Home in one piece

Eventually reached home on Wednesday evening after spending several very warm days in the saddle, not helped by the fact we were wearing full motorcycle kit - so regular stops fro cold drinks were very important.

Travelled to Amiens, and then through the battlefields of the Somme WW1,  where we stopped off at a couple of sites.  The first was at Caribou Hill where nearly the entire Royal Newfoundland regiment was wiped out in one single morning.  The site is beautifully laid out and there is a team of Canadian Volunteers on site, over for summer jobs from their Universities who give a good tour and a visitor centre with a full story of the events.  From there I went to the massive British War memorial at Thiepval where one of my relatives, Marshal Stuart Barclay is mentioned on one of the panels, as is one of my Aunt Rita's relatives, John McLeod.  It was unfortunate that the entire monument was closed off to the public as it was covered in scaffolding while being refurbished for the 100th anniversary events next year.  And the photos of the memorial will not load onto this computer for some reason.
In the village of Poiziers nearby we stopped at Tommy,s Bar, which had a super museum attached, with the outside are showing what life was like in the trenches.

Onwards to Ypres to one of our more expensive hotels, in the centre of the twon, rather than some of the cheaper ones we had used but which were on the outskirts of town although part f industrial estates.  We had made it in time to see the daily ceremony of the Last post at the Menin Gate which commemorates 54960 soldiers who loot their lives in the WW1 conflict.   The Menin Gate was originally the route taken by the soldiers into the battlefields, however the modern memorial was over the site.

The town was nearly totally obliterated during the conflict, however, it has since been painstakingly rebuilt as it was originally using old plans, drawings and photographs,  a wonderful place to visit.

 

To be continued.