Ypres Trip - Day Three

[Grimmer]

Unfortunately the heavy mist took a little longer to lift today which made it very difficult to appreciate the landscape of the battlefields, but it made for some atmospheric photographs.

 

We started the day at one of my favourite sites in the Ypres Salient i.e. Hill 60, the scene of considerable devastation and bloodshed that still scares the landscape to this day. Hill 60 is actually a manmade hill being spoil from the nearby railway cutting. There are some interesting memorials and pill box’s on the site which are well worth a visit. It was close to one of these that our guide Iain McHenry related the story of how Edward Dwyer of 1st East Surry Regiment won the VC here on 20 April 1915 at only 19 years of age. Unfortunately he did not to survive the war being killed at Guillemont on the Somme and now lies buried in Flat Iron Copse Cemetery. Before he was killed, Edward made a recording of his experiences in the Great War, if you haven’t heard it follow this link:-

 

http://www.firstworldwar.com/audio/Sergeant%20E%20Dwyer%20VC%20-%20With%20Our%20Boys%20At%20The%20Front.mp3

 

Just over the railway bridge from Hill 60 lies Caterpillar Crater which has only recently been opened to the public. This picturesque site is hidden away down a little path, and in the middle of a small copse of trees called Battle Wood. By now the sun was just beginning to break through which made for some great pics (see below). It’s well worth a walk around the crater and on the way back, you can visit a small German bunker, one of the few not to be blown sky high when the mine exploded.

 

It was then a short coach ride to another crater & bunker, this time at St Eloi. Unfortunately this is on private land but Iain had negotiated for us to have access to the site which was quite picturesque including a boat house, ducks, reeds etc, difficult to believe the carnage here 90 years ago, the only real give-away being the British bunker next to which there was a walnut tree so much of the time was spent crunching away on fresh nuts, all very tasty. On the way back I spotted a fine red Toadstool so took a picture of it for Snappers collection of “Fungus Foto’s”

 

It was now lunchtime so off we went to see Charlotte at Varlot Farm for the best lunch of the trip, you just couldn’t empty the plate, whenever you did so alone came another platter of meat/cheese/pate etc. I can also recommend the homemade strawberry jam, absolutely delicious. If you visit Varlot Farm the one thing you can be assured of is a very warm welcome, her English is excellent and she is very happy to show you her collection of First World War artefacts that have been dug up at the farm, she’s also happy to tell you about the actions to recapture the farm from the Germans by the British, she really knows her stuff.

 

The last stop of the day was at TyneCotCemetery, a place I’m sure many of you have been to be before so I don’t need to emphasize how big it is, other than to say it’s the largest CWGC cemetery in the world. On the day we visited it was full of Australian schoolgirls. Prior to their visit they had been given the task of researching one of the men who had been killed and now they were paying their personal tributes to them, many were in tears and it was quite a moving scene, who say’s the younger generation don’t care about history? Our guide pointed out an intersting grave, that of W. Bennett of the Lancashire Fusilers who was buried in the Cemetery on 4th June last year following the discovery of his remains on a footpath close to the cemetery. After paying our respects we gathered around the wall of sacrifice to hear our resident “Tommy” read out the last letter home of Private Albert Ford, all very moving.

 

An interesting postscript to our visit to Tyne Cot is that a few days after we returned to Blighty, our leader received a call from Iain to say that he was with a lady from a new tour party who had approached him to say that she was looking for her grandfather’s name on the wall. He asked her what regiment he had served with and, when she replied “The Royal Warwickshire”, he spontaneously asked “his name wasn’t Albert Ford was it?” You can guess her reply!!! There are 34,862 soldiers named on the memorial who have no known grave, and yet, of all those names, Iain takes two consecutive tour parties there to remember the same man!

 

The day was not quite over as we had arranged to meet under the Menin Gate to hear the last post being sounded, as it always is at 8:00pm every night, 365 days of the year. I always find it a very moving experience but tonight was to be particularly memorable. When we meet with Harry Patch yesterday, we had been tipped off that if he was feeling up to it, he would be at the ceremony tonight to read out the elegy and so it was, at a few minutes before 8 that the Master of Ceremonies introduced Harry and be was wheeled in to the delight of all present. We’ve all heard those words spoken with such emotion, but when it comes from someone who truly understands there meaning, it is something very special. I just hope that I’m not one of the last people to see Harry Patch at the Menin Gate and that you all get the opportunity to do the same. Also at the Menin Gate were the Australian Schoolgirl’s, one of whom sang "Australia Fair" flawlessly, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Afterwards we all trouped off to the Dan Anker restaurant in the square for an group dinner where the food was excellent and the wine flowed freely, a great way to end a great day.

Edited October 15, 2008 by Grimmer
Ad eveving stuff

[rosie]

Thanks Grimmer, I have really enjoyed your posts over the last few days. It sounds like you had a wonderful tim filled with many amazing memories. Todays photos are stunning (esp the fungus foto!)

We have never been on a battlefield tour and I keep promising myself I will book me and the cubed one up (sending the cubeletts away with Grandma for the weekend!)

 

 

 

Thanks very much :tup::

[Great War truck]

Wonderful to read.

 

Tim (too)

[ford 369]

thank you for some very interesting reading I really must make the effort to get back to hill 60 etc in the near future,is the cafe still there with many original pictures on display?

Nigel

[Grimmer]

The cafe was rebuilt about a year ago, does a great coffee and the meals are good value but the old pics and artifacts have all but gone.

[Snapper]

Good stuff JB..you jammy basta...