Not Gone From Memory Or From Love — The Western Front Revisited
Feb 23rd, 2017, 01:30 PM
#21
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The Vimy Ridge Memorial is an iconic emblem for Canadians which honours all Canadians who served in the Great War, but in particular more than 11,000 Canadians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. Their names are engraved on the Memorial. (The Menin Gate in Ieper serves the same purpose some 7,000 Canadians killed in Belgium with no known grave, along with the names of some 48,000 of their Commonwealth comrades.)
In my opinion, it is without doubt the finest war memorial of the Great War. It is not triumphal, but sombre and is characterized by the large figure of a cloaked woman, "Canada mourns her dead" (see Anselm's photos).
This April 9, the 100th Anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge will be commemorated with ceremonies at the Memorial. It is a sign of the times that any visitors must have registered by last week, and show identification to enter the grounds. I attended the 75th Anniversary ceremonies and things were far simpler then.
In my opinion, it is without doubt the finest war memorial of the Great War. It is not triumphal, but sombre and is characterized by the large figure of a cloaked woman, "Canada mourns her dead" (see Anselm's photos).
This April 9, the 100th Anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge will be commemorated with ceremonies at the Memorial. It is a sign of the times that any visitors must have registered by last week, and show identification to enter the grounds. I attended the 75th Anniversary ceremonies and things were far simpler then.
Feb 23rd, 2017, 01:31 PM
#22
Sue_xx_yy - thank you for reminding me of that great film - it was so good, and seemed very true to life. Also new version of Vera Brittan's Testament of Youth was on TV the other night but nothing for me would rival the original serial so i couldn't bring myself to watch it.
Feb 24th, 2017, 04:32 AM
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<b>Beaumont-Hamel</b>
In a war full of tragedies, one burns intensely in the hearts of Newfoundlanders. On July 1, 1916, the first day of the Somme, the Newfoundland Regiment rose from their trenches and moved towards German positions in front of Beaumont-Hamel. It was a bloodbath. On the following morning, only 68 members of the regiment responded to roll call.
Today, Beaumont-Hamel is one of the best-preserved battlefields of the Great War. Visitors can join a guided tour, led by young Canadian students, or do a self-guided walk, supported by an excellent brochure. We began in the Newfoundland trenches and followed the path of the assault across open ground towards the German positions. For those with a good imagination, this is a harrowing experience. It is especially so when you reach the “Danger Tree,” a point in the middle of the battlefield where many of the regiment fell.
<b>Otto Dix</b>
We drove from Beaumont-Hamel to Péronne, a small town south east of Albert.
In 1924, the German artist Otto Dix published a series of 50 engravings titled Der Krieg. Dix had volunteered at the outset of the Great War, and subsequently served as a machine gunner in France, Russia, and Belgium. I had stumbled on his engravings when visiting the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne in 2008; they had made such an impact that I wanted to view them again.
His portrait of war is horrifying. Soldiers, dehumanized in gas masks, rise out of darkness, their arms lifted, ready to throw grenades. His battlefields are apocalyptic: shell holes, horse cadavers, mangled barbed wire, and collapsed trenches; injured soldiers, dying soldiers, and decomposing bodies; and often the brutal juxtaposition of the living sitting alongside the dead. And it was no better when the soldiers were out of the line; the images of soldiers drinking in an estaminet or of soldiers in the arms of prostitutes are cold, grim, and cynical.
The MoMA has a set of his etchings, which you can see here:
https://www.moma.org/collection/work...3259?locale=en
Our photos from day four:
http://anselmadorne.zenfolio.com/p303189083
<b>Lochnagar Crater</b>
On our fifth day, we drove down to the area around Albert.
Moments before the infantry assault that started the Battle of the Somme, British forces detonated a large mine under a German strongpoint just east of Albert. Lochnagar Crater, as it was named, remains to this day, a gigantic circular hole in the gently rolling Somme farmland. The thick fog had followed us south; we struggled to see the far rim of the crater. Here’s a link to an aerial photo that gives one some sense of how large it is:
http://www.lochnagarcrater.org
<b>Major H. B. C Arthur, Royal Field Artillery</b>
On August 10th, 1916, Major Henry Bartle Compton Arthur was killed while providing artillery support to an Australian division fighting near Pozières. In 2008, my late wife and I followed “Uncle Harry” (he was actually Susan’s great uncle, but that’s how he was known in her family) through Belgium and France, ending our journey in Gordon Dump Cemetery, just east of Albert. (My friend nukesafe provided the link to "A Duty Nobly Done" way back near the beginning of this thread.)
