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Remembered Today:

Arras and Ypres photos


neverforget

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I`d like to kick off with another thank you to those who contributed to my recent "Arras to Ypres and back" thread. I was grateful to everyone who posted, and took on board so much useful information, which enhanced my trip greatly, and hopefully will help someone else along the way too. 

My trip turned out to be everything I had dared to hope for, and then so much more besides. 

Firstly, my wife had booked the Menin Gate House apartment, for my son and I, as a surprise 60th birthday present. One of the pictures is taken from the window, and as can be seen, directly opposite the Menin Gate. The apartment is split into two suites, and ours was the Plumer suite. Downstairs was the Churchill suite. Lovely and clean, and full of interesting stuff. 

Our host was a most genial fellow named Benoit, and he went out of his way to do as much as possible for us while we were there. Benoit is Chairman of the Last Post Association, and despite my protestations, really treated us to some V.I.P. treatment at the ceremonies. As an aside, he also drove us out to the Wieltje salient in order to point out the location of the respective British and German front lines. I expect that many of you know this already, but the front lines are marked out by trees with either a blue or red band around them; blue being British and red being German. I most certainly was unaware of this beforehand. 

I went over there primarily to honour two relatives. My gt grandad, who was killed in Ypres, and who has a grave to visit.

My grandfather`s brother was also kia, at Arras, and his body wasn`t recovered. I had set myself the task of finding the location of his remains, and was able to find the section of trench, still visible today, in amongst the farmer`s fields. 

In addition to these two little personal pilgrimages, we also managed to get to Hill 60, Passchendale, Tyne Cot, Langemark, and Vimy ridge, amongst others, all in just three days. 

I`m going to attempt to post some pictures as promised now. 

 

Rose Coombs` book "Before Endeavours Fade" was one of my travelling companions on this trip. Her ashes are in the cemetery.

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Langemark German cemetery

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View from apartment

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Vimy ridge Canadian memorial

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Tyne Cot

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Hill 60

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Tyne Cot

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Langemark

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Location of "New Trench" in front of Triangle Wood

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Found this lying in New Trench, right on the surface. British 18 pounder shrapnel shell. 

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The start point for 5th Ox/Bucks. Objective is Triangle Wood in the distance.

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Hillside works. On the left as troops advance. Perfect position for enfilade fire. 

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Edited by neverforget
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I've really been looking forward to hearing about and seeing your trip NF having enjoyed reading about the planning in the original thread. Enjoying the photographs, top stuff.

 

Pete.

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Great photos. Thanks for posting. Any more?

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1 hour ago, Fattyowls said:

I've really been looking forward to hearing about and seeing your trip NF having enjoyed reading about the planning in the original thread. Enjoying the photographs, top stuff.

 

Pete.

Thanks Pete. Between the two of us we took over 200 pictures. It`ll be a case of uploading them all onto photobucket, and then posting a few at a time until people have had enough. 

Plenty more to come before that though hopefully. Here`s one or two taken at hill 60, including Caterpillar crater.

 

Caterpillar Crater. There is a lady (dressed in pink) across the other side of the crater, to give it some kind of perspective.

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Hill 60

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Memorial to 14th Division at Hill 60

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Memorial to 1st Australian tunneling company Hill 60

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Tyne Cot 

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German bunker at Langemark. Many of the gravestones depict up to sixteen names. 

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Langemark

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Memorial to the artillery and engineers of the 34th Division at Langemark

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2 minutes ago, tootrock said:

Great photos, but I think the first in post#2 is Vis-en-Artois cemetery rather than Tyne Cot.

 

Martin

Many thanks for the correction. I do believe you`re quite right.:thumbsup:

I have a few more from the Vis en Artois cemetery to post tomorrow.

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Thanks for featuring the Australian memorial.

A pity someone took a few pot-shots at it. Typical!

Kindest regards,

Kim.

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8 hours ago, Dai Bach y Sowldiwr said:

Great photos NF.

Is that you holding the shell?

Thanks Dai.  Yes that's me and Michelle. A very poignant souvenir for us.

