Arras and Vimy Ridge

[smallhobbit]

Our first stop on the second day was to a cemetery dedicated to those who died at the Battle of Loos:



It's not just a possible relation of my father serving in the East Surrey Regiment who's recorded here, but also Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon of the Black Watch, elder brother of the Queen Mother.  All are remembered equally.

From there we visited Lens 14-18 Centre d'Histoire Guerre et Paix which had a number of interesting exhibitions, especially for me those relating to the German occupation of part of France.  They have some period films which were definitely worth watching.

We had lunch in a café in Arras - it was also a bakery, so we made good use of the opportunity to eat cake.  Arras is a very pretty town, and it's difficult to visualise the fact that it was destroyed during the war and everything has been rebuilt:



After lunch we went to the Wellington Quarry, and saw where hundreds of men lived in the week prior to the Battle of Arras.  The tunnels had been in use for many centuries, but were extended and adapted by New Zealand tunnelers.

Many of those who emerged from the tunnels on the day of the battle are remembered nearby:



From there we went to Vimy Ridge and the magnificent Canadian memorial.  Firstly a view from the top of the ridge:



The memorial:





Two shots of TD to give an idea of the scale:



On ANZAC Day it was appropriate to remember the many from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and other parts of what was the Empire, and the contribution and the sacrifices they made.

Comments

[ride_4ever]

TYK for continuing your excellent and emotional reportage. I have regard for the fallen soldiers of more than one country and who fell in more than one place, but your pics of the Vimy Ridge Memorial in particular gave me a shivery feeling when you showed TD standing at the monuments to give perspective to the size.

[smallhobbit]

Vimy Ridge is one of the iconic memorials, but it's very hard to appreciate the grandeur without seeing it in person. TD is very nearly six foot, which gives some idea of the size.

[moth2fic]

We once camped at Arras on our way south and explored the town, and drove past the cemetery. The town, as you say, is very attractive. I don't think we found Vimy Ridge.

[smallhobbit]

It's a lovely town - with some excellent cake shops as TD discovered. Vimy Ridge isn't on the main road - if you'd passed it you would have known.

[alisanne]

Cool pictures!
Thank you for sharing. :)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much :)

[aome]

Captain Fergus Bowes-Lyon
I'm proud to say I recognised the "Bowes-Lyon" as being associated with the Queen Mother even before I finished your sentence. I didn't realise she'd lost someone in the Great War.

And what you said about having difficulty picturing towns that must've been destroyed and have been since rebuilt - I feel the same way when I imagine what has been rebuilt from WWII (as well as WWI, which I admit I haven't thought about as much). Everything still looks amazingly medieval, as if it had naturally survived the centuries and hadn't been bombed to pieces (possibly more than once).

So - you traveled around France and Germany for this tour? Did you go elsewhere, too?

[smallhobbit]

It was a war which took both rich and poor with equal disregard.

Although WWI was more static, the devastation where it occurred was complete, because there was constant bombardment.

We were only in Belgium (Ypres Salient) and then part of France (Arras and the Somme).

[vix_spes]

The scale of that memorial is just absolutely incredible! And amazing to see the photos of Arras ... so hard to believe that it has been almost completely rebuilt.

[smallhobbit]

The first view of the monument takes your breath away.