Travel

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Peebles

Peebles is in the middle of its annual festival. Events include horse riding and show jumping and Scottish dancing.

Veitch's store in the Main Street of Peebles has now been closed for a number of years, however the name still has pride of place on the facard.

We did the sky-line drive outside Peebles through unfenced valleys.

Another photo on the skyline road near Peebles. Scotland is geologically very young compared to Australia. This glacial valley has a series of distinct glacial terraced down each side of the valley.

Castle Venlaw was a great stay for 2 nights. Full of old world charm, a great restaurant menu and wine list, and great service.

Is is located just down the road from the Venlaw B&B where Lenore and I stayed about 4 years ago. We would recommend it to anyone.

Scotland: the animals

The iconic Clydesdale brings back memories of my youth on relatives farms.

This one is photographed in the Clyde Valley, close to Lanak.

Peebles symbol is three fish.

We have been surprised at the number of pheasants we have seen in the border country of Scotland, found very close to the edge of quiet roads.

Many a sheep has been seen! bah!

We are seeing a lot more Scottish longhorns this trip. And big is clearly considered better here!

Sunday, 14 June 2015

Villers Bretonneux-France

The Villers Bretonneux Cemetery and Memorial is of special significance to Australians. We were particularly looking for Alfred William NELSON's name; died 23 July 1916. Once again a great uncle, and again there is no known place of burial, just his name listed with the 9th Battalion.

As a result of significant actions in which Australians played important roles, Villers Bretonneux was selected as the site for the Australian Western Front memorial; right panel above. It was dedicated in 1937 and only 2 years later war swept over the site resulting in damage to the site; some damage has been left for historical accuracy.

The school and museum we visited was built from funding provided from students in Victoria, Australia. The cafe in which we lunched titled Le Victoria had a typical set French menu. Good value!

Friday, 12 June 2015

Ypres Salient Addendum

We also located the head stone of a relative of Gordon, A.H.Hitchcock buried in the Tyne Cot Cemetery (top left).

The central monument with the tall cross (Top, left of tree in the collage pix) is built over a concrete blockhouse captured by Australians. Two other large and uncovered blockhouses are within the grounds (foreground of same pix).

The Picture at the bottom of the collage is a general view over Tyne Cot, which is the largest cemetery maintained by the Commonwealth Wargraves Commission.

There are many interesting twists and turns in the story of the Ypres Salient. Firstly, both Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler served in the area.

The steel spikes used to secure barbed wire by each side are similar. The British one has a curl at the top (top left), the German a spike. Both were manufactured in Sweden who traded with both sides.

The symbol of the poppy is everywhere, even on this chocolate biscuit.

There are many names listed in the area, and one particularly resonated for me; Edgar Noel Moore. He has an interesting story: ".. obtained a degree from Exeter College, Oxford in 1911 and was ordained in 1913. He originally worked in Bethnal Green, and then joined the YMCA as a Reverend, and was sent to Ypres. A Chaplain - Forces (4th class), he was attached to the 20th (Service) Battalion (4th City) King's Liverpool Regiment. He won the MC on 31 July 1917 tending to the wounded, and he was killed in action on 5 January 1918, aged 29. His unit suffered a direct hit though he survived and went to the aid of his wounded comrades, and was then killed. He is buried at Railway Dugouts Cemetery, Zillebeke, Ypres, and is commemorated on the Bethnal Green War Memorial."

The tower in the pix to the right, above is the Irish Memorial (aka "Irish Peace Park"). Our local guide thought that there was some Irish logic to it being placed in the ANZAC Sector rather than where the Irish fought. "The view is better," he said. It commemorates, among other things, that in WW1 Catholic and Protestant Irish troops served side by side. It is also noteworthy in its opening on 11th November 1998 by the President of Ireland Mary McAleese, in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II (the first time the 2 heads of state had jointly attended an event) and King Albert II of Belgium.

On the slabs along the path are quotes from various solder's diaries! A challenging blend of the idealistic, despairing, longing, and pathetic!

"So here, while the mad guns curse overhead, and tired men sigh, with mud for couch and floor, know that we fools, now with the foolish dead, died not for Flag, nor King, nor Emperor, but for a dream born in a herdsman’s shed, and for the sacred scripture of the poor."

I saw this inscription again on a public monument in Waterford from whence the author hailed!

