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Ypers, Belgium
Friday, Jul 21, 2006

Some Battlefields

David Murray
2007-03-04 10:07:22

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cemetery called the Adelaide. We stopped as Lucy is from there, and wanted the photos. Onwards we moved and we came across the main Australian one. Villers Bretonneux. It was a huge site. Loads of graves and what amazed me even more, even though I knew it was here, was the fact that during WW2, the Allies and the Germans had fought over the same ground, and it was covered in shrapnel wounds. We had a quick bite there and then made our way to Lochnagar Crater. Apparently, the Allies, tunneled in, set some explosives up, made this crater, and it was still short of the German front line. Rumour has it, that the explosion was that big, you could hear it in England. As I made my way around, I came across a cross, a soldier had gone MIA here in 1916, and they found his body in 1998 !!! As we drove, we came across more cemeteries and ended up in Pozieres. There were some Frenchies dressed up as Aussie soldiers, as the Aussies had rescued this village 90 years before. Also, there were some Germans, dressed as German soldiers. They had come back to see if they could make a difference. They didn't !!! Next was the largest British Memorial where they hold there Armastice Day celebrations. Thiepval Memorial is huge. There are names and crosses all over the place. In the museum, there are some interesting films to see, and it is amazing how this whole place was flattened and then had been re-built. Around the corner was a replica of a little Irish tower. Worth a few photos, but it was getting late, so Paul put his foot down, and I managed not to get anyone lost, and we arrived in Ypers. We dumped the bags, poured down a few quick Belgium beers, and went to the Menin Gate. We were here for the Last Post. It was my fourth time here, but I had never seen it. As it was playing, it made me think about my best friend Lawrie, who had been tragically killed and also of his Father, who had served during WW2. After it finished, I washed away my sorrows with beers ...