I had a good nights sleep following my early start the previous day and I headed off to the Menin Gate which was just round the corner from my hotel. I wanted to take a few photos and the previous day the weather and light hadn’t been right. I spent around 20 minutes taking pictures and reading some of the names which are carved all over the Menin Gate.
Soon, I was off and heading south towards the area around the Somme. As with the area around Ypres, there are countless cemeteries, often along very small, muddy roads. My first intended destination was the Hawthorn Crater. This was one of the mines that was detonated underneath the German lines at the start of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The explosion was captured on film and is often shown in documentaries about the Battle of the Somme. After driving around the area for a while, I still hadn’t found it, although I had driven along Sunken Lane which is the access point. Eventually, I came across the Newfoundland Park Memorial & Visitors Centre and stopped there. This was part of the British and Canadian Front Line on 1st July 1916 when the Battle of the Somme commenced. Some of the trenches are well preserved and from the Caribou Monument, you can get an excellent idea of the landscape and the direction of attack. It is also frighteningly obvious how far the soldiers were expected to move across open ground in the face of cannon and machine guns.
By now, I had clocked up quite a few miles on what my SatNav called roads but what were in fact muddy tracks. If you chose to take a self-drive tour, just be aware that a number of roads are not suitable for vehicles, especially in the rainy months.
At Newfoundland Park, I was given directions to help me find the Hawthorn Crater and as it happened I had driven straight past it. It wasn’t long until I was back and found the access point along a very muddy field. At first I was hesitant but decided it was all part of the experience. I got to the edge of the crater but it was very over grown so I didn’t venture too far and I was soon on my way to my next port of call, Ulster Tower. This is a memorial to the Ulster Regiments that performed so well on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The tower itself is home to the Irish couple who look after things. It used to be possible to climb to the top of the tower but sadly due to insurance restrictions, this is no longer open to the public.
Nearby is the Thiepval Memorial which is the largest British War Memorial in the world. Every 1st July, a major ceremony is held here to honour the dead. The memorial can be seen from quite a distance and there is also an interesting visitors centre with information about the battles fought here.
Nearby, is the South African Memorial at Delville Wood. The memorial was to all South African battles, not just those in World War I. One particular story that caught my eye in the visitors centre was that of a soldier in one of the native regiments. He was awarded the Military Medal for his actions when he was a prisoner of war. He was being held on a ship in a harbour. Somehow he had managed to acquire some explosives which he had hidden in a sardine tin. When the opportunity came, he did the explosives amongst some barrels of fuel. The explosion caused such damage and confusion that the ship eventually sunk and the soldier managed to escape. After walking for 23 days, he reached the safety of British Lines.
As with all the memorials, Delville Wood is sacred ground but I found this place in particular to be very peaceful and appropriate. I’m not really sure what made Delville Wood stand out for me but for me, there was just something a bit special about this place.
The afternoon was getting on now so I headed towards Amiens where I was staying that evening. My last stop of the day was a brief one at the site to the east of Amiens where the Red Baron was shot down. There isn’t actually much to see except for a small notice board by the side of the road. The site can be located by a nearby factory with a prominent chimney. The story of the Red Baron is one of the first I heard about regarding World War I so although there wasn’t much to see, it was something that I wanted to do. The Red Baron was a German air ace called Baron Manfred von Richthofen. Between 1916 – 1918, he shot down a total of 80 Allied aircraft and was eventually shot down but ground fire from an Australian unit on 21 April 1918.
By now, the weather was turning bad so I headed off to my hotel in Amiens for the night and my Battlefield exploration was over.
Explorer Travel Battlefields – http://www.battlefields.explorertravel.co.uk/
Must See Recommendations: Newfoundland Park Memorial & Visitors Centre, Lochnagar Crater and Delville Wood.
Soon, I was off and heading south towards the area around the Somme. As with the area around Ypres, there are countless cemeteries, often along very small, muddy roads. My first intended destination was the Hawthorn Crater. This was one of the mines that was detonated underneath the German lines at the start of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The explosion was captured on film and is often shown in documentaries about the Battle of the Somme. After driving around the area for a while, I still hadn’t found it, although I had driven along Sunken Lane which is the access point. Eventually, I came across the Newfoundland Park Memorial & Visitors Centre and stopped there. This was part of the British and Canadian Front Line on 1st July 1916 when the Battle of the Somme commenced. Some of the trenches are well preserved and from the Caribou Monument, you can get an excellent idea of the landscape and the direction of attack. It is also frighteningly obvious how far the soldiers were expected to move across open ground in the face of cannon and machine guns.
By now, I had clocked up quite a few miles on what my SatNav called roads but what were in fact muddy tracks. If you chose to take a self-drive tour, just be aware that a number of roads are not suitable for vehicles, especially in the rainy months.
At Newfoundland Park, I was given directions to help me find the Hawthorn Crater and as it happened I had driven straight past it. It wasn’t long until I was back and found the access point along a very muddy field. At first I was hesitant but decided it was all part of the experience. I got to the edge of the crater but it was very over grown so I didn’t venture too far and I was soon on my way to my next port of call, Ulster Tower. This is a memorial to the Ulster Regiments that performed so well on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The tower itself is home to the Irish couple who look after things. It used to be possible to climb to the top of the tower but sadly due to insurance restrictions, this is no longer open to the public.
Nearby is the Thiepval Memorial which is the largest British War Memorial in the world. Every 1st July, a major ceremony is held here to honour the dead. The memorial can be seen from quite a distance and there is also an interesting visitors centre with information about the battles fought here.
Nearby, is the South African Memorial at Delville Wood. The memorial was to all South African battles, not just those in World War I. One particular story that caught my eye in the visitors centre was that of a soldier in one of the native regiments. He was awarded the Military Medal for his actions when he was a prisoner of war. He was being held on a ship in a harbour. Somehow he had managed to acquire some explosives which he had hidden in a sardine tin. When the opportunity came, he did the explosives amongst some barrels of fuel. The explosion caused such damage and confusion that the ship eventually sunk and the soldier managed to escape. After walking for 23 days, he reached the safety of British Lines.
As with all the memorials, Delville Wood is sacred ground but I found this place in particular to be very peaceful and appropriate. I’m not really sure what made Delville Wood stand out for me but for me, there was just something a bit special about this place.
The afternoon was getting on now so I headed towards Amiens where I was staying that evening. My last stop of the day was a brief one at the site to the east of Amiens where the Red Baron was shot down. There isn’t actually much to see except for a small notice board by the side of the road. The site can be located by a nearby factory with a prominent chimney. The story of the Red Baron is one of the first I heard about regarding World War I so although there wasn’t much to see, it was something that I wanted to do. The Red Baron was a German air ace called Baron Manfred von Richthofen. Between 1916 – 1918, he shot down a total of 80 Allied aircraft and was eventually shot down but ground fire from an Australian unit on 21 April 1918.
By now, the weather was turning bad so I headed off to my hotel in Amiens for the night and my Battlefield exploration was over.
Explorer Travel Battlefields – http://www.battlefields.explorertravel.co.uk/
Must See Recommendations: Newfoundland Park Memorial & Visitors Centre, Lochnagar Crater and Delville Wood.
1 comment:
...If people and their manner of living were alike everywhere, there would not be much point in moving from one place to another.
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