*****

This is the official photographer's photo of us at the Last Post Ceremony.

The Red Barron

The site near Vaux-sur-Somme where the infamous Red Baron was shot down!

I can remember in circa 1960 talking with an old man over our back fence in Gympie. We discussed my interest in aviation and he told me this story; he served in the 3rd Battalion in France, and one day when they where in the trenches a German plane came low over head. One of his mates garbed a Lewis gun and fired. They immediately saw the plane swerve and then land (not crash) in a field and cut the motor. The Red Baron was dead in the plane. A Canadian pilot claimed the killed, and this was the accepted story for many decades.

It is good to see that it is today generally accepted that he was shot down by the Australians.

Thursday, 11 June 2015

Reims, Épernay and Belleau: Tuesday 9 June 2015

Reims Cathedral is large, grand, and the place where French Kings were crowned. The English held Reims and the Cathedral for a period up until 1429 when it was liberated by Joan of Arc which allowed the Dauphin Charles to be crowned king in the Cathedral. The picture lower right, is Joan on horse back in front of the Cathedral, at the high point of her short career!

The Chapels behind the altar are decorated with modern stain glass designs.; a striking complement to the classic designs. Six windows were blown out by artillery in WW1.

We have twice visited Moët and Chandon in Eperney, and have enjoyed their style of tour. Their display centre was closed for renovations, so we went up the road to Mercier. I gained the clear impression that marketing has always been a strength of Mercier.

The Giant 200,000 bottle barrel in the foyer at Mercier was made in the 1880s. A huge undertaking, but one I suspect was impractical for champagne blending.

It was taken to the Paris World Trade Show in 1889; it took 8 days to be drawn by 24 oxen to Paris. Not only did trees need to be trimmed and villages circumnavigated, but buildings in the suburbs of Paris had to be bought and demolished to allow access. It was a star of the Show along with the Eiffel Tower. A balloon was tied to the barrel and special guests could sip champagne in the gondola!

Our tour was led by an elegant lady who looked as if she had just stepped off a Paris catwalk! The tour was high in marketing contend, low on serious information. But the champagne at the end was great!

The U.S. Military Cemetary at Aisne-Marne had closed its large and impressive gates and lowered their flags by the time we arrived at 1730 Hours. We sneaked around the side and I climbed on a wall to capture the photo (lower right).

It was Dedicated in1937, has 2,289 burials and 1,060 Missing in Action. It covers a beautifully kept 42.5 Acres.

Although much smaller than The U.S. Aisne-Marne Cemetory, the German Military Cemetery in Belleau holds four times the number of dead, some 4,307 in individual graves and 4,322 in two mass graves. The fallen hail exclusively from the collapse of Germany’s first and last offensives on the Western Front, separated by almost four years and millions of lives. Unlike the sunlit rows of crosses and stars at US Aisne-Marne, the German graves lie under a canopy. (Photo top right with the U.S. Cemetary just viewable behind.) Entry is available at all hours via a low unlocked fence.

The Cain on the left of the collage is a marker of greatest point of advance of the Germany Army in WW1 and are seen in many locations.

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

Coucy le Château: Sunday

Our gîte in Coucy le Château has a beautiful garden and a ramp up to a high terrace which is on a part of the old rampart of the Ville. From it there is a drop of 30m to a beautiful garden below, and the view across to the remains of the fort and palace part of the Chateau (top right).

From the fort looking back you can see the green chair at the position from which I took the first photo. You can not see the gîte! It is hidden by the trees.

The third photo (left) is on the opposite side of the fort to that seen in photo 1.

The Germans used approx 50 tons of explosives to destroy parts of the fort as they retreated in 1917. The post office near our gîte has a number of bullet marks.

The Ville of Folembray is close by, and on the Sunday morning was hosting races at their motor circuit. They appeared to be most competitive and well organised with large support crews on hand.

There were a number of locals at the circuit watching the races.

Sunday afternoon in our petit village de Coucy. The local bar has a 'concert'; it appears that various locals play, popping in and out of the combo.

Our landlord was there and when he advised that we were Australians, the band broken into an AC/DC number. All very enjoyable.

Pages

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Sunday, 14 June 2015

Friday, 12 June 2015

Thursday, 11 June 2015

Wednesday, 10 June 2015