Day #10: Friday, April 22
France: Sunny, approx. 26 degrees....
Well they've certainly turned on the good weather for us in France!! Another crisp, clear morning and it looks like another bee-yoo-tiful sunny day....hopefully it will chase away the coughs and splutters....
Today we started out at Polygon Wood and the 5th Australian Division Memorial . The battle held here was a part of the Battle of Passchendaele and the wood was so-called because of its shape. It is here that Australians and New Zealanders sustained great losses due to ineffectual artillery bombing. More often than not, men were caught up in the barbed wire, being machine gunned to death or being hit by their own artillery.
 |
| Polygon Wood.... |
 |
| The 5th Australian Division Cemetery.... |
 |
| The epitaphs don't get much sadder.... |
From the 5th Division Memorial, we (literally) jumped the fence surrounding the cemetery and went looking for one of the old German blockhouses that was in the area. It actually features in a piece of art work (title and artist escape me at the moment) and is readily accessible down a bit of a track. The German blockhouses still dot the countryside and many are now used as storage.
We then travelled on to Tyne Cot Cemetery. It was so named for the pill houses or barns that dotted the landscape; the Tyne River is in England and ‘cot’ is for cottage. The cross of sacrifice here is built on the German blockhouse that once stood here. There are 11,953 men buried here and another 34,827 names on the Wall of Remembrance. It is just staggering to see so many graves, but then to realise that there were so many men whose remains were not recovered. The list of these men seems to go on forever. I remember going to the Australian War Memorial and looking at the long list of names of men who died in World War I. That list was just for the Australian losses. The wall at Tyne Cot seems to stretch on forever. And that is not all the men who died in World War I. Just those who died in this area!! It really is unfathomable. Not unsurprisingly, this is the largest Commonwealth war grave.
 |
| This was the Tyne Cot Blockhouse Captured by the 3rd Australian Division 4th October, 1917 |
 |
| The Wall of Remembrance is in the background and stretches right around for about 200m or so.... |
Throughout the cemeteries we have visited, you often see graves in clusters. Or a grave far away from the others. As best as they could, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) erected headstones where the men were initially buried or fallen. Many times we have seen graves tightly clustered. This can mean that the men were all killed together, perhaps by artillery or perhaps by a grenade. At Tyne Cot, there were graves with multiple names on the headstones. There would have been no way to differentiate between the different arms, legs and other body parts. And so, they were buried as they died: together.
 |
| A cluster of graves.... |
 |
| A cluster of unknown soldiers.... |
 |
| A German grave in Tyne Cot (pretty unusual to see one in a Commonwealth Cemetery).... |
 |
| One side and not the entire length of the Wall of Remembrance.... |
Our next port of call was to the St. Julian Memorial. A memorial to the Canadians who died on the Western Front. St. Julian is the name of the town. In this area, and many areas on the Western Front, gas was used as a weapon. It is estimated that around 91,000 people die due to the effects of gas. When you re-read ‘Dulce et decorum est’ by Wilfred Owen, it seems to make some kind of sick sense.
 |
| St. Julian Memorial for the Canadians.... |
Langemark German Cemetery was quite a stark and bleak place to visit. The differences between the Commonwealth and the German cemeteries was quite obvious. Black vs. white; dark vs. light. The Commonwealth cemeteries are quite open and have bright flowers blooming. Langemark was like a dark, dank forest with little light shining in. We questioned why this might be and there is no definitive answer. Perhaps guilt for the war? Hiding the graves away? Death is a dark and serious matter?
 |
| Langemark Cemetery.... |
 |
| Many names listed on a headstone.... |
 |
| Three crosses scattered throughout the cemetery.... |
There are 25,000 men buried in a mass grave here and 44,000 buried in graves. Even the headstones are different to those we have previously seen. Many men listed on the one headstone. It was almost like the Turkish Memorial we had visited. There were groups of 3 crosses scattered around the cemetery. Again we pondered the significance…..symbols of sacrifice? Symbols of Calgary? Well it was the Easter weekend after all!! At the back of the cemetery were the ‘Brooding Comrades’ statues. Those who made pilgrimages to the cemetery here. On a wooden wall inside the entrance to Langemark was a list of all of the Army Reservists that died in the opening year of the war. Most of them would more than likely have been teenagers. Unlike the Commonwealth and French cemeteries, the German ones are run by private charities.
 |
| Names of the German Reservists killed.... |
 |
| The Brooding Comrades.... |
We stopped off at the Brooge Crater for lunch (and hot chocolate!!) and next it was to Essex Farm (named after the British Regiment) where 1107 British, 9 Canadians, 5 Germans and 83 unidentified soldiers are buried. It was here while serving as a military surgeon that John McCrae wrote one of the most famous war poems: ‘In Flanders Fields’. The story goes that one death particularly affected him: a Lt. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, who had been killed in May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain. The next day, while looking at the fields of poppies that were growing nearby, McCrae composed his poem. From all accounts, it was never to be published, but someone sent it in to ’Punch’ magazine to be published and has become possibly THE most famous war poem.
 |
| Found in the back of one of the underground stations at the medical clearing centre...there are many tributes around this area to McCrae and his poem.... |
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
 |
| McCrae was Canadian and there are 9Canadians buried in Essex Farm Cemetery.... |
On to Belgium Battery Corner for Paul’s tribute and then to Reninghelst Cemetery for Tom’s tribute. Tom researched a young soldier who had attended Melbourne High School. It was a moving service, with Tom laying his school tie on Captain Glendinning’s grave. He appeared to be quite affected by his service and after everyone walked away I got a photo of Tom at the grave. I felt like a bit of a Peeping Tom, but it really shows the emotion this experience has brought out. In all of us!
 |
| Belgium Battery Corner Cemetery.... |
 |
| Headstones are regularly replaced when they become worn down by the elements.... |
 |
| Tom's Tribute.... |
 |
| This photo just breaks my heart.... |
Lastly we visited Trois Arbes Cemetery for Bob’s tribute to a war photographer. It was then back to our Novotel Hotel in Lille. On the way, from the bus, we saw the Martyr’s Memorial that commemorated those Frenchmen who had been executed by the Germans during the war.
 |
| Another cluster of graves.... |
 |
| One family's tribute....we've seen many similar to this.... |
 |
| "Although we never knew you we believe that you gave your life for us & your country. We hope we have some of you in us. From your great granddaughter Felicity and your great grandson Charlie Cavill." |
 |
| The Martyr's Memorial.... |
Nick and I were given the evening off and joined Jean and Paul for a wander of the streets of Lille. It really is a beautiful city. Apparently it is now the first stop on the Eurostar and has become a busier city. We wandered around window shopping, looking at the architecture and searching for an appropriate venue to have a drink. With a plethora of restaurants and outside dining options, it certainly didn’t take long!! Melbourne really has embraced the European style of dining al fresco and it was great to be in France, sitting outside on a warm spring night and reflect on our journey so far.
 |
| View from my hotel room.... |
 |
| Lille.... |
 |
| A bottle of wine in a bag with ice cubes.....c'est magnifique!!! |
Fromelles tomorrow….
No comments:
Post a Comment