annhig

Pal - have you ever seen the 4th series of Blackadder? very close to the reality of life in the trenches I imagine. Also I recommend to everyone who hasn't read them the books of Pat Barker and Vera Britten about WWI.

PalenQ

annhig - no but may - had History class in uni that covered Verdun - kind of unique in that battlefronts never changed in a few years - first time planes used in war and dropped gas and those flame throwers - just awful. All battle sites are terrible in what happened here but Verdun to me is by far the worst. And, all for what - entangling alliances.

annhig

For what indeed, Pal.

I'd like to think that our present rulers were students of history but in the case of at least one of them, I think that's a vain hope.

PalenQ

Amen! Awomen!

Jim143

Well this has turned into a major research project, a history lesson, a geography exercise and a whole lot of fun and excitement. The war diary is a fantastic resource and I can roughly follow the Newfoundland Regiment and often specifically "D" company movements. The hotel Kastelhof T Hooghe near Ypres has turned out to be a great choice for us, as I have found that the Regiment actually went right through there and would have used the trenches in the area. I can place my grandfathers' company just a couple of kilometers north. We plan to a bit of hiking around there plus visit some of the towns mentioned in the diary. Also, I have identified a couple of cemeteries where D company soldiers are buried, and their names. For those following the Newfoundland Regiment, a local farm about 20km east of Ypres, in the town of Sint-Eloois- Winkel, has erected a small monument to one of the regiments soldiers who received a Victoria Cross for his actions at that location. I understand that the family is very welcoming.That will be a great spot to visit.

AnselmAdorne

Jim, I completely understand how you can get consumed with the research. Once you start, you just dig deeper and deeper. You're doing your grandfather proud.

I just wrapped up a parcel for you: a couple of books, a couple of maps, and some driving notes for returning your rental car to Lille Europe station. I'll put that in the post tomorrow, so you should have it by the end of the week.

apersuader65

Jim, please do a trip report for the forum. This seems as though it will be a memorable trip for you. Good luck and happy hunting on the research trail.

PalenQ

Yes to TR - often folks ask about things you did.

kerouac

Ypres with the blood wiped away | Any Port in a Storm

Jim143

Thankyou Anselm. That will be a great help.

While planning has been exciting, details of the men and what they went through are quite sobering, saddening and very disturbing. I never realized the extent of the hardship and suffering. Most who died fighting alongside my grandfather were only boys. At the Dadizele cemetery, where those from the Keiberg Ridge battle were buried, 9 out of 10 who died that that day were between 16 and 21! I found short biographies of each online, most with photographs. It’s heartbreaking when you see their young faces. A couple of people on the thread have mentioned visiting the sites is a moving experience...I can feel that already and I'm 4000 km away.

I'll try to keep notes so I can put together a trip report. My brother and a cousin are already talking of making their own trips so I need to blaze a trail for them.

Ypres looks like a fascinating City and I'm anxious to explore, we plan to take a day for Ypres and stay for the ceremony at the Menin Gate .

It wasn't in our original plan but we are going to try and visit the 5 Newfoundland memorials; Beaumont Hamel, Gueudecourt, Masnieres, Monchy de preux, and Courtrai. The only one I'm concerned about a bit is Courtrai as even though its only a half hour from Ypres, the monument is in the middle of town on a busy street and I'm a little wary of driving in there and finding parking in walking distance to the monument.

AnselmAdorne

Jim, I find it particularly poignant that those young men lost their lives at the close of the war. The Battle of Courtrai was less than a month before the Armistice. By the way, Veterans Affairs has interesting pages on the Great War:

Courtrai Newfoundland Memorial - Memorials In Belgium - First World War Memorials Overseas - Memorials Overseas - Memorials - Remembrance - Veterans Affairs Canada

Parking in Courtrai (or Kortrijk, as it is now called): the Newfoundland Memorial is on the eastern side of the city in what looks like a commercial area. You're right about the parking; there's certainly none on the adjacent streets. But I used Google Street View to "walk" along Hippodroomstraat, immediately to the south of Gentsesteenweg, and it looks like there is on-street parking. If you can put your car there, you'd only be a block or two from the memorial. I can't see whether there are any restrictions, but you'd only be there for 30 minutes.