Moving on from Lochnagar Crater, we drove a short distance along D20 and parked at the side of the road. We walked down the path through a farmer’s field. Gordon Dump was just as I had left it eight years ago, shrouded in mist, silently resting, but this time full of more complex and poignant memory. We located his grave. I left another poppy and once again wrote a note in the visitor’s book. Rifleman Strudwick’s headstone came to mind: “Not Gone From Memory or From Love”. Indeed.
We had one more German cemetery on our list: Fricourt, a few kilometres southeast of Gordon Dump. More than 17,000 soldiers lie in this site, many of them killed in the Somme offensive of 1916. It was a German shell that killed Major Arthur. Did those gunners survive the war, or were they buried here in Fricourt? Or were they amongst the missing of the war, marked only by a name on a wall?
We finished our tour at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. It feels like a sacred place. There are more names on the walls — 72,194 in total, and immediately behind the structure, two cemeteries lie side by side. On the right are Commonwealth headstones; on the left, French crosses. Almost all of the burials here are of unidentified servicemen. The markers on the right say, “A Soldier of the Great War, Known unto God.” Those on the left, “Inconnu.”
Here are some photos from our final day of touring:
http://anselmadorne.zenfolio.com/p702491144
I have one more post to go: a few words on logistics.
In a war full of tragedies, one burns intensely in the hearts of Newfoundlanders. On July 1, 1916, the first day of the Somme, the Newfoundland Regiment rose from their trenches and moved towards German positions in front of Beaumont-Hamel. It was a bloodbath. On the following morning, only 68 members of the regiment responded to roll call.
Today, Beaumont-Hamel is one of the best-preserved battlefields of the Great War. Visitors can join a guided tour, led by young Canadian students, or do a self-guided walk, supported by an excellent brochure. We began in the Newfoundland trenches and followed the path of the assault across open ground towards the German positions. For those with a good imagination, this is a harrowing experience. It is especially so when you reach the “Danger Tree,” a point in the middle of the battlefield where many of the regiment fell.
<b>Otto Dix</b>
We drove from Beaumont-Hamel to Péronne, a small town south east of Albert.
In 1924, the German artist Otto Dix published a series of 50 engravings titled Der Krieg. Dix had volunteered at the outset of the Great War, and subsequently served as a machine gunner in France, Russia, and Belgium. I had stumbled on his engravings when visiting the Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne in 2008; they had made such an impact that I wanted to view them again.
His portrait of war is horrifying. Soldiers, dehumanized in gas masks, rise out of darkness, their arms lifted, ready to throw grenades. His battlefields are apocalyptic: shell holes, horse cadavers, mangled barbed wire, and collapsed trenches; injured soldiers, dying soldiers, and decomposing bodies; and often the brutal juxtaposition of the living sitting alongside the dead. And it was no better when the soldiers were out of the line; the images of soldiers drinking in an estaminet or of soldiers in the arms of prostitutes are cold, grim, and cynical.
The MoMA has a set of his etchings, which you can see here:
https://www.moma.org/collection/work...3259?locale=en
Our photos from day four:
http://anselmadorne.zenfolio.com/p303189083
<b>Lochnagar Crater</b>
On our fifth day, we drove down to the area around Albert.
Moments before the infantry assault that started the Battle of the Somme, British forces detonated a large mine under a German strongpoint just east of Albert. Lochnagar Crater, as it was named, remains to this day, a gigantic circular hole in the gently rolling Somme farmland. The thick fog had followed us south; we struggled to see the far rim of the crater. Here’s a link to an aerial photo that gives one some sense of how large it is:
http://www.lochnagarcrater.org
<b>Major H. B. C Arthur, Royal Field Artillery</b>
On August 10th, 1916, Major Henry Bartle Compton Arthur was killed while providing artillery support to an Australian division fighting near Pozières. In 2008, my late wife and I followed “Uncle Harry” (he was actually Susan’s great uncle, but that’s how he was known in her family) through Belgium and France, ending our journey in Gordon Dump Cemetery, just east of Albert. (My friend nukesafe provided the link to "A Duty Nobly Done" way back near the beginning of this thread.)
