Spent Sunday visiting Vimy Ridge, The Lochnagar Crater, Mametz and Thiepval. The sun shone all day.
At Vimy we were given a guided tour by Benjamin. He was an Economics student from Ottawa University and had been given 4 months leave from his studies to work at Vimy. He took us through the tunnels that were used to secretly move men and supplies in readiness for the big push to take Vimy Ridge from the enemy.
We walked around the massive Lochnagar Crater . The 1916 explosion was heard in London and heralded the beginning of the First Battle of the Somme.
The imposing Thiepval memorial to those missing on the Somme dominates the now peaceful and beautiful landscape that was once a hell hole.
And Mametz. What can you say about Mametz ? The Welshmen were given an unbelievably impossible task but they achieved it at great cost. Now a haven of peace but it isn’t hard to picture the horrific scenes of 1916.
It was a good day.
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