In May, my teenage daughter and I are going to visit the grave of my Great...her Great Great... Uncle Harry who was killed in 1916 near Albert, France, and is buried in the British Cemetery at Courcelette, near Albert. We're planning to take the train from Paris to Arras and rent a car there to tour the area for a couple of days...then get back on the train in Arras to head for Brussels and on to Amsterdam to catch our flight home. Any suggestions Fodorites would have for a hotel or B&B in or near Arras would be most welcome. Any experience with the area you can share about WWI sites, especially Canadian, would also be much appreciated.

I am trying to remember the name of the hotel we stayed in near Albert. It will come to me I'm sure.Do visit the museum and church in Albert. Actually there is a small hotel directly acrosss the street where we had a wonderful lunch. I'll have to look thru my notes , as we have visited many WWI sites and this late at night I'm getting the Somme mixed up with the Ypres Salient!

Hi ScottMc

My husband and I did the area up around Arras in July 2002. We actually stayed in the city of Arras, and although it's not the prettiest of places we actually enjoyed it.So I can't help you with names of places outside but we passed lots of towns and villages with little hotels and B&B's.
The train station is right downtown and there are car rental places across the street in a few of the hotels. If you check with Autoeurope and ask for a pickup/dropoff in Arras they can do this and they are a good company to deal with. They are on line and will quote in CDN$. The area you are going to is south of Arras in the Somme. Not too far from Arras, easily done by car.
If you want some background reading before you go (or you can pick up the book at Vimy Ridge .."For King and Empire" ..the Canadians on the somme(September-Nov 1916 by Norm christie. It shows all the trenches, the Canadian and German lines, the Canadian and other commonwealth cemetaries(including Courcelette)(CEF Books 1999)


I have to tell you that you are going to be so moved by everything that you see in the area with regards to the first world war and the part Canadians played.
If you want some ideas on places to see (and this is only my opinion) here are some
Vimy ridge and the monument of course. Look through the visitor centre and speak with the Canadian students who work at the centre all summer. Definitely check out the trenches there too.
The French cemetary at Notre dame de Lorette. You will be overwhelmed by the sheer number of crosses (four fallen soldiers to a cross!)and the church in the middle of the cemetary.
Visit the trenches just outside of the cemetary for an idea of what they were really like and how close the two sides were.
We visited a German cemetary as well and when you see and feel the differences but still feel the sheer waste of human life you will again be overwhelmed. (the differences were in the way the cemetaries are kept up, not that the German ones aren't cared for and tended but the Commonwealth cemetaries are places of beauty and peace and each one around the country is set up the same. At the entrance to each is a book that you can sign and tell something about why you are there etc.
Do pick up a copy of Michelin's map#51 of the Commonwealth cemetaries. It's very detailed and helpful.
We spent almost a week in the area and it was a sobering trip.

I also had a Great Uncle who served with the Black Watch out of Quebec who was also killed in 1916 in the lead up to the battle at Vimy and is buried in the Canadian Cemetary at Villers au Bois not too far from Vimy.
If you haven't checked out the information on your great uncle do check out the information the Veteran's Affairs Department has on line. Start with the website at www.archives.ca and you can do a search even if you just have a name.
Your daughter will learn so much from the trip.
regards,

A couple of years ago we did the WW1 battlefields and based ourselves in Albert. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel Royal Picardie on the outskirts of town, its modern, and parking is good. The other hotels in Albert are right in the middle of town and are pretty basic with no car parking. Have a great trip.

I found the name of the hotel we stayed in , Chateau de Remaisnil, but it appears to no longer be in business.

Also make time for a visit to the museum in Perrone.

Like Keldar, we have never been as moved by anything as we were with our various trips to Picardie. The big cemetaries are very moving but the tiny ,off the road plots, where soldiers were buried where they fell, are heart-rendering. They are sign posted, you might have to climb up a hill, thru a cornfield, but you will be changed by the experience. I still tear up thinking of a small Devonshire Regt. memorial.

Also take her advice on contacting the graves commission in Canada. They will be able to give you exact directions to your relative's grave. We received very detailed information from the UK Graves Registration and found my husband's uncle's grave without problem.

Keldar's suggestions are good ones, although I would disagree about Arras. It is well worth seeing, and a good place to stay to tour the nearby battlefields. The two large squares, the Grande Place and the Place des Héros are quite attractive. For a hotel, I can recommend Les Trois Luppars, right on the Grand Place.

While in Arras, you should take a tour of the tunnels under the town, which had been used for centuries. Tours leave from the Hôtel de Ville.

For Canadian sites, Vimy of course is outstanding and a must for every Canadian, but you also must not miss Beaumont-Hamel and the memorial to the Newfoundland Regiment. As at Vimy, there is a visitor centre there, with guided tours of the trenches. There is also a smaller Canadian memorial at Courcellete, which you should visit as you will be in the area.

Norm Christie's guides are excellent, and as well as his guide to the Somme, you might want to look at those for Arras, Vimy and Amiens. He also has written guides for the Canadian battlefields in Flanders, but I don't know if you are planning to visit there.

If you have time, the Australian National Memorial near Amiens is worth a visit, as is the Ulster Tower near Beaumont-Hamel on the Somme. The nearby British Memorial at Thiepval is, in my opinion, quite ugly, but you may want to visit any ways.

Thank you all for your excellent advice. I have been in touch with Veterans Affairs and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and have precise directions to Great Uncle Harry's grave at Courcelette British Cemetery, which is our primary goal. We will also tour as much of the area as we can in two days. Last Spring, Amy(who's 17) and I and her twin brother, David, went to the Normandy area and visited Juno Beach and many of the WWII sites and cemeteries in the area. I had a lump in my throat most of the time. I did get a book on the Somme Battlefields this past weekend that contains detailed military maps from 1916 and one can see within a hundred yards where the 14th Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the Royal Montreal Regiment was on the date of Great Uncle Harry's death, September 26, 1916. We'll also visit that site as part of our "pilgrimage" to pay our respects to Great Uncle Harry and all the young men who served their countries in WWI. I know the experience will be very moving, and it's one I've looked forward to for many years. Your advice will make that experience all the more enjoyable. Thank you!

ScottMc
If you have not done so, it may be possible to access your great uncle's attestation papers on the archives.ca website. And I hope you will post a short trip report on your return.

JQReports..

Thanks for the info on the archives site. I have just printed out my FIL's attestation papers. He was an American but went to Canada to enlist in 1914! Also found my husband's uncle's papers..he was visiting Canada from England when the war started and joined the Princess Patricias there.
Nice additions to our family papers.
Many thanks
Jody