Visiting the battlefields of the Great War *PIC HEAVY*
- Thread starter Nabs
- Start date
i was in Vimy Ridge in 1995, as a grade 12 student and before the time of digital cameras where you could take so many pictures, so i took only a limited amount. After seeing your essay i was reminded of how the countryside looked. Thanks again for the refresher as its definatly something everyone should try see
That about sums it up for me...
I don't feel they represent a shear waste of young lives. They represent the cost of Canada's becoming of a respected Nation among the greatest of Nations.
It has been said throughout history that these battles in WWI are where Canada stood out over every other country in the world.
I am humbled by their actions and the cost, and salute them all.
CS45
- Location
- WMU248 near Edmonton
great photos
Just another point on the sailors grave.
The British Navy was waiting for the German Navy to come out and fight. The Royal Navy would have destroyed the Imperial German fleet in a fleet action and the Germans were not going to slug it out. This left a whole lot of trained sailors with no one to fight so they formed Naval Brigades and fought in the trenches, as here were some serious shotages of troops in the Army.
Just another point on the sailors grave.
The British Navy was waiting for the German Navy to come out and fight. The Royal Navy would have destroyed the Imperial German fleet in a fleet action and the Germans were not going to slug it out. This left a whole lot of trained sailors with no one to fight so they formed Naval Brigades and fought in the trenches, as here were some serious shotages of troops in the Army.
That is really interesting, I never knew that.
I can't imagine what it must have been like to sign up for the Navy to get away from France and end up there by situation.
Does anyone have information on these brigades ? Were they outfitted and armed just like the regular army ?
I can't imagine what it must have been like to sign up for the Navy to get away from France and end up there by situation.
Does anyone have information on these brigades ? Were they outfitted and armed just like the regular army ?
O'Kelly's Boys
Regular
- Location
- Grande Prairie
Just a further point on this:
The 'RND' was 63rd (Royal Naval Division). Each battalion was named after a British Naval icon, thus the 'Hood Bn' on the headstone. The 63rd Div served in 3rd Army (The Canadian Corps served in 1st Army) at Arras just south of Vimy Ridge.
At the moment I'm reading Peter Barton's 'Vimy Ridge and Arras'. As A Canadian we know all about Vimy Ridge, but I knew little about how the Canadians fit into the larger picture. All 3 armies (1st, 3rd, and 5th) attacked Easter Monday, and the French the following week.
I have a lot of the same photos from 2007 during the rededication ceremony.
Cheers,
O'Kelly's Boys
Thank you very much for sharing! Great idea for a thread!
They did a lot of restoration on Vimy between 2005 and 2007. In fact, for the most part they closed the monument for a certain amount of time in those years by covering it in scaffolding and tarps so they could work on fixing the water damage issues that were prevalent since the monument was first built. The issue wasn't just typical weathering that comes natural with time, it was quite a flawed structure, and the amount of work done to it was immense.
It really is an amazing sight to behold, the glistening white shining through the green french country side. The first time I saw it, I was on the road to Paris and it just kind popped out and surprised me.
As an aside, the Danger Tree(the lone tree at Beaumont Hamel) is not only a marker for roughly the mid point of no mans land, but also the only original tree from that battlefield left standing after the war. If I am not mistaken, it's also one of only two trees in the entirety of the Somme that were left standing at the end of the war. The whole area was just decimated. Seeing the growth, and transformation the countryside has gone through since is quite amazing.
They did a lot of restoration on Vimy between 2005 and 2007. In fact, for the most part they closed the monument for a certain amount of time in those years by covering it in scaffolding and tarps so they could work on fixing the water damage issues that were prevalent since the monument was first built. The issue wasn't just typical weathering that comes natural with time, it was quite a flawed structure, and the amount of work done to it was immense.
It really is an amazing sight to behold, the glistening white shining through the green french country side. The first time I saw it, I was on the road to Paris and it just kind popped out and surprised me.
As an aside, the Danger Tree(the lone tree at Beaumont Hamel) is not only a marker for roughly the mid point of no mans land, but also the only original tree from that battlefield left standing after the war. If I am not mistaken, it's also one of only two trees in the entirety of the Somme that were left standing at the end of the war. The whole area was just decimated. Seeing the growth, and transformation the countryside has gone through since is quite amazing.
If you look on google maps at the Vimy memorial, you can actually see the scaffolding and tarps covering the site during that time.
The "Danger tree" is quite a sight to glimpse. At first, up close, it looked to be a newly re-created piece for display but upon looking at the tree for a few minutes, it indeed is a real one. It is hard to believe that was the only tree left standing in the area of a barren, shell cratered muddy wasteland. The whole of that area today is rolling grass lands, farmer's fields, and small collections of forests that dot the landscape.
If the grass covered shell craters, zig-zaging trenches, and rusty barbed wire posts were covered over or removed, you would never know what horrors of war occurred on those very fields a century ago. It stands today so that future generations can learn and never allow the repetition of such events to happen again. I only hope that those with the power understand that point as well.
The "Danger tree" is quite a sight to glimpse. At first, up close, it looked to be a newly re-created piece for display but upon looking at the tree for a few minutes, it indeed is a real one. It is hard to believe that was the only tree left standing in the area of a barren, shell cratered muddy wasteland. The whole of that area today is rolling grass lands, farmer's fields, and small collections of forests that dot the landscape.
If the grass covered shell craters, zig-zaging trenches, and rusty barbed wire posts were covered over or removed, you would never know what horrors of war occurred on those very fields a century ago. It stands today so that future generations can learn and never allow the repetition of such events to happen again. I only hope that those with the power understand that point as well.
- Location
- Tucson, Arizona
Just finished re-reading EYE DEEP IN HELL by John Ellis.
Trench warfare in world War One.
Inept generals and staff officers who sent men to attack or defend in conditions that none of them bothered to visit the lines to see, since they were sitting comfortably miles behind the trenches drawing lines on a map.
Trench warfare in world War One.
Inept generals and staff officers who sent men to attack or defend in conditions that none of them bothered to visit the lines to see, since they were sitting comfortably miles behind the trenches drawing lines on a map.
