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The Dragon's Travels
Hello again.
The cold weather has continued and today for our 2.30 am departure it was raining as well. What a pity. There was an attempt to be more organised at the site numbering buses, to stream line pick ups after. It was a shambles and took so long we missed nearly all of the little local town ceremony to say thanks to the Aussies for liberating their town in 1918.
I saw nothing of the VB ceremony as inconsiderate people used umbrellas despite being told not to. However I heard it. Lovely choir and army band.
I didn't cry for a change.
We had a cuppa in town, then out to the Le Hamel site where the Aussie General Monash orchestrated a run through finally of the German lines. He said he'd do it in 90 mins - failed, it took 93 mins,
I'd walked there 4 yrs ago in 40oC weather, not rain and 10oC like today.
We then saw kms of the front lines,trenches,concrete bunkers, and the site where the Red Baron was shot down, possibly by an Aussie.
Tomorrow we'lol go back to VB to see it with out so many people. I have 3 graves to find for a work project for Courtney.
We have seen so many well known battle sites, and then of course the cemeteries nearby. The statistics are tragic. Yesterday near Arras there were 4,000 deaths a day for 2 months ( Allies not just Anzacs)
We went to 2 big Australian cemeteries at Fromelles, with VC corner and Cobbers.
We saw the new cemetery where 240 soldiers, mainly Australian, including brothers were discovered in 2010 in a mass grave, buried by the Germans across the road.
The Germans tend to bury their dead in mass graves, especially in some areas like Ypres where they didn't pay repatriations so we're told to 'round' up their soldiers and not take up the land they had for cemeteries.
We also went to an amazingly big Canadian memorial.
I haven't worked out how to upload my photos from the iPad onto the blog so can't show you. If you want to see let me know and I'll send by email.
Late yesterday we went through tunnels in old limestone quarries where the NZ tunnellers made 20 kms of tunnels under the German lines to blow them up.. 24,000 soldiers hid/lived in them for 8 days in preparation of the Battle of Arras.
Before that we had a nice day out in Brugges a lovely city. It looks historic but of course was relatively new.
It was full of tourist shops selling chocolates and lace.
There were tourists ++ same as Brussels ,Amsterdam and Paris.
It has canals through it with houses touching the water like Venice.
Tmw we're off the more important sites especially Pozieres where in his area the AIF lost 23,000 in 45 days!!! In 1916.
Ok, time to rest before meeting to find somewhere for dinner.
Let's hope it warms up soon.
Carol.
The cold weather has continued and today for our 2.30 am departure it was raining as well. What a pity. There was an attempt to be more organised at the site numbering buses, to stream line pick ups after. It was a shambles and took so long we missed nearly all of the little local town ceremony to say thanks to the Aussies for liberating their town in 1918.
I saw nothing of the VB ceremony as inconsiderate people used umbrellas despite being told not to. However I heard it. Lovely choir and army band.
I didn't cry for a change.
We had a cuppa in town, then out to the Le Hamel site where the Aussie General Monash orchestrated a run through finally of the German lines. He said he'd do it in 90 mins - failed, it took 93 mins,
I'd walked there 4 yrs ago in 40oC weather, not rain and 10oC like today.
We then saw kms of the front lines,trenches,concrete bunkers, and the site where the Red Baron was shot down, possibly by an Aussie.
Tomorrow we'lol go back to VB to see it with out so many people. I have 3 graves to find for a work project for Courtney.
We have seen so many well known battle sites, and then of course the cemeteries nearby. The statistics are tragic. Yesterday near Arras there were 4,000 deaths a day for 2 months ( Allies not just Anzacs)
We went to 2 big Australian cemeteries at Fromelles, with VC corner and Cobbers.
We saw the new cemetery where 240 soldiers, mainly Australian, including brothers were discovered in 2010 in a mass grave, buried by the Germans across the road.
The Germans tend to bury their dead in mass graves, especially in some areas like Ypres where they didn't pay repatriations so we're told to 'round' up their soldiers and not take up the land they had for cemeteries.
We also went to an amazingly big Canadian memorial.
I haven't worked out how to upload my photos from the iPad onto the blog so can't show you. If you want to see let me know and I'll send by email.
Late yesterday we went through tunnels in old limestone quarries where the NZ tunnellers made 20 kms of tunnels under the German lines to blow them up.. 24,000 soldiers hid/lived in them for 8 days in preparation of the Battle of Arras.
Before that we had a nice day out in Brugges a lovely city. It looks historic but of course was relatively new.
It was full of tourist shops selling chocolates and lace.
There were tourists ++ same as Brussels ,Amsterdam and Paris.
It has canals through it with houses touching the water like Venice.
Tmw we're off the more important sites especially Pozieres where in his area the AIF lost 23,000 in 45 days!!! In 1916.
Ok, time to rest before meeting to find somewhere for dinner.
Let's hope it warms up soon.
Carol.
- comments
debz I saw some of the ANZAC celebrations on NZ and yes what miserable weather you are having, such a pity, but fitting as it finds tears for some. You didn't go to the Kiwi memorial ? But I saw in your email you did see a Haka. On to UK next, be safe xx Debz