Moving on from Lochnagar Crater, we drove a short distance along D20 and parked at the side of the road. We walked down the path through a farmer’s field. Gordon Dump was just as I had left it eight years ago, shrouded in mist, silently resting, but this time full of more complex and poignant memory. We located his grave. I left another poppy and once again wrote a note in the visitor’s book. Rifleman Strudwick’s headstone came to mind: “Not Gone From Memory or From Love”. Indeed.
We had one more German cemetery on our list: Fricourt, a few kilometres southeast of Gordon Dump. More than 17,000 soldiers lie in this site, many of them killed in the Somme offensive of 1916. It was a German shell that killed Major Arthur. Did those gunners survive the war, or were they buried here in Fricourt? Or were they amongst the missing of the war, marked only by a name on a wall?
We finished our tour at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. It feels like a sacred place. There are more names on the walls — 72,194 in total, and immediately behind the structure, two cemeteries lie side by side. On the right are Commonwealth headstones; on the left, French crosses. Almost all of the burials here are of unidentified servicemen. The markers on the right say, “A Soldier of the Great War, Known unto God.” Those on the left, “Inconnu.”
Here are some photos from our final day of touring:
http://anselmadorne.zenfolio.com/p702491144
I have one more post to go: a few words on logistics.
Feb 25th, 2017, 06:25 AM
#26
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<b>Car rental, accomodation, and a couple of restaurants</b>
We chose Lille as our starting and ending point; it had train connections that worked well for the four of us. There are several car rental agencies in Gare-Lille-Europe, but be sure to check their opening hours, especially if you are picking up a car on a weekend or holiday. (We learned the hard way, discovering that the Hertz office was closed for lunch on a Saturday.) The station parking lot has easy access to the main highways leaving Lille.
At first glance, the Great War sites from Ypres down to the Somme seem like they are far apart. They aren’t, really, if you have a car, and once you are in one location, such as Ypres or the area around Albert, you can see many sites in a single day.
In Ypres, we stayed two nights at the B&B La Porte Cochère, a lovely three-bedroom bed and breakfast in the centre of the city. (http://www.laportecochere.com/en/home-en/#1) The rooms were comfortable, the breakfasts were generous, and the owners were warm, gracious, and helpful. As a bonus, our host’s grandfather was a stonemason who, with his several brothers, was involved in building the Menin Gate and in the reconstruction of much of the city after the war.
On the Somme, we somehow stumbled upon Le Château de Couin. It is in a tiny village about a 30-minute drive north of Albert. The present owners have been working hard to restore the building to its former glory, but it is a work in progress. (It is a designated monument, which means there are a lot of restrictions on what they can modify and what materials they can use to restore it. It must be costing a fortune.)
The building has an interesting history, including a stint as medical centre during the Great War. Today, it is well situated for exploring the Somme. We enjoyed sitting in the large public rooms and sipping a glass of wine; the breakfasts were terrific and the evening meals adequate. On the down side, there were a couple of inconveniences, such as spotty internet, dim lighting, and a shortage of electrical outlets. Most of all, we found it isolated. In retrospect, staying three nights was perhaps two nights too long. Here’s the link: http://www.chateaudecouin.com/en/cha...n?lang_code=en
My brother celebrated his seventieth birthday while we were touring. To mark the occasion, we dined at Restaurant St-Nicolas in Elverdinge, just outside Ypres. http://www.hostellerie-stnicolas.com...ium#menu-kaart The food was complex, delicious, and perfectly proportioned; the wine pairings were well matched and generous. Yes, it was expensive, but we don’t indulge ourselves like this very often. And it was a special occasion.
The other place I’d like to mention is Le Bistrot d’Antoine in Péronne. http://www.bistrot-antoine.fr/index.html We had lunch there on one of our days on the Somme and enjoyed the meal.
