World War 1

15/7. Leaving Honfleur.
Never as easy as you think to navigate out of a city ... but the coffee with bread and a croissant helped. Tried for an early start but nav and the city ...

We love these little hameau; no shops, a few houses in a little enclave. We wound along the Seine - funny you think of the Seine in Paris but of course it is a long river. And then, this amazing engineering masterpiece of a bridge in the middle of absolutely nowhere! How beautiful.

We knew it would be a long day, Maps saying a 5 hour drive which seems to take longer. More wheat and grain, more corn. Look at the colour though, it just gleams!

Lots of French flags out and we assumed it was from Bastille Day (we haven’t really been following any news: if anyone receiving this feels there is something happening we need to know ...); no, once we saw people with painted faces waving flags at passing traffic we realised - round ball finals! They are passionate! And, don’t you love the farmer who ‘painted’ his cows in the tricolour! Gave us a start!

We had a good day really. Sunday is a quiet day (apart from football fever) and we expected to see little open - we were right. We found a Boulangerie - ah, real Parmentiers, it’s been a while: probably a good thing to eat them sparingly! We made lunch along the way.

We crossed the ‘border’ into Belgium- a total non event of course. We had booked into a campground at Ypres and were glad to arrive and settle.

Ypres is important in Australian WW1 history and we had a tour next day. We were tired but walked through a nature park to the walled city - rebuilt after the war. Had an ordinary toasted sandwich (no choice) and beer before the 8 pm Last Post at the Menin Gate. This was built as a commemoration into one of the gates in the wall. Magnificent. People gather from about 7 pm, not over whelming probably because it was Sunday. What a beautiful tribute.The walk back to camp seemed further ... yes ! The campsite was quiet and clean and tidy, as they seem to be.

And we saw our first charging station for an electric car!

16/7 Ypres. We walked back to town next morning to meet Andre at Over The Top Bookshop (we have no problem recommending him) our guide for the day. (And on the way saw a car being charged)

The long morning with Andre is hard to describe. He is an Historian with a knowledge and appreciation of Australia’s contribution that is deeper than most. When he decided to go into the ‘guiding’ business he looked from all angles, and we are the beneficiaries.

Our first stop was to a farm, whose owner agreed to let Andre and his private guests walk onto the property and look at the German bunkers: this is Fromelles. On this farm there are two bunkers, still standing but the years have taken their toll and they are in a fairly parlous state. While they are national monuments and cannot be pulled down they are not maintained as they are on private property: they have become overgrown with bushes and the walk in was hazardous with stinging nettles. The first thought is ‘why don’t they clean them up ‘ and then reality is that they really want their farms back and they don’t want people always tramping on their property. These bunkers were forward of the German main lines and very solid - the walls many feet thick, and standing 10 feet high. Andre had realised that unless we see the German lines we cannot appreciate the Australian/Allied position. He is so right.

The Germans were on a blip in the landscape- 120 feet high - and we are talking flat land, so little protection for our boys. Hard to imagine the desolation when there are now wheat and ploughed fields and farms.

The cemeteries were telling: the German ones are stark as that is what they are allowed; the mass graves of the Australians are heart wrenching.

Andre provided the history in practical terms, showed us all he could, answered all questions. He is so knowledgeable and it is his life work.

A beer at Fromelles was a fitting end to our Tour before our return to Ypres. We had huge salads in the Town square and walked back to our home, for a short drive to another campground about 10 km away. Shame we had to move, but the first one was booked out.

Ypres has the attributes I remember of Holland (I was there for 3 months in 1973) in its architecture (but don’t tell them!). They are the tall houses with sculptured tops, attics, dormer type windows. Lovely memories. A big town square, cathedral, cobbled streets - they are hard walking, and our home rattles over Them. We saw a women in

very high heels cross over the cobbled roads ... not a good look!

We stopped the night at Kemmel at a campground. A nice place and our (now) usual fare of baguette/biscuits with cheese, saucisson, terrine ... and wine of course for dinner is perfect.

17/7. Ypres to Corbie (The Somme) via Conty.
No hurry today, so a sleep in. We had booked a camp site near to our meeting place of the John Monash Centre. A short drive to Kemmel for a coffee before we started, and then off we went. More wheat and corn ... shall villages.

We had our “meal” at a small town - one town has nothing but a Boulangerie, another has not much but a restaurant... James had a Faux Steak - looked like a steak, was a steak! and I had a Veal Normandy - with mushrooms in a cream sauce: the veal white! Delicious. The owner couldn’t believe we were not having a bier!

On the way we went to Conty: the home of a mate of many years and Hashman, Jean Pierre (Le Coq Sportif). And a romantic, happy and sad story. Jean Pierre had a ‘relationship’ with the Boulangerie owner’s daughter, where he was an apprentice. The father did not approve and sent him packing. He immigrated to Australia and became a successful gyprocker and a collaborative and kind business person. He married and had children, Then divorced. Some

30 years later, or was it 40, Jean Pierre’s sister was back in Conty at a dinner party and found out that the women of the ‘relationship ‘ was there, Anna. She phoned Jean Pierre and told him and within 48 hours he was back in his home town, with his childhood sweetheart. She came back with him to Australia ... but the sad part of the story is that this all happened only about 4 years ago and he has recently

died.

We went to Conty to pay respects, and it also coincided with the Larrikin Hash having a Memorial Bastille Day run for Le Coq Sportif.

A poignant story.

And the we went to Corbie. Corbie is on a Canal and a nice town. We met some people from Perth as we started our walk on the path to town. They have bought a barge and spend 3 months each year boating the canals. Paid 22,000 E, then had to change the motor and of course have ongoing storage and other charges. But they love it and say they live well and cheaply.

We walked to the pub and had a beer - I tried a fruit beer: different but I won’t have another! Home for our light meal.

18/7. Tour of the Somme.
We met our guide Barbara and much to our surprise we went to Amiens to the Notre Dame Cathedral. A truly beautiful building inside and out, and it was a place visited by the Australian troops and also has commemorative plaques. Built in the 13th Century (took 28 years) it is quite amazing and has craft and seasonal stories in its carvings as well as the religious. One of the spires is shorter than the other because the artisans went on strike on the shorter one and refused to finish it when they were told they weren’t being paid.

We had lunch at a Turkish restaurant in Villers Bretoneux before visiting the museum. Very interesting place.

The John Monash Center is amazing and our two hours there went very quickly. They have a series of short tableaux of different aspects

of different campaigns. Suffice it to say it was gut wrenching. The 8 minute ‘movie’ at the end tore at our souls. A credit to Australia for putting it together.

We then went to Hamel and Pozziers, and a couple of other sites. I can’t describe all of this except to say our boys did us proud in a war that achieved nothing. It is sobering.

It was a long day and we needed a wine and snack.

Such a worthwhile few days of our trip.

Happy birthday Charlie.