 

 

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Thank you for posting these.  "Hill" 60 is a bit of an eye opener!

 

Hazel C.

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5 hours ago, hazelclark said:

Thank you for posting these.  "Hill" 60 is a bit of an eye opener!

 

Hazel C.

It certainly was for me, Hazel. One or two more from a smaller crater at Hill 60:

 

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Arras memorial and Faubourg d'Amiens cemetery

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R.F.C. memorial at Arras Faubourg d'Amiens

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Vis-en -Artois memorial and cemetery

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Reconstructed trenches and tunnels at Passchendaele and Vimy.

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Original trenchlines at Vimy

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Canadian memorial at Vimy ridge

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Battle scarred ground on the approach to the ridge

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As you say, Benoit Mottrie is Chairman of the LPA. He made a very moving speech at the Menin Gate ceremony on Armistice Day last year. It's on the LPA website under "news" and well worth reading. 

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I need to visit soon.

H.

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7 hours ago, sassenach said:

As you say, Benoit Mottrie is Chairman of the LPA. He made a very moving speech at the Menin Gate ceremony on Armistice Day last year. It's on the LPA website under "news" and well worth reading. 

 Thank you sassenach. Here is the speech:

 

"During the war, one of the few elements of light relief in the often hellish lives of the soldiers was their singing. They sang behind the lines. They sang as they marched. On occasions, they even sang in the trenches. One of their most iconic songs was "We're Here Because We're Here", sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. It was a sardonic joke, a full-throated hymn of defiance against death. "We're here because we're here because we're here because we're here."

But underlying that song there is a question: a question, stark in its simplicity, to which the song itself offers no answer: why were they here? It is a question that we can equally ask of ourselves today. Why are we here? Why do we come back to this monument, day after day, month after month, year after year?

Well, in the first place, we are here because they were here.

We are here because they fought and died, often in conditions of great suffering.

We are here because we believe that this unimaginable sacrifice was made for us.

We are here because we believe that this sacrifice, for all its horror and tragedy, did ultimately make the world a better place, a place in which we can still live in freedom and prosperity.

We are here because we believe in the values men fought for: justice, liberty, independence, the right to choose freely and the right to say what we think, without fear or favour.

We are here because we cherish peace and because we hope, through their example, that no such sacrifice will ever be needed again.

Last but not least, we are here simply to remember, because what those brave men and women achieved 100 years ago deserves never to be forgotten. 

We are here, then, for all these reasons, and perhaps for others that are more personal to each of us. And that is why will be back again next year. And the year after that.  And the year after that. For as long as we can and for as long as is necessary.  'Until heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadows flee...'

Thank you."

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My son at the grave of his great-great grandfather

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4 Coldstream killed on the same day now lie side by side with him

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White House cemetery

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50th Northumbrian division monument

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With the Last Post buglers

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Dinner is served at St. Arnoldu`s

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Old Contemptibles Flag. I felt that this was absolutely dripping with history

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Fantastic photos.

I hope to make a visit in the spring of next year. Although my great uncle died in Dunkirk, he spent his first year in the war around Ypres.

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On 8/6/2016 at 20:18, Gustywinds said:

Fantastic photos.

I hope to make a visit in the spring of next year. Although my great uncle died in Dunkirk, he spent his first year in the war around Ypres.

I hope that you make it, and that your first visit turns out to be as unforgettable as mine was. 

 

One or two more pictures:

A couple of close-ups of the original Old Contemptibles Standard

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The shell case that I found in New Trench, before and after an hour under the ice-blaster at work. Just visible at the nose end is what appears to be a speck of original red paint showing through a couple of layers of rust. I might take it back in next nightshift and see if I can blast any more layers away

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  • Admin

Thank you for sharing these photos, have you booked your next trip yet? I'm sure that one visit won't be enough!

 

Michelle 

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2 hours ago, Michelle Young said:

Thank you for sharing these photos, have you booked your next trip yet? I'm sure that one visit won't be enough!

 

Michelle 

It's not booked yet exactly, but it's a dead cert that we will be going again. My son was blown away by the whole thing too, and he is a great organizer, already laying the foundations for our next trip.

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