Here’s a link to the last of our photos, which include a few of us, plus a couple of the château:
http://anselmadorne.zenfolio.com/p808512114
This was my third trip to the Western Front. nukesafe linked to the search for Uncle Harry, above, and to “I fear’d to set my foot upon a dead man’s cheek …”, a visit to Verdun. I’d like to think I have one more of these in me, in which case it will focus on the American experience in the Great War. That would take us to St-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne, which means another opportunity to visit Verdun.
We chose Lille as our starting and ending point; it had train connections that worked well for the four of us. There are several car rental agencies in Gare-Lille-Europe, but be sure to check their opening hours, especially if you are picking up a car on a weekend or holiday. (We learned the hard way, discovering that the Hertz office was closed for lunch on a Saturday.) The station parking lot has easy access to the main highways leaving Lille.
At first glance, the Great War sites from Ypres down to the Somme seem like they are far apart. They aren’t, really, if you have a car, and once you are in one location, such as Ypres or the area around Albert, you can see many sites in a single day.
In Ypres, we stayed two nights at the B&B La Porte Cochère, a lovely three-bedroom bed and breakfast in the centre of the city. (http://www.laportecochere.com/en/home-en/#1) The rooms were comfortable, the breakfasts were generous, and the owners were warm, gracious, and helpful. As a bonus, our host’s grandfather was a stonemason who, with his several brothers, was involved in building the Menin Gate and in the reconstruction of much of the city after the war.
On the Somme, we somehow stumbled upon Le Château de Couin. It is in a tiny village about a 30-minute drive north of Albert. The present owners have been working hard to restore the building to its former glory, but it is a work in progress. (It is a designated monument, which means there are a lot of restrictions on what they can modify and what materials they can use to restore it. It must be costing a fortune.)
The building has an interesting history, including a stint as medical centre during the Great War. Today, it is well situated for exploring the Somme. We enjoyed sitting in the large public rooms and sipping a glass of wine; the breakfasts were terrific and the evening meals adequate. On the down side, there were a couple of inconveniences, such as spotty internet, dim lighting, and a shortage of electrical outlets. Most of all, we found it isolated. In retrospect, staying three nights was perhaps two nights too long. Here’s the link: http://www.chateaudecouin.com/en/cha...n?lang_code=en
My brother celebrated his seventieth birthday while we were touring. To mark the occasion, we dined at Restaurant St-Nicolas in Elverdinge, just outside Ypres. http://www.hostellerie-stnicolas.com...ium#menu-kaart The food was complex, delicious, and perfectly proportioned; the wine pairings were well matched and generous. Yes, it was expensive, but we don’t indulge ourselves like this very often. And it was a special occasion.
The other place I’d like to mention is Le Bistrot d’Antoine in Péronne. http://www.bistrot-antoine.fr/index.html We had lunch there on one of our days on the Somme and enjoyed the meal.
Here’s a link to the last of our photos, which include a few of us, plus a couple of the château:
http://anselmadorne.zenfolio.com/p808512114
This was my third trip to the Western Front. nukesafe linked to the search for Uncle Harry, above, and to “I fear’d to set my foot upon a dead man’s cheek …”, a visit to Verdun. I’d like to think I have one more of these in me, in which case it will focus on the American experience in the Great War. That would take us to St-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne, which means another opportunity to visit Verdun.
Feb 25th, 2017, 07:00 AM
#27
lovely photos, AA, but I fear that we too would have found the chateau a little remote - I love the idea of staying in those sorts of places but the reality has always fallen a little flat as our favourite evening activity is to find a bar for an aperitif, have a good meal somewhere, and then a short walk to aid the digestion [and perhaps a little something to help it down] back to the hotel. And if you've driven somewhere, there is always the question as to which of you has drawn the short "driving home" straw.
So for us, staying in a town has usually proved preferable, though I have to fight my desire for the romance of a stay in a chateau.
Thanks too for posting the restaurant links - The bistrot Antoine attracted me a lot, not least because it offers beef marrow on toast. Shame that you never see that here; I suppose they think that there's no call for it. Which menu did you have at the St Nicholas? for a Michelin 2 star the prices looked quite reasonable.
So for us, staying in a town has usually proved preferable, though I have to fight my desire for the romance of a stay in a chateau.
Thanks too for posting the restaurant links - The bistrot Antoine attracted me a lot, not least because it offers beef marrow on toast. Shame that you never see that here; I suppose they think that there's no call for it. Which menu did you have at the St Nicholas? for a Michelin 2 star the prices looked quite reasonable.
