5 August , 2011 Share Posted 5 August , 2011 Hi Keith Just to add that I also enjoyed your account. For anyone interested, I am indeed looking to take another group out in 2012. This will probably be in early May so that we can again tie in with the festival. Duration will be ca. 7 days and we will probably aim to fli in to Skopje - Wizz Air now flying direct. Let me have your email addesses if you'd like to be added to my info list. ALAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 5 August , 2011 Author Share Posted 5 August , 2011 Thanks, Alan. I'll see you soon at the WFA meetings at Sutton Coldfield and Ruddington. Folks, I really recommend this to anyone who's considering a trip to this forgotten Theatre of WW1. You'll be in safe and well-informed hands and will have a wonderful time. If your partner isn't into WW1, like Ruth, then they can't fail to enjoy the magnificent scenery and plant- and wild-life. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed ROBINSON Posted 3 January , 2013 Share Posted 3 January , 2013 Hello Keith, just found your web page. Nice work!. I have been doing research on several medal groups in my collection and started to read up on the campaign, your pictures on the terrain bring to life the difficulties of the battle for Doiran. I must admit that I am hooked on the subject and will be joining the Salonika Campaign Society. Thanks again. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Ravine Posted 3 January , 2013 Share Posted 3 January , 2013 Ed Look forward to you joining. I'd endorse Rockdoc's comments, Lyn (vbeach) and I were there last May - unforgettable! Regards Keith Edmonds, Membership Secretary, Salonika Campaign Society PS You don't have to be called Keith to join ... all welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 3 January , 2013 Share Posted 3 January , 2013 I thought it was in the rules. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bts1970 Posted 3 January , 2013 Share Posted 3 January , 2013 Keith, many thanks for taking the time to put your visit down onto paper (so to speak). I keep returning to the thought of visiting the Salonika front to see the land my Great Granddad saw during the latter war years. Many thanks again. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gully Ravine Posted 3 January , 2013 Share Posted 3 January , 2013 Keith, Keith and Keith We're outnumbered by b****y Johns & Michaels!! (But fine fellows everyone, I'm sure). Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josquin Posted 8 January , 2013 Share Posted 8 January , 2013 Rockdoc I just discovered your 2011 post of the Salonika visit. It was not only hugely informative about the settings for events, but also concerning the fine points of topography and terrain as well as the myriad of small details that make travel to historic sights so memorable. You created a luminous evocation of place and I thank you for sharing this with all of us. Also appreciated were your geologic and ornithologic observations--they added a great deal of colour and immediacy that tends to be overlooked in accounts of travels to historical sites. Best regards, Trelawney Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardenerbill Posted 9 January , 2013 Share Posted 9 January , 2013 Keith, I had your account of you visit on my list of websites that warranted further reading and I was not dissappointed so I thought I would add my comments, a thoroughly enjoyable read and insight, I had a vague idea I would quite like to go on one of the trips in the future and your account has convinced that I must do it. Thanks again Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 20 January , 2013 Author Share Posted 20 January , 2013 Thanks, everyone. I'm really pleased you enjoyed my ramblings and please accept my apologies for the delay in responding. I was ill over Christmas with a (thankfully) slight case of shingles but it made sleeping difficult and I was zombied for quite a while. I'm still trying to catch up! The trip to Greece and Macedonia was a superb experience and seeing the terrain made a lot of things fall into place. Imagine standing at the spot where I photographed PetiteCouronne, La Tortue, Pip Ridge and Grande Couronne in WW1 when there was no vegetation. It clearly demonstrates the strategic importance of that small hillock with its view across the British and French approaches and, much as we might deplore the cost of lives in trying - and failing - to take it, you cannot make any argument as to how it could have been ignored. The contrast between the Doiran Front and the Krusha Balkans or the Struma Valley is hard to comprehend until you've seen them. I think we'll be returning before too much longer. There is a lot more to see yet. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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