Visiting the battlefields of the Great War *PIC HEAVY*

These Pics are amazing. I my self am planing a trip, my friend and i will be visiting every canadian battle site, from both world wars in 2018 on the 100th anniversary of the sining of the Armistice of 1918. it is going to be the trip of a life time. if you have any tips or advice from your experience in planing some thing like this it would be much appreciated. Please contact me if you do.
 
JohnDeere_ said:
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if you have any tips or advice from your experience in planing some thing like this it would be much appreciated. Please contact me if you do.
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What I can pass along I thought I would share here for everyone to take note if they wish to visit these and other areas.

The first would be to have a really good map with you as some of the maps of France you find at tourist sites, the airport...etc do not list some roads you would need to find in order to reach these historical sites. The second would be to know some basic French as residents in these areas speak very little, if any, English. Third would be to have a Canadian flag on your back pack or something to that effect as they assume you are American and you may not be treated with the same level of courtesy. My last piece of advice I can think of while remembering the trip is to bring along some extra batteries and an extra camera (my good one died so luckily I had a back up that took many of the photos you see). I would also say, in connection with the last point, bring some food with you as it can be difficult to find places to eat along the way.

Hope this helps you guys :).
 
My wife and I took the Globus tour of the Canadian War Memorial Tour and returned just 2 weeks ago. The tour cover Juno beach, Caen, Dieppe, Amiens, Arras, Vimy, Ypres as well as Paris (usual tourist stuff) and London (Churchill's war room) and much more.

Nothing can prepare a person for walking into one of these cemeteries and seeing the row after row of young men's tomb stones. The one German cemetery we visited had 4 dead per cross and was so large the back end of the cemetery could not be seen from the front gates. The Ypres museum was my favourite , the Vimy memorial was inspiring and the nightly Menin Gate ritual was a must see.
The best thing about a bus tour is they know where they are going and do the driving so nothing of the country side is missed, also much less stress. It was well worth the time and the cost.

The young Canadians currently in high school could benefit from a class trip to such locations.



Neuville St Vaast German Cemetery



Chaulk Tunnel at Vimy



Dieppe



First House to be liberated by Canadians



Abbey Ardenne



Canada House (Juno Beach)



The Cupola (V-1 rocket site near St Omer)



Juno Beach



Somme Monument




Tyne Cot Cemetary



Albert Cathedral's Spire
 
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Thanks for sharing this OP. Being a younger gunnut I'm afraid many of my generation don't fully respect what was sacrificed for us through the course of WW1 and WW2. I try to learn as much about that time so it is not forgotten, but I still feel as though I will never know enough about what they went through. It has always been a goal of mine to visit Vimy, Ypres, Beaumont Hamel, Juno beach and as many others as possible. I think it will be many years before I get the chance too, so thank you OP for giving me a glimpse of it until I can get there. I only hope it is still in good shape and being preserved and respected when I can get there.
 
Thanks for sharing. I got to go on a Battlefield Tour in 2003. I took a ton of pictures but our car was broken into and my bag (with all of my films) was stolen. I think with all of the pics here the collection is whole again.
 
I always want to go to see Vimy Ridge, I have paper that show that my Great grandfather was there in battle and got medal or award, but I can't remember full details.

need to dig to find this paper.
 
lister said:
Great pics, thanks for showing them.
I'd like to make the trip someday. Need that lotto win!.;)

A couple years ago I read that they were planning on putting a highway through the Ypres Salient. Do you know if they were stopped?
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As of August 2014, there was no highway through the Salient. Vancouver corner with the Brooding Canadian Soldier still is there at St Julien.
 
I am pleased my photos are giving those, who haven't had the chance or are unable to visit, a look at these historical sites. I look forward to the near future when I can go back and spend more times in these areas.

My up coming goal is to visit the Isonzo river and see the former battle lines that are rumored to still exist.
 
I hope Nabs doesn't mind if i piggyback on this excellent thread (serves as a bump, too). I, along with my wife, and a couple of good friends made a trip to France and Belgium in September of this past year, with a part of the trip taking in Great War and Second World War battlefields from Flanders to Normandy - a bucket list trip for me. Though we had six days, there was no way to see it all...and we had only a smaller portion of days focusing on a number of Canadian sites, from Juno Beach, to Dieppe, and Vimy among others. This included retracing my grandfather's steps to Mons, where he celebrated the Armistice (at age 18).

I took a number of the photos and set them to two of the songs we heard at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate. The crowds are huge at that event now, with the 100th anniversary of the great war. To get a spot under the gate you need to be there 1 - 1.5 hours before the ceremony starts.

 
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