Feb 25th, 2017, 10:48 AM
#28
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The chateau is remote, annhig, and like you, we prefer to walk or taxi to our evening meal. There is not even a café in the village of Couin. Recognizing that some guests do not want to drive at night, the owner offers evening meals, but one has to ask in advance.
We all had the tasting menu at St. Nicolas. I certainly felt the prices were appropriate for the quality of the food, but that kind of dining we reserve for special occasions!
We all had the tasting menu at St. Nicolas. I certainly felt the prices were appropriate for the quality of the food, but that kind of dining we reserve for special occasions!
Mar 3rd, 2017, 11:40 AM
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I've enjoyed reading your report, however sombre the subject. Our previous government was ridiculed for cherishing Canadian history, especially military history. I find it very moving and am staggered by the scale of the human sacrifice the country tolerated - and for what?
Mar 3rd, 2017, 11:12 PM
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Beautiful written - you might like Peter Fitzsimons books - Victory at Villers Bretonneux , Fromelles and Pozieres. His other one on WW1 is Gallipoli. He is an Australian journalist ,author as well as a national representative rugby player .
Mar 11th, 2017, 05:06 AM
#33
Meuse-Argonne campaign, My husband is researching for me and we think my Great Uncle fought there. We have found out that he was a bugler so ran messages. I just know he was gassed and shell shocked and shook badly after he returned. My own Grandfather was enlisted but the war ended before he went overseas. We are now looking to see where we should spend a couple of days exploring here so thank you for your report.
Nov 3rd, 2018, 12:53 PM
#35
Thank you Starrs for bumping this up. We are going back this month. We toured everything around Verdun last Feb but now going to Flanders. I found out I have one more Great Uncle from Maryland that fought but think they were in the Meuse-Argonne offensive. The records are not the greatest.
Last edited by Macross; Nov 3rd, 2018 at 01:07 PM. Reason: .
Nov 3rd, 2018, 02:15 PM
#36
I'll be controversial. After the 11/11/2018 can we let this fade? I will always honour the memory of my great Grandfather, killed at the battle of Coronel in November 1914 - and of my Great Great Uncle, lost at Jutland in May/June 2016 - but anybody who knew them is long dead. There are no survivors from the great war, and virtually nobody alive who could still remember it.
I just feel that if we spent more time and concern on those who fought in more recent wars - the survivors of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan etc rather on focus on the horror of the trenches we could make a difference to the living.
I just feel that if we spent more time and concern on those who fought in more recent wars - the survivors of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan etc rather on focus on the horror of the trenches we could make a difference to the living.
Nov 3rd, 2018, 02:40 PM
#37
My Great Uncle Nick died in 1964, I was eleven and still remember him shaking. Shell-shocked. My husband is retired Navy and I do 8 hours of volunteer work each week at a National Cemetery. I also take care of a 90-year-old hospice client that was a POW in Korea and a 94-year-old hospice client that served in WW11, Korea and Vietnam. I love him the most because he swears at tRump everytime he pops up on the tv. He is very salty and it helps to be able to listen to these guys and have compassion. Most of their clearer memories are from very dark days. My one client can rattle off everything about Omaha beach and his gunboat that tried to clear the way for soldiers. You need to be a good listener some days. My husband and I both love history. We have seen most places my Dad fought at in Europe. We love that area of France and paying our respects to those that fought, died and survived that senseless war. Johnny got his gun by Dalton Trumbo made me anti-war back in the 60's. I wish more people felt that way today. War is not the answer.
Nov 4th, 2018, 10:31 AM
#38
I love history too. I've not been able to take such a trip before and I look forward to doing this at some point. Given this is a travel forum, I do think such trip reports are appropriate as are such trips. No intent to offend anyone.
Nov 4th, 2018, 11:44 AM
#39
Thanks Starrs. I have been seeing many post on Facebook today so not thinking it will fade away thankfully. We are doing a mix of WW1 sites, beer and Christmas markets. I love that part of France. We are going to Brussels for two nights and then back to Paris for five after basing in Lille for five. I want to go to Delirium Cafe. Train to Brugge one day and whatever else we can do.