Fra_Diavolo

Fascinating thread, evoking memories of my search for important sites in my father's WWII history. It makes you realize anew what a wonderful resource Fodor's can be.

northie

I was so moved by Beaumont Hamel - even though we were only looking at Australian sites our guide took us there - young Canadian guides take you around - it's a cemetery as they have never recovered the bodies . The stories are so moving - learnt so much about Newfoundland - had no idea it was separate from Canada - a dominion .

Coquelicot

I don't know how relevant this is to your visit, Jim, but a few years back I was following the blog of Canadian Rob Paterson when he started a series of posts about his own family's involvement in World War I. He talks about the war efforts of several wealthy Montreal families--men, women, and their horses. His blog had slipped my mind, but reading your question jogged my memory. I looked it up and found he had written 56 posts about the war. I found his account very interesting and moving.

Robert Paterson's Weblog: "Noblesse Oblige" - A History of the Families of Montreal's Golden Mile in World War 1 - Book 1

Macross

Northie, Beaumont Hamel was the best. I loved those young guides. We tagged along with a UK guide who invited us. I would tell everyone to go there. I have found another great uncle that served and trying to do research. Both uncles were from Md, not related but were both awarded the Order of St. Sava.
I so look forward to your report.I was mispronouncing Ypres. Thank you Kerouac. I wasn't saying Wipers but more like Y pre.

Jim143

I continue to be amazed with the people on this forum, the knowledge, the interest, the help and the generosity. I just received a package from AnslemAdorne full of maps books and notes..... how wonderful! Thankyou so much. It was hard to get to my chores this morning.

Also this week I finally received a copy of my grandfathers military service records. Those really bring things into focus. One humorous tidbit....he was written up once for chewing gum. received punishment. Anyone know what CB would stand for? Also I found it a little ironic to see in the war diary a ration list that included 600 pieces of gum. I guess gum was a real treat, just imagine....but be careful when you chew.

bilboburgler

CB might be "confined to barracks"

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/soldi...rst-world-war/

CMHS_MilitaryAbbreviations.pdf

annhig

Jim, your mention of "Wipers" reminded me of the Wipers Times which was a newspaper that was written by men at the Front stationed around Ypres :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wipers_Times

The story was immortalised in a play by Ian Hislop which was broadcast by the BBC a couple of years ago, and if you are interested you can buy facsimiles of them:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wipers-Time.../dp/1904435602

and you're right, there are some wonderfully helpful people here.

rmfish

I am sorry I didn’t see this thread earlier. About five years ago, I was so moved by ansel adorne’s reports I took a similar trip. I spent three nights in Ypres and three on the Somme. I was able to visit verdun from the Somme. Although I have no personal connection to the sites since I am American, I have always been intersted in these battles and found this to be a tremendous experience. I just wanted to comment that I rented an automatic car from hertz in Lille and found it daunting. I arrived on the train from Paris and picked my car up at that station. They handed me a box with a gps in it along with French instructions and sent me off to install it. I am an older woman traveling alone with my college French 50 years in the past and it took me a couple of hours to get it running. On my return to Lille I was taking the Eurostar so was returning to that station. It was not well marked and I had to circle the area several times and then when I drove into the garage there was no indication of hertz until you drive down several levels. With all the advice I’m sure you’ll do better than I. You will never regret this trip.

Jim143

I'm trying to decide on scheduling time at Beaumont Hamel, and just wondering how much time to slot for there. Looking at two options. We are staying in Arras so we could drive to Beaumont Hamel in the morning and then later afternoon drive to the monument at Gueudecourt on the way back to Arras. Or following Gueudencourt we could with a much longer drive go to the monuments at Masnieres, Monchy de Preux on the way back to Arras but to do that we would probably have to leave Beaumont Hamel late morning. My gut feeling is to spend at least a full morning at Beaumont Hamel. Monchy de Preux is only a short drive from Arras. We cannot compromise the Beaumont Hamel visit and I have a feeling that Masnieres may be "a monument too far"

rmfish ...the rental return was a big concern but AnselmAdorne has given me such detailed instruction that I think I could find it in my sleep. I'm taking my own GPS.

I guess confined to barracks is not too bad...better than cleaning the latrine or peeling potatoes!.