Kimbers 1,922 Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 For my Dads 80th I gave him a 3 day trip to France with Me, to see my Great Uncles Wargrave next Thursday through to saturday. My dads Uncle was killed at just 21 years old at the Somme. We will be the first of the family to go and visit him. I expect it will be quite emotional for my dad, even though he never met him, we have all grown up knowing the sacrifices our family made in the first and second world wars. We will be at Glageon (a small village on the France Belgium border) for at least 2 days so if anyone knows anything else worth seeing in the area please let me know! Quote Possibly save your life. Check out this website.http://everyman-campaign.org/ Distributor for 'Every Male' grooming products. (Discounts for any TLF members hairier than I am!) Link to post Share on other sites
Bibs 11,683 Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 I watched the 'one night only' "They Shall Not Grow Old" at the cinema last night. It put a much more personal slant on the WWI footage, was incredibly moving, especially the first hand accounts of the Battle of the Somme. Quote 88 Esprit NA, 89 Esprit Turbo SE, Evora, Evora S, Evora IPS, Evora S IPS, Evora S IPS SR, Evora 400, Elise S1, Elise S1 111s, Evora GT410 Sport Evora NA For forum issues, please contact the Moderators. I will aim to respond to emails/PM's Mon-Fri 9-6 GMT. Link to post Share on other sites
mdw 283 Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 Its a couple of hours west but could be added to the journey. Thiepval is the memorial to the soldiers who were never even found to be buried. Its humbling and brings home the sheer numbers just, over 72k of them. Sadly you not short of places to visit in that area. Watch your car. When we went there had been a lot of visitors cars broken into at some memorials as some of the sites are very often some way from the road and in isolated areas. That may have changed now as it was 8-9 years ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gold FFM Sparky 2,945 Posted October 17, 2018 Gold FFM Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 Definitely Thiepval. So much local to there. Beaumont Hamel is a must. The Newfoundlanders went over the top there on day 1 of the Somme battle. Quote British Fart to Florida, Nude to New York, Dunce to Denmark, Numpty to Newfoundland. And Shitfaced Silly Sod to Sweden. Link to post Share on other sites
ChrisJ 1,505 Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 Filip (@Escape) is over the border in Belgium. Visited him last year when we went round the battlefields after visiting my Great Uncle's memorial in Arras The museum at Passchendaele was one of the best I've been to. The front lines at Beaumont Hamel are unbelievably close together. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TimSportsTourer 10 Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 A few years ago, I visited a lot of Normandy graveyards, with coachloads of veterans (https://d-dayrevisited.co.uk), my Dad among them. Just incredibly moving. Every one of the veterans had an amazing story. My dad was wounded in the chest, so but for an inch or two of accuracy from a German Schmeiser, I would never have been here. It's quite serious. And the acres of graves are frankly terrifying to me. WW1 was so much worse still. It's really hard to comprehend. I don't think there's a right way to prepare for such visits, mentally. But don't expect it to be easy. I did drive there once in my Elise, though. That was a complete joy. And it wasn't broken into, luckily. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theelanman 512 Posted October 17, 2018 Report Share Posted October 17, 2018 All of the above.......see as much as you can.......Vimmy Ridge.....Ypres......my Great Uncle is on the Gate at Menin as he never returned and was never found....... I'm going to be fortunate......as I shall be playing last post there on the 25th August next year.....I wanted to do it this year but it wasn't possible....... We do battle field trips to play last post around the war graves......... And it still gets me every time 2 Quote The Faster You Drive...The Slower You Age (Albert Einstein 14 March 1879 - 18 April 1955) Link to post Share on other sites
theelanman 512 Posted October 18, 2018 Report Share Posted October 18, 2018 Our leader at Threpval this summer Major Sharpe https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155152335171525&id=604691524 Quote The Faster You Drive...The Slower You Age (Albert Einstein 14 March 1879 - 18 April 1955) Link to post Share on other sites
Kimbers 1,922 Posted October 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2018 Looked at Threpval but it is a long way away from where we are going. @Escape if you want to meet up please let me know. MJK had said he wondered if anyone off here was close to where we will be! http://www.map-france.com/Glageon-59132/road-map-Glageon.html Quote Possibly save your life. Check out this website.http://everyman-campaign.org/ Distributor for 'Every Male' grooming products. (Discounts for any TLF members hairier than I am!) Link to post Share on other sites
Chillidoggy 4,466 Posted October 18, 2018 Report Share Posted October 18, 2018 https://www.lacoupole-france.co.uk/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Coupole Definitely worth a visit if you can swing it, Kimbers. 1 Quote Margate Exotics. Link to post Share on other sites
trw999 35 Posted October 18, 2018 Report Share Posted October 18, 2018 I did this years 10th Big Battlefield Bike Ride for Help for Heroes from France to Belgium, following the front. (I also did the first BBBR in 2008 with a fellow veteran; we had hoped to do it ten years on but sadly he suddenly died last year. His brilliant widow took his place.) There were three stand out places: The Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge - so hugely impressive, such an achievement to have taken the ridge The Ring of Remembrance at Notre Dame de Lorette (below) - this is a new memorial and staggeringly expressive. Please do go and see it, it is quite remarkable Symphorian Cemetery, just outside of Mons, where coincidentally the first and last shot of WWI were fired Tim 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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