We started the day with a delicious French breakfast of croissants, crusty bread, and coffee - a nice change from the traditional English "fry-up"! Then it was back to Canadian soil as we visited the Vimy Ridge National Historic Site (it really is Canadian soil - our government owns the land) where all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together for the first time on the 9th-12th of April 1917.We started our visit with a tour of the recently excavated tunnels, which were used during the battle to move troops towards the German lines in relative safety.
We then went to see the huge, imposing, and majestic Vimy Monument, designed by Walter Seymour Allward and completed for the Vimy Pilgrimage in 1936. It sits atop of Vimy Ridge overlooking the Douai Plain and the battlefield and can be seen from miles around.
The monument contains almost 6,000 tonnes of limestone, most of which is in the two towering pylons which represent the sacrifices of Canada and France. The names of the over 11,000 Canadians who died in France and whose final resting place is (or was at the time of construction) unknown are carved into the walls.
Located around the monument are various sculptured figures: a woman representing Canada, mourning her dead; the Defenders - the Breaking of the Sword and Sympathy for the helpless; representations of Peace, Justice, Truth, and Knowledge atop the pylons; the Spirit of Sacrifice and the Torch Bearer; and on either side of the staircases, male and female Mourner figures.
After a wonderful lunch in a nearby café we drove south towards the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. Along the way we stopped at La Targette British Cemetery, by far the largest we've seen.
This cemetery neighbours a French one, so from any vantage point you can see literally thousands of headstones, an indescribably moving experience.
We continued on to Beaumont-Hamel, another National Historic Site where on 1 July 1916 70% of the 1st Battalion of the Newfoundland Regiment lost their lives. At the centre of the site is the Caribou Memorial, dedicated to Newfoundland's missing of the First World War.
The most notable thing about the battlefield was how easy it was to make out the trenches, although they would have been considerably less grassy in 1916.
During the battle, the Danger Tree was the only landmark in No Man's Land, and naturally the Newfoundland soldiers headed towards it for shelter. As you can see from its size it provided very little of that, and became a target for the Germans, hence the name 'Danger Tree'.
After leaving Beaumont-Hamel we drove to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. It too is located on top of the hill and is just as imposing as Vimy.
Carved into the walls of the memorial are the names of the 72,000 Commonwealth and French soldiers who went missing during the battle. Standing amidst the names allows you to fully appreciate the sheer size of the sacrifice.
Our last stop of the day was at the Lochnagar Crater, the "largest crater ever made by man in anger". It was made by a single mine and is 70 feet deep and 300 feet across.
We had dinner at a pub/restaurant in nearby Albert before returning to the bed and breakfast absolutely exhausted. It was a fabulous but emotional day, and one of the highlights of our trip.
GWV
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