Saturday 27th May AM.
A welcome continental breakfast then on the road. Loads to see on the tour of the Somme . First stop the South African cemetery and memorial. The grey crosses looked very austere and the names were quite European. Al pointed out that the Afrikaans were of dutch origin so we decided that explained it. when we got to the main memorial it said Allemagne on the wall, we were actually in a German cemetery!
We drove past the poppy fields and spotted a sign for the Dickens memorial. We made the detour and found a replica of the original cross, erected by his mother, in a small garden.
On to the real South African memorial at Delville wood. Beautifully kept the museum and memorial has woods around it. A central avenue leading from the road to the memorial and museum was planted with two rows of oak trees.
The memorial building, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, was unveiled at a ceremony on 10 October 1926 and the Altar Stone to World War ii on 5 June 1952. 229,000 officers and men served with the South African Forces in the Great War. Both the wood and the South African battalions were almost completely destroyed during the battle for the wood.
On to a number of memorials around Longueval; the New Zealand memorial, the Bristol cross to the Gloucester's, the Pipers Memorial and Bell's Redoubt memorial (Second Lieutenant Donald S Bell was a Victoria Cross winner).
My favorite memorial was the stunning 38th (Welsh) Division Memorial at Mametz Wood. I don't think any of my Welsh ancestors fought in the first world war. I think they might have been in reserved professions but it was said that a lot of miners volunteered to enlist thinking that the conditions in France couldn't be any worse than what they were experiencing down the mines at home. They attacked Mametz Wood between 7th and 14th July 1916 and the wood was eventually cleared but at a cost of over 4,000 British casualties.
Last stop before lunch was the famous Lochnagar Crater which is the largest crater ever made by man. A tunnel was started in what the British called Lochnagar street that tunneled under the German position. It was 1,030 feet long and was packed with 60,000lbs of ammonal in two charges 60ft apart and 52 feet below the surface. The explosions constituted what was then the loudest man-made sound in history and created a crater 300 feet across and 70 feet deep. It was said that the explosion was heard in London. A commemoration ceremony has been held at the Lochnagar Crater
on July 1st every year since 1979. Visit www.lochnagarcrater.org for more info.
Lunchtime, into Albert and a supermarket for more French cuisine!
We drove past the poppy fields and spotted a sign for the Dickens memorial. We made the detour and found a replica of the original cross, erected by his mother, in a small garden.
On to the real South African memorial at Delville wood. Beautifully kept the museum and memorial has woods around it. A central avenue leading from the road to the memorial and museum was planted with two rows of oak trees.
The memorial building, designed by Sir Herbert Baker, was unveiled at a ceremony on 10 October 1926 and the Altar Stone to World War ii on 5 June 1952. 229,000 officers and men served with the South African Forces in the Great War. Both the wood and the South African battalions were almost completely destroyed during the battle for the wood.
On to a number of memorials around Longueval; the New Zealand memorial, the Bristol cross to the Gloucester's, the Pipers Memorial and Bell's Redoubt memorial (Second Lieutenant Donald S Bell was a Victoria Cross winner).
My favorite memorial was the stunning 38th (Welsh) Division Memorial at Mametz Wood. I don't think any of my Welsh ancestors fought in the first world war. I think they might have been in reserved professions but it was said that a lot of miners volunteered to enlist thinking that the conditions in France couldn't be any worse than what they were experiencing down the mines at home. They attacked Mametz Wood between 7th and 14th July 1916 and the wood was eventually cleared but at a cost of over 4,000 British casualties.
Last stop before lunch was the famous Lochnagar Crater which is the largest crater ever made by man. A tunnel was started in what the British called Lochnagar street that tunneled under the German position. It was 1,030 feet long and was packed with 60,000lbs of ammonal in two charges 60ft apart and 52 feet below the surface. The explosions constituted what was then the loudest man-made sound in history and created a crater 300 feet across and 70 feet deep. It was said that the explosion was heard in London. A commemoration ceremony has been held at the Lochnagar Crater
on July 1st every year since 1979. Visit www.lochnagarcrater.org for more info.
Lunchtime, into Albert and a supermarket for more French cuisine!
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