Le Tommy Cafe Pozières

[Seadog]

Good advice, I would also add that posting your images to a photo-hosting site then linking them to the GWF works extremely well. On another subject altogether what the heck is that shell that Dom is leaning on?.

Norman

[Khaki]

Looks to me to be 14"-16" naval

khaki

[Ghazala]

Brilliant. Thanks Centurion.

[Seadog]

Excellent more if you have them please, glad to see the pile of shellcases are still there!

Norman

[Ghazala]

I am having great fun here. Hiding beneath a pile of folders so the boss thinks I am hard at work! I love this forum and wish I had come to it years ago.

[Seadog]

I must admit I am amazed at the collection depicted in the last two images, whereabouts was this taken is it a new part of the building?, looks well worth a visit.

Thanks

Norman

[KIRKY]

Norman he has reduced the size of the cafe inside and added this museum, it is a great place to wander around and see some original war relics.

tony

[Seadog]

Thanks Tony, what better way is there than to spend some time with a cool beer in the garden hopefully in the sun then a wander around the collection in historic Pozieres, sounds good to me!

Norman

[Ghazala]

It really is a great exhibition Dom has put together now. He charges a fee to go in there but generally when he recognises you as more than a one time visitor he just tells you to go in free of charge.

[Ghazala]

Another place worth a visit is up at Ocean Villas, Avril William's place. She has set up an excellent exhibition in a barn over by her rear car park. Brought in from a local farmer that was collected over many years.

[KevG]

Here are some photos taken when I last visited in October 2011.

Hopefully the link will work.

Kev.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/100141151@N05/sets/

[Seadog]

The link works fine and the photos are excellent and very interesting, Dom has certainly vastly expanded the indoor display and it was good to see the prints made from the collection of found glass plates that received media coverage a while back, that is a unique collection. If only the names of the soldiers had been recorded at the time what a find that would have been. I bet this is still there as I gave it to Dom when I could not remove the bullet "up the spout".

Thanks for posting

Norman

Added : This is the report of the photos discovered on the Somme and includes a gallery to view:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/history/exclusive-the-unseen-photographs-that-throw-new-light-on-the-first-world-war-1688443.html

[KIRKY]

Hi Norman , great find where was it?

Tony

[Seadog]

Just outside Longueval near Delville Wood in a field and with the end of the barrel just sticking out! In retrospect I should have taken more care pulling it from the soil as the oiler and pull-through could have still been in-site. Note the bent bullets, the magazine had been hit by something which jammed a round in the breech and even after pulling at it for a good while there was no way it was going to move. Still great fun trying.

Norman

[Peter Bennett]

Another place worth a visit is up at Ocean Villas, Avril William's place. She has set up an excellent exhibition in a barn over by her rear car park. Brought in from a local farmer that was collected over many years.

M. Andre Coilliot was a railway worker, not a farmer. See below

http://memoire.pas-de-calais.com/index.php/en/first-world-war/across-the-globe/chinese.html

I was fortunate enough to visit his home in August 2002, and whilst Avril has laid everything out very well, to see it in it's original form was an everlasting memory for me.

[Shankly]

We were there a couple of weeks ago and I took a number of photos - I'll try to post themn when I get a spare half hour.

[Ghazala]

M. Andre Coilliot was a railway worker, not a farmer. See below

http://memoire.pas-de-calais.com/index.php/en/first-world-war/across-the-globe/chinese.html

I was fortunate enough to visit his home in August 2002, and whilst Avril has laid everything out very well, to see it in it's original form was an everlasting memory for me.

Thank you for that Peter, very interesting. I will be there in a few weeks.

[bruce]

Drop into Avril's and ask to see her museum.

I was fortunate enough to visit Mr. Coillot at his home in Arras some time ago. His collection was amazing. Avril doesn't yet have all of it. When you go, have a look at the WW2 stuff too, including the jeep and 5ton truck. His home was a terraced one, with no direct access to the back garden. I can remember asking him how he managed to get the various bits and pieces into the area what was covered in Perspex and would have been his back garden. He told me that he had a friend with a crane.

As one went into his home, on the wall leading to the stairs were exhibitions of collar dogs and cap badges. One of the first I noticed was a complete set for a New Zealand Chaplain, Jewish. Just how many of those could there have been???

It is little wonder that Avril keeps the barn locked. She has already turned down £25,000 for the German PAK 75.

Don't miss it, when visiting the area.

Bruce

[Seadog]

Photos please......it sounds very interesting

Norman

[Marilyne]

I passed it on my way away from the Somme and on to Arras in April and made a note to certainly visit on a next opportunity. this here only confirms it !! MM

[Shankly]

Some pictures from Le Tommy Cafe

[Shankly]

.

[Seadog]

Nice pics, here is another one of the garden.

Norman

[dah]

I was staying near Beaumont-Hamel for 6 nights last week and drove by Le Tommy each night around 8.30-9,00pm - hoping for a beer and a meal. Managed to find it open only once - and perhaps that was because it was more like 7.50pm. I was the sole 'guest' until a Dutch family turned up (en route from a French holiday elsewhere and not even realising they were in WW1 territory). They didn't think much of the food. I knew what to expect - and have pretty low standards anyway - so I was quite happy with my gammon, egg & chips. I'm pretty sure he will have closed up after I left - at about 9.30pm. Can't say I blame him.

In fairness to Dominic, the number of battlefield visitors seems terribly low at the moment, They say August is typically a bit quiet - but this year (in general) has apparently been one of the quietest on record. No one is sure if it's the financial situation - or people holding off for the 100th anniversary stuff. At least 3 British-run B&B's have sold up in the recent past. Hopefully it'll improve.

Personally I love going in August. The weather was superb

Yes, I wish Le Tommy was more reliably open in the evening....but 'c'est la vie'

David

[slick63]

I paid a visit on Saturday during a short break. Haven`t been to the Somme since 2011 and only about four people in there around midday, seems very quiet in general around the area.

I bought two coffees and a can of orange fanta, the fanta cost E2.80, I expect people to make a profit but that`s excessive. Bit of a shame as I was going to take the mrs and grandaughter into the 'display' but took them to Albert museum instead.